WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.090 align:middle line:90% 00:00:00.090 --> 00:00:02.490 align:middle line:84% The following content is provided under a Creative 00:00:02.490 --> 00:00:04.030 align:middle line:90% Commons license. 00:00:04.030 --> 00:00:06.330 align:middle line:84% Your support will help MIT OpenCourseWare 00:00:06.330 --> 00:00:10.690 align:middle line:84% continue to offer high quality educational resources for free. 00:00:10.690 --> 00:00:13.320 align:middle line:84% To make a donation or view additional materials 00:00:13.320 --> 00:00:17.250 align:middle line:84% from hundreds of MIT courses, visit MIT OpenCourseWare 00:00:17.250 --> 00:00:18.420 align:middle line:90% at ocw.mit.edu. 00:00:18.420 --> 00:00:21.260 align:middle line:90% 00:00:21.260 --> 00:00:22.380 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: All right. 00:00:22.380 --> 00:00:26.940 align:middle line:84% So today's reading comes from a game designer, Lewis Pulsipher, 00:00:26.940 --> 00:00:29.532 align:middle line:84% who traditionally worked on war games. 00:00:29.532 --> 00:00:31.991 align:middle line:84% I believe he's done some of the board games, as well. 00:00:31.991 --> 00:00:33.490 align:middle line:84% But for the most part, I think, he's 00:00:33.490 --> 00:00:36.240 align:middle line:84% recognize for his war gaming work. 00:00:36.240 --> 00:00:44.250 align:middle line:84% And there's actually quite a lot of war gaming journals, mostly 00:00:44.250 --> 00:00:50.430 align:middle line:84% written by designers for fans or by fans for fans. 00:00:50.430 --> 00:00:52.290 align:middle line:84% Things like the [? Compleat ?] Strategist 00:00:52.290 --> 00:00:57.992 align:middle line:84% used to be like the PC Gamer of war gaming, right? 00:00:57.992 --> 00:00:59.450 align:middle line:84% It's like, this is what's happening 00:00:59.450 --> 00:01:02.150 align:middle line:84% and these are our thoughts, these are our critiques. 00:01:02.150 --> 00:01:07.170 align:middle line:84% And that particular reading I feel 00:01:07.170 --> 00:01:12.300 align:middle line:84% is very typical of that era of, maybe, late '80s, 00:01:12.300 --> 00:01:17.890 align:middle line:84% early to mid '90s magazine publications. 00:01:17.890 --> 00:01:22.020 align:middle line:84% And it's interesting because already at that time, sure, 00:01:22.020 --> 00:01:24.260 align:middle line:84% there are people who, say, wrote the core 00:01:24.260 --> 00:01:27.691 align:middle line:84% rulesets for various games, like Axis and Allies, 00:01:27.691 --> 00:01:29.190 align:middle line:84% or things like Dungeons and Dragons. 00:01:29.190 --> 00:01:31.020 align:middle line:84% But there was going to be this assumption 00:01:31.020 --> 00:01:33.353 align:middle line:84% that if you are interested in something like war gaming, 00:01:33.353 --> 00:01:36.030 align:middle line:84% you're also interested in creating your own scenarios. 00:01:36.030 --> 00:01:39.120 align:middle line:84% You are already halfway a game designer. 00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:41.970 align:middle line:84% And so you have to keep all of these things in mind. 00:01:41.970 --> 00:01:43.780 align:middle line:84% Particularly if you're a game master, 00:01:43.780 --> 00:01:45.710 align:middle line:84% has anyone been like a dungeon master or a game master 00:01:45.710 --> 00:01:46.751 align:middle line:90% for a role playing group? 00:01:46.751 --> 00:01:47.285 align:middle line:90% OK. 00:01:47.285 --> 00:01:48.660 align:middle line:84% You're basically a game designer. 00:01:48.660 --> 00:01:49.000 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: Yeah 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:49.666 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Yeah. 00:01:49.666 --> 00:01:51.060 align:middle line:84% You know, you're taking rule sets 00:01:51.060 --> 00:01:52.530 align:middle line:84% that somebody else [? came up with ?] and cherry 00:01:52.530 --> 00:01:54.655 align:middle line:84% picking the stuff that you really want to work with 00:01:54.655 --> 00:01:56.580 align:middle line:84% and discarding the stuff that doesn't and then 00:01:56.580 --> 00:01:58.428 align:middle line:90% coming up with your own rules. 00:01:58.428 --> 00:02:01.470 align:middle line:90% 00:02:01.470 --> 00:02:03.334 align:middle line:84% So just as and example of reading, 00:02:03.334 --> 00:02:06.000 align:middle line:84% I believe this is the first time I've asked you to read anything 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:07.661 align:middle line:90% from the table top book? 00:02:07.661 --> 00:02:08.744 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: [? Tic a Tac. ?] 00:02:08.744 --> 00:02:09.699 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: [? Tic a Tac? ?] 00:02:09.699 --> 00:02:10.110 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: Yeah. 00:02:10.110 --> 00:02:10.830 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: OK, all right. 00:02:10.830 --> 00:02:12.120 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: You just ran this first. 