[MUD-Dev] The changing nature of fun

[Rayzam]

From: "brian hook" <brianhook at pyrogon.com>

> The thread on "AI" (that is way, WAY off subject now) got me
> thinking about a pet "problem" of mine -- the changing, variable
> nature of fun.

> This is something that has come up on numerous occasions, and to
> me is probably one of the oldest and hardest problems.  I'm not
> talking about "what makes things fun", but the much harder problem
> of "Why is something not fun now and was fun before".

> I'll just cite some examples where you have, quite simply, mutual
> exclusions.

...

> The above are just some examples of things that are fun and not
> fun, and the level of fun depends entirely on the player and the
> situation.  This is important -- NOTHING IN THE GAME CHANGED, BUT
> THE SUBJECTIVE ENJOYMENT ITSELF DID.  This is a major issue.

...

> Anyway, no real point, just curious what others thought about
> this.

Sounds like the satiation effect. You are hungry, and you order some
food that has your imagination and mouth watering. The first bite is
amazing. Then each successive bite is less amazing. Repetition
breeds indifference. In most of the examples you gave, things are
interesting once, a few times, or when the situational factors
aligns. But forcing it so it repeats, repeat by necessity, or any
other type of repeat, and your subjective enjoyment diminishes. The
other thing it is similar to is to drugs [especially opiates], and
addiction models in rats. Tons of research articles available

As to what I think about it: I agree. That's why new content is
important to me when I'm being a player, and is reflected in my
strong Explorer tendency.

    rayzam






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