{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/online-participation--t326","type":"mechanic","id":"online-participation--t326","lang":"en","title":"Player markets, gifts and trading","summary":"A market transfers items at an agreed price. Steam Community Market shows participant listings, available quantities and starting prices.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/online-participation--t326/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/online-participation--t326.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/online-participation--t326.md","aliases":["Markets, gifts and player trading"],"tags":["Online worlds and participation","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-d6403e86b24cf114","source-bac2d35c0dd064b6"],"sources":[{"id":"source-d6403e86b24cf114","title":"Steamworks: Multiplayer","url":"https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/features/multiplayer","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-bac2d35c0dd064b6","title":"Steam Community Market","url":"https://steamcommunity.com/market/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Player exchange transfers resource ownership under agreed terms, connecting trust to transparency and atomic settlement."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t326-variants\"></a>\n\n- Trade windows require confirmation from both parties. <a id=\"t326-v1\"></a>\n- Gifts are distinct from expected reciprocal payment. <a id=\"t326-v2\"></a>\n- Markets reserve goods until order completion. <a id=\"t326-v3\"></a>\n- Trading limits preserve a reward's intended role. <a id=\"t326-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"Players confirm ore for a tool and changing either item clears both confirmations.\n\nPrototype check: Test simultaneous cancellation and disconnection so items and currency cannot duplicate or disappear between participants."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"Online mechanics connect individual contributions to shared state, participation timing and explicit commitments between players. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"online-participation","id":"t326","title":"Online worlds and participation","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/online-participation/#t326","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Markets, gifts and player trading","description":"A market transfers items at an agreed price. Steam Community Market shows participant listings, available quantities and starting prices.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/online-steam-market.webp","width":1266,"height":712,"crop":{"x":150,"y":65,"width":950,"height":625},"game":"Steam Community Market","sourceUrl":"https://steamcommunity.com/market/","originalUrl":"https://steamcommunity.com/market/","credit":"Valve / respective game publishers","rights":"© Valve / respective game publishers. Official image or public interface capture; all rights reserved. Excluded from portal MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"Steam Community Market: public listings, captured October 22, 2026","alt":"Steam Community Market: public listings, captured October 22, 2026","markers":[{"x":59,"y":29,"label":"Price and listing quantity are visible before choosing an item"}]},"tips":["Show fees, transfer conditions and the final price before confirming a trade."],"examples":[{"title":"Steam Community Market","url":"https://steamcommunity.com/market/"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/online-participation"}}