00:02:12.120 --> 00:02:13.078 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: That's true. 00:02:13.078 --> 00:02:14.340 align:middle line:90% Yeah. 00:02:14.340 --> 00:02:16.270 align:middle line:84% But this particular piece of reading 00:02:16.270 --> 00:02:17.970 align:middle line:84% is also a nice little time capsule 00:02:17.970 --> 00:02:22.080 align:middle line:84% of how people used to write about game design. 00:02:22.080 --> 00:02:24.460 align:middle line:84% It's a fairly modern piece of writing it still 00:02:24.460 --> 00:02:26.670 align:middle line:90% has that same sort of style. 00:02:26.670 --> 00:02:28.710 align:middle line:84% So there's a lot of examples of, like, this 00:02:28.710 --> 00:02:31.140 align:middle line:84% is how this theoretical game is going to be played 00:02:31.140 --> 00:02:35.110 align:middle line:84% and I'm going to write it out completely in prose. 00:02:35.110 --> 00:02:40.960 align:middle line:84% And even when they refer to games that already exist, like, 00:02:40.960 --> 00:02:43.066 align:middle line:84% I believe they do cite [? Vinci, ?] at one point. 00:02:43.066 --> 00:02:43.940 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE] 00:02:43.940 --> 00:02:47.440 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: Yeah, again the game mechanics that they're 00:02:47.440 --> 00:02:49.337 align:middle line:90% discussing are all in prose. 00:02:49.337 --> 00:02:51.420 align:middle line:84% It's not like in point form or anything like that, 00:02:51.420 --> 00:02:54.212 align:middle line:90% it's just free prose. 00:02:54.212 --> 00:02:55.920 align:middle line:84% I don't think there's ever any assumption 00:02:55.920 --> 00:02:59.400 align:middle line:84% that if you contributed an essay for something 00:02:59.400 --> 00:03:02.010 align:middle line:84% like [? the Compleat ?] Strategist that 00:03:02.010 --> 00:03:05.350 align:middle line:84% diagrams that you included would be included in the magazine, 00:03:05.350 --> 00:03:05.850 align:middle line:90% right? 00:03:05.850 --> 00:03:08.400 align:middle line:84% Because a lot of people who actually created 00:03:08.400 --> 00:03:10.800 align:middle line:84% those essays weren't necessarily artists. 00:03:10.800 --> 00:03:14.310 align:middle line:84% And that's not to say that you didn't 00:03:14.310 --> 00:03:17.670 align:middle line:84% have diagrams in magazines like that, but it was expensive. 00:03:17.670 --> 00:03:19.710 align:middle line:84% This was before desktop publishing. 00:03:19.710 --> 00:03:22.650 align:middle line:84% So people just got really, really used 00:03:22.650 --> 00:03:25.637 align:middle line:84% to describing things in prose, describing core game mechanics 00:03:25.637 --> 00:03:27.720 align:middle line:84% in prose, not just in point form or bullet points. 00:03:27.720 --> 00:03:31.510 align:middle line:90% 00:03:31.510 --> 00:03:34.800 align:middle line:84% So there were basically two suggestions 00:03:34.800 --> 00:03:39.840 align:middle line:84% that he has on how to deal with the whole three player problem. 00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:42.540 align:middle line:90% 00:03:42.540 --> 00:03:46.620 align:middle line:84% Actually, before I get into it, can anyone quickly 00:03:46.620 --> 00:03:51.120 align:middle line:84% sum up what's the main problem with designing 00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:53.702 align:middle line:90% a game for three players? 00:03:53.702 --> 00:03:54.235 align:middle line:90% Your answer. 00:03:54.235 --> 00:03:56.193 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: Well, one of them was [? turning-- ?] 00:03:56.193 --> 00:03:56.818 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Mhm. 00:03:56.818 --> 00:03:58.840 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: --where two of the players 00:03:58.840 --> 00:04:01.612 align:middle line:84% sort of go at it for most of the game 00:04:01.612 --> 00:04:03.496 align:middle line:84% and then they weaken themselves, and then 00:04:03.496 --> 00:04:07.270 align:middle line:90% the third player [INAUDIBLE] 00:04:07.270 --> 00:04:09.250 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: OK, so, for a certain set 00:04:09.250 --> 00:04:12.790 align:middle line:84% of rules, that's one kind of strategy which encourages you 00:04:12.790 --> 00:04:15.050 align:middle line:84% to basically not interact with anybody else 00:04:15.050 --> 00:04:17.130 align:middle line:90% and then win the game, right? 00:04:17.130 --> 00:04:20.050 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: What I going to say is, 00:04:20.050 --> 00:04:22.190 align:middle line:84% this is where it's just one player chooses which 00:04:22.190 --> 00:04:23.440 align:middle line:90% of the other two players wins. 00:04:23.440 --> 00:04:26.670 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: Mhm, so I believe [? kingmating ?] 00:04:26.670 --> 00:04:30.340 align:middle line:84% was the name that was given to that. 00:04:30.340 --> 00:04:32.470 align:middle line:84% You may not be in a position to win 00:04:32.470 --> 00:04:37.280 align:middle line:84% the game but in a game with only three players, 00:04:37.280 --> 00:04:39.622 align:middle line:84% you might have enough influence to basically say, 00:04:39.622 --> 00:04:41.830 align:middle line:84% I don't like you, therefore you are not going to win. 00:04:41.830 --> 00:04:43.290 align:middle line:84% Therefore, the other person is going to win, 00:04:43.290 --> 00:04:44.290 align:middle line:90% even though I can't win. 00:04:44.290 --> 00:04:47.680 align:middle line:90% 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:51.780 align:middle line:84% There were a few more subtle problems that he described. 