Economist Eyjólfur Gudmundsson has been hired to supervise the economic system in the Icelandic player-driven multiplayer game Eve Online as the first person hired to work inside the game’s virtual reality.
“We should in fact stop calling it ‘virtual reality’ because it is much more than that, it is becoming a different world in which users can disappear,” Gudmundsson told Fréttabladid. His position within the game is somewhat like a central bank director.
Gudmundsson added it has been discussed to establish a form of democracy in EVE Online so players may at some point in the near future be called to vote representatives for the game’s government.
According to Hilmar Pétursson, managing director of the software company CCP, which operates EVE Online, hiring Gudmundsson is part of improving user service.
“The game is a lot about sale and business and therefore it is necessary for participants to have a balanced economic system,” Pétursson said.
