Star Stable Online is a MMORPG for girls who like horses and adventure!
With strong community support, horses-related knowledgeable designers and artists, showing responsibility to players and their parents, and carefully choosing the releasing content, SSO gradually monopoly this unique market.
Economy Design
At Star Stable, I mainly work on the game economy. My work includes identifying potential sale drivers for different product categories, managing pricing and rewards, and supervising monetization-related content in alignment with the game’s design direction and live ops strategy.
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Design economy that fulfill different types of players' need.
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Design economy that keep currency in balance with sinks.
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Design economy so that players’ input matches the return.
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Design economy that are simple and clear for players to understand.
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Iterate on modeling and data.
Case 1
Problem: We had a lot of old items in every festival, which stole focus from new items and made the shop look messy.
Solution: We created a lifecycle strategy to manage items by their age. They were moved into different shops: from the Newest Shop, to Outlet Shop, Vintage Shop, and finally Retirement Shop. I also repriced them based on their position.
Outcome: Players could easily focus on new items, happily shop old items at lower prices, and secure favorites before retirement. By releasing different shops across multiple weeks, we also created strong motivation for players to return every week.
Case 2
Problem: Our monthly time-limited bazaar needed a new approach to horse selection and pricing to maximize the premium currency sink.
Solution: I designed a data-driven horse discount strategy. The selection process was based on three key pillars:
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Thematic Relevance: We chose horses that aligned with newly released or upcoming game content to create a strong incentive for players.
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Player Demand: We prioritized breeds that our community was most eager for, as identified through player feedback and behavioral data.
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Dynamic Pricing: The discount level for each horse was determined by its historical sales performance and how recently that breed had been on sale, ensuring we balanced value and scarcity.
Outcome: This strategic approach successfully and consistently increased the amount of premium currency sunk during each bazaar event, contributing to a healthier game economy.
Case 3
Problem: How can we ensure the token economy in time-limited festivals stays balanced?
Solution: I designed a festival economy strategy where player effort matches rewards. I first calculated the total rewards to be distributed, then set reasonable playtime targets across different content types. This allowed players of varying engagement levels to earn corresponding rewards. To address leftover tokens, I also increased token items' pricing and earning speed to balance the progress of different players.
Outcome: Players could choose their own play path without feeling forced or overly grindy, while still receiving a fair amount of rewards.