00:04:51.780 --> 00:04:53.950 align:middle line:90% Anyone remember any of them? 00:04:53.950 --> 00:04:57.240 align:middle line:90% 00:04:57.240 --> 00:04:58.250 align:middle line:90% [INAUDIBLE] Yes? 00:04:58.250 --> 00:04:59.625 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: Politics, so two people 00:04:59.625 --> 00:05:01.166 align:middle line:84% decide to team up on the other player 00:05:01.166 --> 00:05:02.750 align:middle line:84% and the other player really can't win. 00:05:02.750 --> 00:05:03.374 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Uh-- 00:05:03.374 --> 00:05:04.320 align:middle line:90% [INTERPOSING VOICES] 00:05:04.320 --> 00:05:06.850 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: --yeah, he brought that up. 00:05:06.850 --> 00:05:08.700 align:middle line:90% It does come up in reading. 00:05:08.700 --> 00:05:11.050 align:middle line:84% It's not necessarily described as a problem, 00:05:11.050 --> 00:05:14.340 align:middle line:84% but something that does happen and it happens often. 00:05:14.340 --> 00:05:20.550 align:middle line:84% So you either take advantage of it as a designer, 00:05:20.550 --> 00:05:23.630 align:middle line:84% or your game suffers because you hadn't thought about it, right? 00:05:23.630 --> 00:05:26.880 align:middle line:84% This whole idea of, somebody's in the lead and two people 00:05:26.880 --> 00:05:30.900 align:middle line:84% probably want to do a temporary alliance at the very least 00:05:30.900 --> 00:05:32.410 align:middle line:90% to take down that player. 00:05:32.410 --> 00:05:34.580 align:middle line:84% There was one called sandbagging and I actually 00:05:34.580 --> 00:05:36.554 align:middle line:84% am forgetting what that means here. 00:05:36.554 --> 00:05:39.237 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: If we could set that up, 00:05:39.237 --> 00:05:41.820 align:middle line:84% saying that you're [? doing ?] less well off than you actually 00:05:41.820 --> 00:05:42.200 align:middle line:90% are. 00:05:42.200 --> 00:05:43.033 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Oh, yeah. 00:05:43.033 --> 00:05:45.760 align:middle line:90% Pretending that you are-- 00:05:45.760 --> 00:05:47.930 align:middle line:90% like bordering on lying, right? 00:05:47.930 --> 00:05:51.770 align:middle line:84% It's like, no I'm not going to win the game in the next turn, 00:05:51.770 --> 00:05:55.140 align:middle line:84% don't worry about me, deal with him, he's scarier. 00:05:55.140 --> 00:06:01.070 align:middle line:84% And that sort subtle deceit where 00:06:01.070 --> 00:06:04.785 align:middle line:84% you have to actively conceal the fact that you are not 00:06:04.785 --> 00:06:05.670 align:middle line:90% in the lead. 00:06:05.670 --> 00:06:07.430 align:middle line:84% There are some games that say, all right, 00:06:07.430 --> 00:06:10.142 align:middle line:84% here are some ways that you can do that. 00:06:10.142 --> 00:06:13.850 align:middle line:84% I'm not sure, are [? we enough ?] for Crunch? 00:06:13.850 --> 00:06:14.650 align:middle line:90% I think we are. 00:06:14.650 --> 00:06:15.974 align:middle line:90% [INTERPOSING VOICES] 00:06:15.974 --> 00:06:16.640 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Yeah. 00:06:16.640 --> 00:06:19.580 align:middle line:84% So Crunch is a game about being a banker. 00:06:19.580 --> 00:06:22.760 align:middle line:84% You're trying to fill up your golden parachute 00:06:22.760 --> 00:06:26.300 align:middle line:84% before the market crashes, and you 00:06:26.300 --> 00:06:28.550 align:middle line:84% are encouraged to play the game in a three-piece suit 00:06:28.550 --> 00:06:31.570 align:middle line:84% so that you can actually actively hide cards. 00:06:31.570 --> 00:06:35.240 align:middle line:84% And the idea is that at the end of the game, 00:06:35.240 --> 00:06:38.195 align:middle line:84% the amount of money that you've managed to keep yourself 00:06:38.195 --> 00:06:40.690 align:middle line:84% for your own personal use, including any cards that you 00:06:40.690 --> 00:06:43.840 align:middle line:84% happen to [? have ?] on yourself, 00:06:43.840 --> 00:06:45.850 align:middle line:90% will win you the game. 00:06:45.850 --> 00:06:48.060 align:middle line:84% It's not about keeping your bank afloat, at all, 00:06:48.060 --> 00:06:51.850 align:middle line:84% it's all about leaving with the largest personal fortune. 00:06:51.850 --> 00:06:55.240 align:middle line:84% So it's a rye, satirical game, but one 00:06:55.240 --> 00:06:58.010 align:middle line:84% that actively encourages you to conceal 00:06:58.010 --> 00:06:59.170 align:middle line:90% how well you're performing. 00:06:59.170 --> 00:07:00.544 align:middle line:84% Now, it's a two-player game, it's 00:07:00.544 --> 00:07:04.310 align:middle line:84% not like a three-player game, so that you are also 00:07:04.310 --> 00:07:07.170 align:middle line:84% well aware that your opponent is doing the same sort of thing. 