Episode 37: Fun – Identifying Your Flavor of Motivation

Written by Phil in Uncategorized

Phil leads this winding episode to talk about the concept of fun, pulling elements in from game design and “psychographic profiles“. Also, there’s a long bit of bickering between the hosts about whether Blueberry picking is wholesome fun or hard labor.

References

  • Flow (Book) by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
  • Playstation Home: a virtual 3D social gaming platform developed by Sony Computer Entertainment’s London Studio for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) on the PlayStation Network (PSN).
  • Second Life: an online multimedia platform that allows people to create an avatar for themselves and have a second life in an online virtual world. 
  • Dopamine: a neuromodulatory molecule that plays several important roles in cells.
  • Feedback Loops with Mac – Our previous episode
  • Self-Determination Theory (Episode) – a macro theory of human motivation and personality that concerns people’s innate growth tendencies and innate psychological needs.
  • Ludology (podcast) – Specific Episode on Fun
  • Fiero – The feeling of overcoming adversity. It’s throwing your hands up in victory, shouting yes! 
  • Marc Leblanc (Not Matt): Game designer, known for contributing to System Shock, Thief, and many more.
  • Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences – He has an interesting site on the topic of persuasion.
  • Cunningham’s Law: The best way to get the right answer on the Internet is not to ask a question; it’s to post the wrong answer.
  • Leblanc’s Types of Fun:
  • Destruction (Other person proposed it): Game as transgression. Games that may have a building component, but the emphasis is always on tearing things down and destruction. Rampage, Red Faction: Guerilla
  • MDA (Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics) Framework
  • Fun Types 1 & 2 (quoted from that link):
    • Type 1 Fun is what we all seek out when hitting the outdoors: it’s a good time, we enjoy ourselves and it’s simply just fun.
    • Type 2 Fun, on the other hand, is not actually fun in the moment, but it’s fun to reminisce about later. Consider the feeling of doing a very difficult hike straight up a mountain pass, dangling up high on a ropes course when you’re afraid of heights or being eaten alive by mosquitoes in your tent. These aren’t necessarily fun activities, in fact, they’re pretty uncomfortable, but they’re part of what makes an adventure. The lessons and stories that come out of Type 2 Fun are what make it all worth it. 
  • Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman’s Systems 1 and 2:
    • System 1: Fast, automatic, frequent, emotional, stereotypic, unconscious.
    • System 2: Slow, effortful, infrequent, logical, calculating, conscious.
  • Hazing and it’s support:  any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses, or endangers them regardless of a person’s willingness to participate.
    • Support: “persons who go through a great deal of trouble or pain to attain something tend to value it more highly than persons who attain the same thing with a minimum of effort”. The 1959 study shaped the development of cognitive dissonance theory by Leon Festinger.
  • Remembered vs Experiencing Self (Related to the Peak-End Rule)
  • Magic: The Gathering Player Types:
    • Timmy/Tammy – Cares most about the quality of their wins, not the quantity. They like to win big, not a last minute victory. Wants to utterly destroy, impressively, enjoying big actions. Spectacle.
      • Target: Exciting actions, but maybe not economical
    • Johnny/Jenny –  Wants to win with style, self-expression, winning on their own terms. Enjoys creativity, winning in ways that most people wouldn’t consider, happiest when exploring uncharted territory. They want creative control.
      • Target: Unique actions that you can build a strategy around
    • Spike – The tournament player, they just want to win. Uses whatever established strategies or combinations that are proven to work, not about self expression. Pragmatic. Quantity over QuaLity.
    • Melvin/Melanie (Source) – Focus on the appreciation of the game, the intricacies and understanding how it works. They focus on the “why”, and the mechanics of how the game functions.
    • Vorthos (Source) – All about story, “flavor”, and roleplaying in-character
      • The Gamer appreciates top down resonance and in-game flavor.
      • The Artist appreciates all visual aspects of Magic.
      • The Writer appreciates all written copy for Magic.
      • The Oracle appreciates real world to fantasy world blending via things like cosplay.
      • The Dreamer appreciates anything contributing to the lore of Magic
  • Bartle Taxonomy of Players:
    • Achievers: prefer to gain “points”, levels, equipment and other concrete measurements of succeeding in a game. They will go to great lengths to achieve rewards that are merely cosmetic. (100% completion)
  • Multiplayer: One of the appeals of online gaming to the Achiever is that they have the opportunity to show off their skill and hold elite status to others. They value (or despise) the competition from other Achievers, and look to the Socializers to give them praise
  • Explorers: prefer discovering areas, and immerse themselves in the game world. They are often annoyed by time-restricted missions as that does not allow them to traverse at their own pace. 
    • They enjoy finding glitches or a hidden easter eggs. 
    • Probably like puzzle games or diving into the game’s LORE
    • Multiplayer: often become bored with any particular MMORPG when they have experienced its content. They will tire quicker than other gamer types, and feel the game has become a chore to play.
  • Socializers: choose to play games for the social aspect, rather than the actual game itself. The game is merely a tool they use to meet others in-game or outside of it.
    • Single Player: Focus on games where relationships with NPCs is big
    • Multiplayer: The online environment is very appealing to the Socializer, as it provides near limitless potential for new relationships.
  • Killers: thrive on competition with other players, and prefer fighting them to scripted computer-controlled opponents.
    • motivated by powergaming and eclipsing others. They want to achieve first rank on the high score board or beat another speedrunners time record.
    • Multiplayer: nothing amounts to the joy of pitting one’s skills against an actual player-controlled opponent.

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