[Thesis Title Goes Here]
REAL ECONOMICS IN VIRTUAL WORLDS: A MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ONLINE GAME CASE STUDY, RUNESCAPE A Thesis Presented to the Academic Faculty by Tanla E. Bilir In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Digital Media in the School of Literature, Communication, and Culture Georgia Institute of Technology December 2009 COPYRIGHT BY TANLA E. BILIR REAL ECONOMICS IN VIRTUAL WORLDS: A MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ONLINE GAME CASE STUDY, RUNESCAPE Approved by: Dr. Celia Pearce, Advisor Dr. Kenneth Knoespel School of Literature, Communication, and School of Literature, Communication, and Culture Culture Georgia Institute of Technology Georgia Institute of Technology Dr. Rebecca Burnett Dr. Ellen Yi-Luen Do School of Literature, Communication, and College of Architecture & College of Culture Computing Georgia Institute of Technology Georgia Institute of Technology Date Approved: July 14, 2009 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis has been a wonderful journey. I consider myself lucky finding an opportunity to combine my background in economics with my passion for gaming. This work would not have been possible without the following individuals. First of all, I would like to thank my thesis committee members, Dr. Celia Pearce, Dr. Rebecca Burnett, Dr. Kenneth Knoespel, and Dr. Ellen Yi-Luen Do for their supervision and invaluable comments. Dr. Pearce has been an inspiration to me with her successful work in virtual worlds and multiplayer games. During my thesis progress, she always helped me with prompt feedbacks and practical solutions. I am also proud of being a member of her Mermaids research team for two years. I am deeply grateful to Dr. Knoespel for supporting me through my entire program of study.
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