00:07:07.170 --> 00:07:09.260 align:middle line:84% You're just trying to do the best that you can in 00:07:09.260 --> 00:07:11.210 align:middle line:84% accumulating as much cash as possible 00:07:11.210 --> 00:07:13.430 align:middle line:84% because that's what's going to win you the game. 00:07:13.430 --> 00:07:15.290 align:middle line:84% But in the situation with three players, 00:07:15.290 --> 00:07:18.680 align:middle line:84% you can imagine a situation where someone could figure out 00:07:18.680 --> 00:07:22.070 align:middle line:84% that you're in the lead and that person can catch up. 00:07:22.070 --> 00:07:23.430 align:middle line:90% And what can you do? 00:07:23.430 --> 00:07:26.850 align:middle line:84% Like, pass cards to the player that you want to win, 00:07:26.850 --> 00:07:28.066 align:middle line:90% for instance? 00:07:28.066 --> 00:07:32.195 align:middle line:84% And that might be tough because someone might not 00:07:32.195 --> 00:07:35.486 align:middle line:84% be able to interfere with that process. 00:07:35.486 --> 00:07:41.450 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: In the game [? Junta ?] 00:07:41.450 --> 00:07:46.055 align:middle line:84% you're a politician in some Latin American banana republic, 00:07:46.055 --> 00:07:48.618 align:middle line:84% and your goal is to embezzle as much foreign aid 00:07:48.618 --> 00:07:50.580 align:middle line:90% money as possible. 00:07:50.580 --> 00:07:54.572 align:middle line:84% And one of the things is that, the number [INAUDIBLE] 00:07:54.572 --> 00:07:57.923 align:middle line:84% drawn each turn is variable, and only the president really 00:07:57.923 --> 00:08:03.500 align:middle line:84% knows, and so [INAUDIBLE] is that sometimes the president 00:08:03.500 --> 00:08:06.390 align:middle line:84% won't draw very much, which might cause people to launch 00:08:06.390 --> 00:08:08.890 align:middle line:84% a coup against him, because they think he's lying and taking 00:08:08.890 --> 00:08:09.860 align:middle line:84% a lot for himself and there scared 00:08:09.860 --> 00:08:11.195 align:middle line:90% he'll win for that reason. 00:08:11.195 --> 00:08:14.095 align:middle line:84% But, basically there's so much uncertainty 00:08:14.095 --> 00:08:15.220 align:middle line:90% about how much people have. 00:08:15.220 --> 00:08:17.790 align:middle line:84% It's not even computable how much people have in their-- 00:08:17.790 --> 00:08:18.800 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: It's Junta? 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:21.000 align:middle line:90% With a J, right? 00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:23.150 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: Yeah. 00:08:23.150 --> 00:08:25.430 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: So, [? this ?] [? is ?] [? be, ?] right? 00:08:25.430 --> 00:08:28.090 align:middle line:84% It sort of plays around with this idea 00:08:28.090 --> 00:08:32.330 align:middle line:84% that you have this dictator that seems 00:08:32.330 --> 00:08:34.220 align:middle line:84% to be amassing a large personal fortune, 00:08:34.220 --> 00:08:37.460 align:middle line:84% whether or not the dictator can be 00:08:37.460 --> 00:08:39.310 align:middle line:84% successful in a process of amassing 00:08:39.310 --> 00:08:43.039 align:middle line:84% a large personal fortune, that game is designed 00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:44.600 align:middle line:90% to paint a giant target. 00:08:44.600 --> 00:08:46.115 align:middle line:84% And we have another game here called 00:08:46.115 --> 00:08:51.080 align:middle line:84% King of Tokyo, which is basically giant monsters trying 00:08:51.080 --> 00:08:53.840 align:middle line:90% to take over Tokyo bay. 00:08:53.840 --> 00:08:59.270 align:middle line:84% Every sing generic giant robot, giant dinosaur, 00:08:59.270 --> 00:09:02.910 align:middle line:90% octopus thing, mecha dinosaur. 00:09:02.910 --> 00:09:06.560 align:middle line:84% And whoever happens to be a king of the hill at that point 00:09:06.560 --> 00:09:08.270 align:middle line:84% has a giant target on them, and the game 00:09:08.270 --> 00:09:10.040 align:middle line:84% mechanics all support that, that's 00:09:10.040 --> 00:09:13.260 align:middle line:90% what the game's all about. 00:09:13.260 --> 00:09:15.860 align:middle line:84% So those are some of the problems 00:09:15.860 --> 00:09:20.300 align:middle line:84% and he proposed two solution, not necessarily the only two 00:09:20.300 --> 00:09:22.940 align:middle line:84% solutions, but these are the ones that occur to him, 00:09:22.940 --> 00:09:28.560 align:middle line:84% particularly in war gaming, that might work. 00:09:28.560 --> 00:09:32.300 align:middle line:84% And they're actually kind of opposite ends of the spectrum. 00:09:32.300 --> 00:09:34.815 align:middle line:84% Does anyone remember one of the two solutions? 00:09:34.815 --> 00:09:36.180 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: Equilibrium? 00:09:36.180 --> 00:09:37.090 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Mhm. 00:09:37.090 --> 00:09:38.283 align:middle line:90% [INAUDIBLE] 00:09:38.283 --> 00:09:44.263 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: If one person gets ahead then they cannot be 00:09:44.263 --> 00:09:50.936 align:middle line:84% significantly defeated before they win the game. 00:09:50.936 --> 00:09:53.875 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: I think equilibrium was the opposite of that. 00:09:53.875 --> 00:09:54.666 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: Opposite? 