Author: The mysox1
Here is some history about myself.
I am The mysox1 and I started out playing Miniconomy when the lovely city of Gold Coast was still in Virtua back about round 47 on mysox1. Since then I have tried to learn all that I can about Miniconomy from those who have been around longer and more actively. In my search for information about Miniconomy I asked the Federal Coordinator. These are the answers I received.
The mysox1: Federal Coordinator how did you become involved in Miniconomy?
Federal Coordinator: It was a grey day in February 2002, only a few days before my birthday and spring vacation. Some fellow students and I were at school making an assignment for a lesson I truly can’t remember. But seeing as everyone was doing things online that had nothing to do with that course, that’s no surprise.
One of my mates came to me with a link of a game that he was playing for some days, and he thought it was just the game for me: my first contact was made.
That round, which was just after the start of the second round of Miniconomy, I got to know the game and was grasped by its unique style: intense contact with others, great economic basics and some fantastic players (it’s really a shame not everyone knows Richard and Geert anymore!).
Even though I was hooked from that moment on, I did abuse the total lack of control by the game management (at that time, only Wouter and his brother Mark, were responsible for the economic basics of the game): the game had never even heard of Federals, let alone CBI. Thus, I made about one hundred mail accounts and every address got a player account. Those accounts transferred 1000 I-Shell to my main account and very soon I was one of the wealthiest players around. Because of a mistake (I logged in on my main at school, where I was using my sub accounts to cheat) Mark totally busted me and I was immediately thrown out of the game (cheater status didn’t exist at that time).
I really did feel sorry and I also wanted to get back in the game, so I wrote an excuse letter to Mark and Wouter and told them I was very sorry, wanted to get back in the game, and would also like to make a donation. Thankfully, they let me back in the game, although I did have to use another account: The Minic (in those early days, without capitals) was born.
The mysox1: What are some of the new options and products that have come along since you started?
Federal Coordinator: Even though I’m not sure, but I think no products –besides aero planes- have ever been added in the game. The game has all the products it needs, no more and no less.
The new options are of course abundant. In the most early days, there were no streets, no physical shops, no roads, no companies, no skills, no break down nor production limits et cetera. It was a time of total trade freedom, but with it the biggest flaw of the game was also there: money made more money, so having the most money on day three meant winning the round, unless you would really seriously and intentionally… well, screw up!
With all those changes, the game did become more and more complex. I have great respect for players who grasp all the options Miniconomy has, because there are a lot! They have however made the game more interesting on the long term, and means that there really are different levels you can operate on. Changes in the future will do that even more, but I won’t elaborate on those now.
The option that came but also went, but is very much missed, is the option to have street races. I get quite a lot of questions about it, both from players who have experienced those as well as players that have only heard of them. If I explain it to them, they tend to become as excited as the players who know what I’m talking about (and please, I don’t want a hundred players asking me now!), maybe partially because of my own enthusiasm. But I really hope we can bring them back one day, so everyone knows why they were so great.
The mysox1: For those of us who have been playing for a much shorter period of time approximately how many citizens were there way back then?
Federal Coordinator: During those first rounds, there was a core of 30 extremely active players, mostly beta testers. Along the road they slowly were replaced by new players discovering the game and the game grew to over 2000 accounts in only a few rounds.
The mysox1: If you could start playing from the beginning again what would you do differently?
Federal Coordinator: Well, I would like to say that I would only play in an honest way, but knowing myself, I would first like to know the boundaries.
If I had to start in this trading period, I would probably take a lot more time discovering all the elements of the game. It still has its unique features that I fell in love with (and some new as well of course!) but they have become so vast, it would take more time to find my desired game play.
The mysox1: Do you have any advice for those who are just starting to play?
Federal Coordinator: As just stated, that would be my advice: experience the game in all its glory and see what kind of trade suits you best. Or, see what job suits you best. The number of different ways to play Miniconomy have expanded in a huge way and offers some for all. Just take your time to find out what you like and go for it!
The mysox1: On a scale from one to ten how well do you think Miniconomy is doing as a game?
Federal Coordinator: In my heart, Miniconomy gets an A+. In my mind, it only scores about a B-, because the game sure has grown, but hasn’t really developed to demands on the market. Of course, that’s also the least interesting for both the experienced players and the Federals and Wouter, but it is necessary to ensure the future of Miniconomy.
After my discussion with the Federal Coordinator I found that Wouter has been working hard to get this game going and that he is going to continue to try and keep this game going even when there is not much interest.
I hope that all of the citizens who read this article will find it as useful as I have.