Joint buildings in Eco

It seems there are two dominant approaches to cooperate with other players in Eco by Strange Loop Games: the cautious trade from distance and close team. This post is about something in between that works very well in Eco.

By the way I write and speak french, mostly. This is why writing this blog is a challenge and you'll see weird sentences...

The story of two strangers who build a joint building

Julie the carpenter and Bob the mason start a game. They are strangers and will likely settle apart. If the server doesn't fail within the first week, they will trade and slowly learn to work together. They might one day become a team and discover how much efficient they can be together. They will also be more resistant to competitive behaviors on servers, which is a precious gift.

Nevertheless, the efficiency and security brought by a team seems only possible when a certain "trust threshold" is achieved. This is not the case of Julie and Bob : they have just met.

But what if there was a cooperation structure that is both efficient and do not require such high level of trust ? I believe joint buildings is the answer.

Joint buildings are efficient

Julie and Bob both need a first room for their workstation. They also need a place for a store. Working independently, they will make their own 5x3x4 room (60 m3) or something similar that gives enough space for a workstation and a store. Each of them will need 2 land claims and 150 buildings blocks (minus doors and other holes). Figure 1 shows a plan of their room from a top view. Hewn blocks from Julie appear in orange and mortared stone blocks from Bob in gray.

Figure 1. Basic joint building design from top view

Figure 1 also shows what happen if they claim land next to each other and remove the walls between them. Doing so will reduce the amount of building blocks to 130 and create a larger room. Basically, Julie and Bob used 13% less material (which is better than the bonus given by basic upgrade 1) and gained an additional 33% room volume. Bob will even place his kiln without further investment.

While the advantage seems small, joint buildings on a larger scale with improved material can help you save several hours of grinding.

Joint building is an example of positive interdependence

Positive interdependence is when the success of a project depends on the individual success of its contributors. It is the basic structure for collaboration according to research and the type of situation we should seek when playing Eco. In this case, success means both players set up their half. Further collaboration will occur if, for example, Bob struggle to get enough mortared stone: Julie is likely to support him with some hewn for a while. You can bet Julie and Bob will trade upgrade modules easily too.

The risk involved in this project is quite small and the execution easy. Bob and Julie need a room. It is in their own interest to maintain it functional. If something bad happen, they can put a wall on their side and revert back to the original plan. Furthermore, they can complete this project without giving access to their land, so they retain full control of everything they own and there is no messing with stockpiles.

Joint buildings brings further trust

What will Julie and Bob do after this first success ? They have a proof they can get more from their collaboration (value) and they can work successfully together (self-efficacy). They might feel some kind of bond because they share the same space, like citizens of the same village (affective). These are all great motivational indicators for future common projects, which, if successful, will bring them further ahead in the game.

For example, the joint building gives Julie and Bob the immediate opportunity to share a common research table and exchange scrolls. Also, they are likely to improve the building later, share the effort of setting up a road, etc.

When joint building becomes shared workshop

Joint buildings remains a scenario with independent lands. But this is one step closer to a situation where Bob an Julie give each other access to their craft tables: Bob can then start a board order and compensate Julie for the calories spent. If we continue further down this pattern of collaboration, we find common workshops where many more players share the burden of building material and upgrade modules. These shared workshops are rich symbol of collaboration on servers and useful tools to welcome new citizens, reduce economic inequity and decrease competition among players with the same skills.