00:09:54.666 --> 00:09:56.545 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: Yeah, so you've actually 00:09:56.545 --> 00:09:58.670 align:middle line:84% just completed two answers into one, which is good. 00:09:58.670 --> 00:10:03.100 align:middle line:84% [LAUGHTER] So, the equilibrium, if I recall correctly 00:10:03.100 --> 00:10:07.670 align:middle line:84% from the reading, the equilibrium design goal method 00:10:07.670 --> 00:10:11.050 align:middle line:84% that you can manage to design is taking advantage of things 00:10:11.050 --> 00:10:13.150 align:middle line:84% like the balance of power theory, which 00:10:13.150 --> 00:10:16.360 align:middle line:84% is, if there is a person who is clearly ahead, 00:10:16.360 --> 00:10:18.400 align:middle line:84% everybody else who is weaker is probably 00:10:18.400 --> 00:10:20.620 align:middle line:84% going to band up and take you down, 00:10:20.620 --> 00:10:23.980 align:middle line:84% and if you just balance the game in a certain way 00:10:23.980 --> 00:10:25.610 align:middle line:84% you give them the tools to do that, 00:10:25.610 --> 00:10:29.740 align:middle line:84% and that takes anyone who seems to be ahead back 00:10:29.740 --> 00:10:33.780 align:middle line:90% to a sort of equal power level. 00:10:33.780 --> 00:10:36.910 align:middle line:84% That's a balance of power theory is something 00:10:36.910 --> 00:10:38.450 align:middle line:90% from political science. 00:10:38.450 --> 00:10:39.950 align:middle line:84% I've only heard about it in passing. 00:10:39.950 --> 00:10:41.710 align:middle line:84% If there's anybody here who has taken political science 00:10:41.710 --> 00:10:44.320 align:middle line:84% classes, you can tell me if I'm getting this right or wrong. 00:10:44.320 --> 00:10:47.170 align:middle line:84% The whole thing is not a far fetched idea, right? 00:10:47.170 --> 00:10:51.810 align:middle line:84% If you've got a powerful nation other nations who 00:10:51.810 --> 00:10:56.320 align:middle line:84% are bordering that powerful nation 00:10:56.320 --> 00:10:59.170 align:middle line:84% are likely to either team up with the powerful nation, 00:10:59.170 --> 00:11:02.990 align:middle line:84% or more likely to band their [? nations ?] together, 00:11:02.990 --> 00:11:04.990 align:middle line:84% even though they may not be ideologically linked 00:11:04.990 --> 00:11:05.810 align:middle line:90% or anything. 00:11:05.810 --> 00:11:09.280 align:middle line:84% They're ideologically linked against the powerful nation, 00:11:09.280 --> 00:11:13.390 align:middle line:90% so same thing goes for players. 00:11:13.390 --> 00:11:17.730 align:middle line:84% So basically it comes down to giving everybody the tool 00:11:17.730 --> 00:11:25.000 align:middle line:84% to take down the leader a notch, and does restore everything 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:28.000 align:middle line:90% to a sort of equilibrium state. 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:31.450 align:middle line:84% And then your success criteria for the game 00:11:31.450 --> 00:11:35.431 align:middle line:84% probably isn't who is going to gain such a massive leap, 00:11:35.431 --> 00:11:37.555 align:middle line:84% because the game isn't deliberately really designed 00:11:37.555 --> 00:11:39.790 align:middle line:84% to wait for everything to equilibrium, 00:11:39.790 --> 00:11:43.420 align:middle line:84% you need to have some other kinds of success criteria. 00:11:43.420 --> 00:11:45.460 align:middle line:84% Maybe the game is time limited, for instance, 00:11:45.460 --> 00:11:48.370 align:middle line:84% maybe the game has different goals for each player, 00:11:48.370 --> 00:11:50.110 align:middle line:90% or something. 00:11:50.110 --> 00:11:53.530 align:middle line:84% So even though your power levels are about the same 00:11:53.530 --> 00:11:57.560 align:middle line:84% you might be able to get victory points on some things 00:11:57.560 --> 00:11:58.710 align:middle line:90% faster than others. 00:11:58.710 --> 00:12:02.060 align:middle line:90% 00:12:02.060 --> 00:12:03.970 align:middle line:84% The alternative, which you hinted at, 00:12:03.970 --> 00:12:08.050 align:middle line:84% which was, basically, making it difficult to take down 00:12:08.050 --> 00:12:10.130 align:middle line:84% the person who's in the lead once they're already 00:12:10.130 --> 00:12:10.990 align:middle line:90% in the lead. 00:12:10.990 --> 00:12:15.070 align:middle line:90% 00:12:15.070 --> 00:12:17.290 align:middle line:84% He had one very specific implementation 00:12:17.290 --> 00:12:25.806 align:middle line:84% of this, or one particular rule of thumb, on how effective must 00:12:25.806 --> 00:12:28.079 align:middle line:84% a person in the lead be in order to prevent 00:12:28.079 --> 00:12:29.620 align:middle line:84% the king making, and sandbagging, and 00:12:29.620 --> 00:12:31.876 align:middle line:90% [? turtling, ?] and everything. 00:12:31.876 --> 00:12:34.750 align:middle line:90% Remember this? 00:12:34.750 --> 00:12:37.150 align:middle line:90% Remember? 