Lo-Fi Games

Here is my idea for an economy centred around electricity, and using banks across the gameworld to store it.

The premise is as follows, 1 unit of electricity at base value equals 100cats, which is agreed upon by all of the people living in kenshi-land. This electricity is stored in banks, both for safekeeping, and easy access. As we all know batteries lose their charge over time, so we will need an on-going supply of electricity to keep the stocks fresh.

You can go to your bank with your cats, or electricity to buy a document which is equal to the value of electricity you stored. This means that you can go to another bank, on the other side of the world, and retrieve your electricity there. As long as you have this document.

Because of these basic assumptions in the premise a deteriorating supply means the value of electricity can rise/lower based on politics, and the market. Which means the currency we use to value electricity by will be worth more, or less depending on the global supply of electricity.

A decrease in supply of electricity means cats are worth more, but it also means that manufacturing goods that require electricity are more costly. This can be applied locally.

A region where electricity is scarce might pay you extra cats over the base value for this document. For instance you deposited 5 units of electricity, and the bank gave you the document proving you own 5 units of electricity. You can go to a region that doesn't produce it's own power, and sell that document for a profit over the market value. So if they really want that document they might pay you 750-1000 cats instead of the 500 it's worth elsewhere.

This does several things, if NPC's will be able to sell electricity too you will get a proper trade going based on geopolitics, and supply/demand. It will make long distance, and high profit trade easier as you do not have to weigh down your group. It also doesn't remove the old school trading of goods, it just adds another good. It all just depends on supply, and demand. It also makes more sense than moving batteries across the world from one village to another.

I'm not a financial genius, so I probably made some errors here, and there. Please if you find any errors in my assumptions, and ideas correct me.

What would you use to store the energy while you hold it? Batteries? How many could you possibly have left in a world like that.

making a battery isn't hard, and I believe they already are confirmed.

In such a ruined world, would they really use their precious time on banks and paper work ?

People keep thinking it's a post apoc. world, it is uncorfirmed. And just because the desert looks like crap it doesn't mean that the other biomes don't use more "civilized" ways. Also Portugal was the first to trade electricity, so there ya go, it's possible. If we store it in some way, it doesn't stop you from doing it too.

Benji wrote:In such a ruined world, would they really use their precious time on banks and paper work ?

But they are still making factions, townships, trade, and they're sending out patrolling guards to defend against bandits. Having a bank is not a far cry from this, the idea of banking is centuries old, and if this is a society that stems from ours it's not unreasonable to think that they take in some of our current ideas.

iSuck345 wrote:People keep thinking it's a post apoc. world, it is uncorfirmed. And just because the desert looks like crap it doesn't mean that the other biomes don't use more "civilized" ways. Also Portugal was the first to trade electricity, so there ya go, it's possible. If we store it in some way, it doesn't stop you from doing it too.

Im pretty sure chris mentioned the setting was post apocalyptic or at least post tech.

Mattk50 wrote:

iSuck345 wrote:People keep thinking it's a post apoc. world, it is uncorfirmed. And just because the desert looks like crap it doesn't mean that the other biomes don't use more "civilized" ways. Also Portugal was the first to trade electricity, so there ya go, it's possible. If we store it in some way, it doesn't stop you from doing it too.

Im pretty sure chris mentioned the setting was post apocalyptic or at least post tech.

I'm pretty sure he said that he wold NEVER be telling where it wold be set.