Grand Strategy Games and Economies : The Effect of Complexity on Gameplay

Abstract: This bachelor’s thesis’s purpose was to determine how the complexity of economic systems invideo games affect the gameplay of said video games, Victoria II (Paradox Interactive AB,2010) and Civilization V (Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc, 2010). This was done by askingthe research question: “How does the complexity of economic systems in grand strategygames affect gameplay?“. The method was rooted in Game Research Methods (Lankoski &Björk, 2015) guidelines and the results were interpreted using Game Mechanics: AdvancedGame Design (Adams & Dormans, 2012). A formal analysis was performed for each game.The key findings of these analyses are extensive descriptions for the functioning of eachgame’s economic system as well as recommendations regarding important aspects of thesesystems and how to design them.