00:12:37.150 --> 00:12:41.740 align:middle line:84% The basic idea is that you must be able to do it in one turn, 00:12:41.740 --> 00:12:44.414 align:middle line:90% in a single turn. 00:12:44.414 --> 00:12:45.830 align:middle line:84% If you are in the lead, you should 00:12:45.830 --> 00:12:48.540 align:middle line:84% be able to complete the game and win the game in a single turn. 00:12:48.540 --> 00:12:51.490 align:middle line:84% I'm not so sure whether I agree with that. 00:12:51.490 --> 00:12:54.320 align:middle line:84% And I don't think he means win it on your turn. 00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:58.370 align:middle line:84% I think it means in a round of people. 00:12:58.370 --> 00:13:00.950 align:middle line:84% If you're in the lead in the game, 00:13:00.950 --> 00:13:03.620 align:middle line:84% you should be able to do something to cement that lead 00:13:03.620 --> 00:13:06.260 align:middle line:84% so that within that turn no one's going to be able to do 00:13:06.260 --> 00:13:09.890 align:middle line:84% anything about [? changing ?] the [? turnout of ?] the game. 00:13:09.890 --> 00:13:13.580 align:middle line:84% This is for games where there is a clear win 00:13:13.580 --> 00:13:18.380 align:middle line:84% condition that is based on overpowering your opponents. 00:13:18.380 --> 00:13:21.430 align:middle line:84% That you don't want to have the situation where, 00:13:21.430 --> 00:13:24.620 align:middle line:84% yeah, I'm in the lead but everybody else still 00:13:24.620 --> 00:13:29.120 align:middle line:84% has enough time to take me down to the point 00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:32.510 align:middle line:84% that somebody else can then catch up and be in the lead, 00:13:32.510 --> 00:13:36.530 align:middle line:84% because that basically means that the first person 00:13:36.530 --> 00:13:43.040 align:middle line:84% to get in the lead will probably lose, and that's sad. 00:13:43.040 --> 00:13:47.996 align:middle line:84% But we see that in certain computer games. 00:13:47.996 --> 00:13:51.560 align:middle line:84% We've seen games where whoever who is in the lead 00:13:51.560 --> 00:13:53.510 align:middle line:84% has a giant target painted on their back 00:13:53.510 --> 00:13:56.507 align:middle line:84% and you're expected to be taken down. 00:13:56.507 --> 00:13:57.965 align:middle line:84% If you're the first one in the lead 00:13:57.965 --> 00:14:00.440 align:middle line:84% you are probably going to get hit, but then that now 00:14:00.440 --> 00:14:03.160 align:middle line:84% [? there's ?] enough time to be able to pull ahead. 00:14:03.160 --> 00:14:07.340 align:middle line:84% So that's closer to the equilibrium style, right? 00:14:07.340 --> 00:14:09.420 align:middle line:84% So I think I heard someone give-- 00:14:09.420 --> 00:14:10.520 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: Oh, Mario Kart. 00:14:10.520 --> 00:14:13.560 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: Mario Kart being the obvious one. 00:14:13.560 --> 00:14:16.850 align:middle line:84% You get increasingly powerful weapons the further behind you 00:14:16.850 --> 00:14:18.980 align:middle line:90% get, or useful things. 00:14:18.980 --> 00:14:23.480 align:middle line:84% There's an example in this book here, the Rules of Play-- 00:14:23.480 --> 00:14:28.380 align:middle line:90% this is the hardback version-- 00:14:28.380 --> 00:14:30.900 align:middle line:90% of Super Monkey Ball. 00:14:30.900 --> 00:14:33.740 align:middle line:84% And, basically, all their weapons face forward. 00:14:33.740 --> 00:14:37.530 align:middle line:84% So again, number one, you can only shoot forward, 00:14:37.530 --> 00:14:40.340 align:middle line:84% there's nothing to shoot, there's nobody ahead of you. 00:14:40.340 --> 00:14:42.890 align:middle line:84% It's not actually a technical disadvantage, 00:14:42.890 --> 00:14:45.480 align:middle line:84% it's not like a weapon that slows you down, 00:14:45.480 --> 00:14:47.256 align:middle line:90% but it's useless thing. 00:14:47.256 --> 00:14:48.922 align:middle line:84% You get these powerups that are useless. 00:14:48.922 --> 00:14:51.630 align:middle line:90% 00:14:51.630 --> 00:14:57.860 align:middle line:84% So a lot of these feed into a different way 00:14:57.860 --> 00:15:01.610 align:middle line:84% of looking at games that is a very formal, very 00:15:01.610 --> 00:15:04.070 align:middle line:84% [? technique, ?] and one day you've probably heard 00:15:04.070 --> 00:15:05.840 align:middle line:84% of, mentioned multiple times in this class 00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:07.548 align:middle line:84% and in other classes, as well, and that's 00:15:07.548 --> 00:15:09.070 align:middle line:90% just feedback systems. 00:15:09.070 --> 00:15:11.990 align:middle line:84% I don't care about UI feedback, I'm talking about feedback 00:15:11.990 --> 00:15:13.860 align:middle line:84% from the cybernetic [? sense. ?] Anyone 00:15:13.860 --> 00:15:17.394 align:middle line:84% here has heard about cybernetics from another class? 00:15:17.394 --> 00:15:18.216 align:middle line:90% Yeah. 00:15:18.216 --> 00:15:20.340 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: Oh, I was going with the feedback systems 00:15:20.340 --> 00:15:21.822 align:middle line:84% that you used in your other class, 00:15:21.822 --> 00:15:23.530 align:middle line:84% like we did [? in the engineering one. ?] 