[MUD-Dev] Geometric content generation

[rayzam]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ola Fosheim Grøstad" <olag at ifi.uio.no>

> If you make a game for rats (or pigeons!) then maybe what was
> stated about rats was particularly useful.  Unfortunately the
> higher-level goals/needs of rats and humans are
> different. Motivation in humans can not be analysed by a simple
> stimuli-response experiment.

Actually, motivation in humans consists of performing an action,
often without knowing why, and then rationalizing it afterwards. Or
changing our beliefs based on the action we performed. Motivation on
the level you're talking about is either hindsight, or repetition.

> You certainly don't want to electrocute your players when they
> make mistake, yes that is feedback, but no, IT DOES NOT MAKE THEM
> HAPPY.

Neither does dying in a mud. Or losing equipment. Or having to spend
money on things. But without these things, you lose challenge. And
as per philosophy: can you truly feel happy if you never feel sad?

I'm not saying electrocute your players when they make a
mistake. I'm just saying that 'punishment' [which is often
considered, incorrectly, to be negative reinforcement] is prevalent
in many games. How long can you play a game in invincible/god mode? 
How quickly does it get boring, and thus makes the player 'not
happy'?

> Only the most mentally incapable will find the mastering of
> tedious activities to avoid punishment entertaining!

> I have only read a little about behaviourism, but I have skimmed
> the last couple of years of "advances in behavioural psychology"
> and most of those were like several kilometres away from studying
> "how the human mind works", actually it was mostly about
> observable stimuli-response behaviour in animals (unless my mind
> plays tricks on me)...

1991 - 2000 was the "Decade of the Brain". Lots of funding for
understanding how the mind works. And lots of work done on it. Many
advances. What changes is the label. Behavioral psychology was an
older term. Physiological psychology came next, I think. Then
cognitive psychology, neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience,
judgement decision-making (JDM), social cognition, etc. These are
the buzzwords to use when checking out how the brain works.

    rayzam
    www.travellingbard.com





_______________________________________________
MUD-Dev mailing list
MUD-Dev at kanga.nu
https://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev