Endogenous value is value that a game system assigns to objects, currencies, or states that exists only within the magic-circle. Gold coins in an RPG, hit points, and high scores are endogenous — they matter intensely during play and mean nothing outside it (Schell 2008, see source-art-of-game-design). The designer manufactures endogenous value through scarcity, rules, and the player’s willingness to accept the game’s terms (lusory-attitude).
Contested boundary: when games introduce real-money economies (loot boxes, battle passes, secondary markets), they convert endogenous value into exogenous value — a key mechanism in many dark-patterns.
Related: magic-circle, lusory-attitude, internal-economy, dark-patterns, foundational-vocabulary