Virtual Markets, Part Five: Low-Effort Processing

In our last article we discussed market shocks and reporting strategies centered around detecting price dips. In this article we will investigate the concepts of intermediate and final goods in Old School Runescape, with the end-goal of developing a reporting strategy allowing us to capitalize on the difference in price between intermediate and final goods … Read more

Virtual Markets, Part Four: Shocks and Dip Detection

In our last article we took an in-depth look at price floors and other related phenomenon in Old School Runescape, including the opportunity costs of botting, capital controls, real-world trading, and more. In this article we will investigate market shocks, how they manifest in OSRS, and how we can develop reporting strategies to accurately detect … Read more

Virtual Markets, Part Three: Price Floors (and more!)

In our last article we discussed market fundamentals and reporting strategies centered around the “High-Low spread”. In this article we will investigate price floor mechanics present in Old School Runescape. In-addition to covering reporting strategies, will also cover a range of related topics, including: Disclaimer: This article is strictly academic in-nature and does not constitute … Read more

Virtual Markets, Part Two: Market Fundamentals and the High-Low Spread

In our first article in this series, we covered all of our prerequesites for modeling market behavior in the MMORPG Old School Runescape (OSRS). Equipped with transaction data for the in-game Grand Exchange, we can now get started analyzing the in-game economy. In this article, we will: Disclaimer: This article is strictly academic in-nature and … Read more

Virtual Markets, Part One: An Introduction to the Grand Exchange

I have always been drawn to online games which feature player-run economies. Virtual marketplaces with their various nuances and constraints provide us with a microcosm of human behavior to study and apply economic models against. An old favorite of mine is an MMORPG published by Jagex called Old School Runescape, also known as OSRS. With … Read more