00:15:23.530 --> 00:15:24.470 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Yeah, yeah. 00:15:24.470 --> 00:15:25.970 align:middle line:84% I definitely brought it up in there. 00:15:25.970 --> 00:15:27.500 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: Yeah, where you had a forward feedback 00:15:27.500 --> 00:15:29.110 align:middle line:84% system and a backward feedback system, and, basically-- 00:15:29.110 --> 00:15:30.303 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: Mhm, positive and negative. 00:15:30.303 --> 00:15:30.656 align:middle line:90% Yeah. 00:15:30.656 --> 00:15:32.447 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: --If you were winning, you either 00:15:32.447 --> 00:15:37.476 align:middle line:84% start winning by more, or your losing, you start to catch up. 00:15:37.476 --> 00:15:40.512 align:middle line:90% For example, [INAUDIBLE] 00:15:40.512 --> 00:15:41.220 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Right. 00:15:41.220 --> 00:15:45.310 align:middle line:84% So, the whole basic idea of cybernetics 00:15:45.310 --> 00:15:49.770 align:middle line:84% is based on, sort of, automated control. 00:15:49.770 --> 00:15:52.950 align:middle line:84% You create systems, mechanical or electronic, or with a set 00:15:52.950 --> 00:15:58.270 align:middle line:84% of rules that basically are going to either accelerate 00:15:58.270 --> 00:16:06.590 align:middle line:84% or snowball the performance of the system, 00:16:06.590 --> 00:16:09.720 align:middle line:90% or bring it back to equilibrium. 00:16:09.720 --> 00:16:12.450 align:middle line:84% If this sounds very familiar to something [? Mech-E ?] 00:16:12.450 --> 00:16:15.230 align:middle line:84% or [? EE ?] or something, that's completely expected 00:16:15.230 --> 00:16:18.720 align:middle line:84% because this all originally came from that. 00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:22.440 align:middle line:84% So, the basic model is that you have 00:16:22.440 --> 00:16:27.710 align:middle line:84% some sort of sensor, something that detects 00:16:27.710 --> 00:16:29.020 align:middle line:90% an environmental change. 00:16:29.020 --> 00:16:33.690 align:middle line:84% It could be something that detects the state of your game, 00:16:33.690 --> 00:16:36.870 align:middle line:84% some way of telling you this is the current state 00:16:36.870 --> 00:16:38.360 align:middle line:90% that you're looking at. 00:16:38.360 --> 00:16:42.070 align:middle line:90% Then goes to a comparator-- 00:16:42.070 --> 00:16:44.230 align:middle line:84% which needs more space because it's 00:16:44.230 --> 00:16:47.553 align:middle line:90% a longer word, comparator-- 00:16:47.553 --> 00:16:51.370 align:middle line:84% which performs some sort of logical assessment 00:16:51.370 --> 00:16:55.345 align:middle line:84% on the state of the system that you're looking at. 00:16:55.345 --> 00:17:02.970 align:middle line:84% And then you're going to an actuator, which 00:17:02.970 --> 00:17:04.330 align:middle line:90% performs some sort of action. 00:17:04.330 --> 00:17:06.300 align:middle line:84% And it's called feedback because the thing just 00:17:06.300 --> 00:17:09.040 align:middle line:90% keeps feeding back, all right? 00:17:09.040 --> 00:17:12.290 align:middle line:84% Real life systems that do this, what 00:17:12.290 --> 00:17:15.349 align:middle line:84% are some of the simplest real-life systems that do this, 00:17:15.349 --> 00:17:21.832 align:middle line:84% electronically or mechanically, without human intervention? 00:17:21.832 --> 00:17:22.915 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: Washing machine. 00:17:22.915 --> 00:17:23.980 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Washing machine? 00:17:23.980 --> 00:17:24.855 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: Thermostat. 00:17:24.855 --> 00:17:26.589 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Thermostat. 00:17:26.589 --> 00:17:27.480 align:middle line:90% Washing machine? 00:17:27.480 --> 00:17:29.690 align:middle line:84% That would watch water levels I think, right? 00:17:29.690 --> 00:17:31.690 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: Well, the [INAUDIBLE] 00:17:31.690 --> 00:17:32.980 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Oh, yeah, yeah. 00:17:32.980 --> 00:17:34.950 align:middle line:90% That's true. 00:17:34.950 --> 00:17:39.790 align:middle line:84% So, thermostat, things get too hot, turn on the cooling system 00:17:39.790 --> 00:17:42.810 align:middle line:90% or shut off the heating system. 00:17:42.810 --> 00:17:46.290 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: Wonder if that emergency [INAUDIBLE] 00:17:46.290 --> 00:17:47.165 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Emergency? 00:17:47.165 --> 00:17:51.657 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE] There's a hole at the top of sinks where 00:17:51.657 --> 00:17:52.564 align:middle line:90% if the water-- 00:17:52.564 --> 00:17:53.230 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Yeah. 00:17:53.230 --> 00:17:53.976 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE] 00:17:53.976 --> 00:17:54.642 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Yeah. 00:17:54.642 --> 00:17:59.836 align:middle line:84% The sensors, whether the water has actually hit that hole. 00:17:59.836 --> 00:18:04.550 align:middle line:84% [INAUDIBLE] I guess the sensor is the level of the water, 00:18:04.550 --> 00:18:06.956 align:middle line:84% the comparator is the height of the hole, 00:18:06.956 --> 00:18:09.455 align:middle line:84% and then the actuator is if it's at the height of the whole, 00:18:09.455 --> 00:18:10.632 align:middle line:90% go out the hole, right? 