[MUD-Dev2] [DESIGN] Rewards

[Sean Howard]

"Raph Koster" <raph at areae.net> wrote:
>
> Sean Howard wrote:
>> What, for example, rewards were given in a game of capture the flag in
>> Unreal Tournament that made it so popular?
>
> "Head shot!"
> "Monster kill!"
> "You win!"
> "#1 world ranking on ngWorldStats"
>
> Uh, those are rewards.

Are those the rewards which made the game popular? Would the game be
better or worse... or not be signficantly impacted at all... by the
removal of these petty rewards? I mean, come on. Yelling out "Head shot!"
is about as rewarding as a pinball machine shouting "Multi-Ball!".

You don't do a head shot to get the announcer to praise you. You do it
because it is the most efficient way to defeat an opponent. That's not a
reward either. You are given a system of rules and behaviors and expected
to manipulate that system to your ultimate goal (a reward is a type of
goal, but not all goals are rewards). Making better or worse decisions and
having better or worse outcomes is not a reward.

> I think you are using a very narrow definition of reward.

And you are using a very broad definition. Too broad. If you accept that
all positive influences and outcomes are "rewards", then you've changed
the definition of "reward" into "rewarding". That's two very different
things. Rewarding is a response - a personal response that differs from
one man to the next. A reward is something that is given in exchange for a
particular behavior. A carrot on a stick and nothing more sinister.

> A reward is the *recognition* of a positive outcome.

A reward CAN BE the recognition of a positive outcome. However, the
recognition itself does not have to be a reward. For instance, if I buy my
father a Blu-Ray copy of Lawrence of Arabia, he will probably be a very
happy man. But he's not happy because he has a new copy of Lawrence of
Arabia. He's happy because his son recognized his interests and desires
without prompting and took the trouble to do something about it (again,
without prompting). The fact that this act is noticed and appreciated is
not a reward. I wouldn't do something like that to make my father think
better of me. I'd do it to make him happy. To share a moment of affection
and understanding. To bond, I guess you could say.

Are you going to suggest that our mutual happiness and respect is a
reward? If so, then I understand why you cannot accept a game without
rewards. As for me, I'll continue thinking that humans are capable of more
than simply responding to external stimuli. I'd prefer to think that
philosophy and intelligence dominate our animal instincts, not the other
way around.

> Usually, the look on the face of the other player provides the
> reward, however.

That is NOT a reward, though it can be rewarding.

> You seem to be defining a reward as a tangible new token within the
> game. I think that means much of the prior conversation was people
> talking past one another.

No. I define a reward as "do this, get that". A predictable positive
outcome that is dangled in front of a player in order to influence his
behavior one way or another. A reward is positive reinforcement. Nothing
more. Tangible or within a game don't matter so much as the
"reinforcement" part. If it's purpose is not to alter a response in the
player, then it is not a REWARD or a PUNISHMENT.

> Reward is psychology, not objects, IMHO.

Or is it, psychology is reward?

-- 
Sean Howard