THE BENEVOLENT PUPPETEER

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THE BENEVOLENT PUPPETEER

• shaping player behaviour through design

KUASeptember 25, 2003 Jonas Heide SmithCenter
for Computer Games Research Copenhagen
(ITU) smith_at_itu.dk
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PRESENTATION

• Jonas Heide Smith
• PhD student at DiAC (from September 2003)
• Working on social dynamics in multiplayer games
• How can designers ensure constructive behavior
  without limiting the fun?
• What can game designers teach makers of
  work-oriented multi-user software?
• Theoretical inspiration Social game theory,
  political science, social psychology,
  communication theory
• smith_at_itu.dk

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PRESENTATION

• How? Why?
• By applying communication theory and sociology to
  the design of games
• ...and by gathering empirical data in a
  systematic form
• In order to tackle the problems of grief players
  and low social bandwidth
• and facilitate communication between academic
  fields

some game players go out of their way to ruin
the gaming experience for other players by
killing them repeatedly, stealing their monster
kills, and generally making a nuisance of
themselves. Camelot has several built-in methods
for discouraging this behavior. - FAQ of Dark
Age of Camelot (Mythic, 2000)
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ARCHITECTURE

• A good metaphor
• Even minor structural choices matter
• Aesthetics place us in a frame of mind or
  context. Our interpretation of the situation
  guides our expectations and actions.

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ARCHITECTURE

• Blind spots
• Doesnt cover perceptions of perceptions
• Doesnt cover algorithms of reward and
  punishment

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INCENTIVES

• something that incites or has a tendency to
  incite to determination or action
• Systems, by their design, reward and punish
• Two approaches to social order
• The Neutral Third Party Approach (Hobbes, Locke,
  Rousseau)
• The Responsibility Through Positive Sum Approach
  (A. Smith, E-Bay)

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THE MODEL
STRUCTURAL LEVEL
Works with Design affordances and
constraints Issue What can I do?Studied by
Sociologist, architects
INCENTIVE LEVEL
AESTHETIC LEVEL
Works with Metaphors, style and
conventionsIssue What is the proper frame of
mind? Studied by Social psychologists, architects
Works with Reward and punishment Issue Whats
in it for me? Studied by Economists, political
scientists, biologists
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EXAMPLE STRUCTURAL

• Diablo (Blizzard, 1996)
• Player character data on client harddisk

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EXAMPLE AESTHETIC

• Neverwinter Nights (Bioware, 2001)
• Out of character hints put gamers in a system
  frame of mind

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EXAMPLE AESTHETIC

• Freedom Fighters (IO Interactive, 2003)
• Russian choir score connects to patriotic movies
  such as Air Force One and The Hunt for Red
  October

.mov / .mp3
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EXAMPLE INCENTIVES

• The Zone and E-bay
• Reputation is stored by the system
• Bad behavior has negative consequences the
  selfish act nicely

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A REAL ISSUE

• Gamers themselves see a problem
• Many cheaters would prefer not to have been able
  to cheat (89 in Diablo)

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A REAL ISSUE
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CHALLENGES

• What needs to be done?
• Research into experiences with managing grief
  players
• Conducting game-based experiments along the lines
  of experimental economics
• Measuring the effects of aesthetics on behavior

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RECOMMENDED READING

• Axelrod, Robert (1984). The Evolution of
  Co-operation. London Penguin Books.
• Donath, Judith S. (1999). Identity and deception
  in the virtual community. In Kollock, Peter
  Smith, Marc (eds.) (1999). Communities in
  Cyberspace. New York Routledge.
• Morningstar, Chip Farmer, Randall F. (1990).
  The Lessons of Lucasfilms Habitat.
  www.ibiblio.org/pub/academic/communications/papers
  /habitat/lessons.rtf
• Ostrom, Elinor (1990). Governing the Commons
  The Evolution of Institutions for Collective
  Action. Cambridge Cambridge University Press.
• Smith, Jonas Heide (2002). The Architectures of
  Trust Supporting Cooperation in the
  Computer-Supported Community. MA Thesis, The
  University of Copenhagen. www.itu.dk/people/smith/
  pages/aot.htm
• smith_at_itu.dk