00:18:10.632 --> 00:18:12.090 align:middle line:84% So, it's actually just like physics 00:18:12.090 --> 00:18:13.984 align:middle line:84% is the entire system for you, but it's 00:18:13.984 --> 00:18:15.900 align:middle line:84% engineered in a way to take advantage of that. 00:18:15.900 --> 00:18:17.280 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: Systems like autopilot. 00:18:17.280 --> 00:18:20.320 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: Mhm, keeping you on the path 00:18:20.320 --> 00:18:22.370 align:middle line:84% that you're supposed to be on, always just doing 00:18:22.370 --> 00:18:24.207 align:middle line:90% minute little corrections. 00:18:24.207 --> 00:18:26.540 align:middle line:84% The majority of these things are real-world applications 00:18:26.540 --> 00:18:29.495 align:middle line:84% of these negative feedback systems. 00:18:29.495 --> 00:18:32.814 align:middle line:90% 00:18:32.814 --> 00:18:37.310 align:middle line:84% And the idea is that if there is a change in one direction, 00:18:37.310 --> 00:18:38.760 align:middle line:90% pull it back. 00:18:38.760 --> 00:18:42.980 align:middle line:84% If goes in the other direction pull it forward 00:18:42.980 --> 00:18:49.180 align:middle line:84% so it always hovers around the same point. 00:18:49.180 --> 00:18:51.870 align:middle line:84% These are deliberately designed systems 00:18:51.870 --> 00:18:54.240 align:middle line:90% trying to do this all the time. 00:18:54.240 --> 00:18:57.150 align:middle line:84% But there are a lot of real-world systems 00:18:57.150 --> 00:18:58.816 align:middle line:90% that do the opposite, right? 00:18:58.816 --> 00:19:01.828 align:middle line:90% 00:19:01.828 --> 00:19:03.820 align:middle line:90% Stuff that snowballs. 00:19:03.820 --> 00:19:08.510 align:middle line:84% For instance, a snowball rolling down the hill. 00:19:08.510 --> 00:19:12.730 align:middle line:84% As it goes down it gets larger and it makes it slightly easier 00:19:12.730 --> 00:19:15.520 align:middle line:90% to continue rolling. 00:19:15.520 --> 00:19:18.080 align:middle line:84% I think some of the area in contact to snow 00:19:18.080 --> 00:19:21.556 align:middle line:84% actually decreases by a proper ratio 00:19:21.556 --> 00:19:24.100 align:middle line:84% [? required ?] to make it easier to keep going. 00:19:24.100 --> 00:19:27.720 align:middle line:84% It picks up more snow and gets larger and larger. 00:19:27.720 --> 00:19:30.060 align:middle line:84% Another positive feedback system in the real world? 00:19:30.060 --> 00:19:31.893 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: I don't know the name of the game, 00:19:31.893 --> 00:19:34.287 align:middle line:84% but there's this [INAUDIBLE] game where 00:19:34.287 --> 00:19:35.495 align:middle line:90% you start off as an asteroid. 00:19:35.495 --> 00:19:36.770 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: [? Astrobrah. ?] 00:19:36.770 --> 00:19:37.978 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: Is that what it is? 00:19:37.978 --> 00:19:40.536 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Astro-what? 00:19:40.536 --> 00:19:41.460 align:middle line:90% [INAUDIBLE] 00:19:41.460 --> 00:19:43.865 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: You start off as a small asteroid, 00:19:43.865 --> 00:19:47.232 align:middle line:84% and what happens is you meet other small asteroids 00:19:47.232 --> 00:19:50.130 align:middle line:84% and you grow up to be a planet, and then, at that point, 00:19:50.130 --> 00:19:53.487 align:middle line:84% asteroids become fairly easy to gobble up, 00:19:53.487 --> 00:19:55.820 align:middle line:84% but you want to go after other smaller planets than you, 00:19:55.820 --> 00:19:59.628 align:middle line:84% and then [INAUDIBLE] and then keep on getting bigger 00:19:59.628 --> 00:20:00.957 align:middle line:90% until you become a black hole. 00:20:00.957 --> 00:20:01.540 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Hm. 00:20:01.540 --> 00:20:02.220 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: And then, eventually you 00:20:02.220 --> 00:20:04.860 align:middle line:84% get so large that you can just eat everything up afterwards. 00:20:04.860 --> 00:20:07.400 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: There are two games that reminds me of. 00:20:07.400 --> 00:20:11.485 align:middle line:84% One is Orbital, which was a Nintendo game. 00:20:11.485 --> 00:20:12.570 align:middle line:90% Do you know? 00:20:12.570 --> 00:20:13.695 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: Wait, which one? 00:20:13.695 --> 00:20:14.820 align:middle line:90% Which game were you saying? 00:20:14.820 --> 00:20:16.860 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: That sounds like Katamari Damacy. 00:20:16.860 --> 00:20:18.342 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: It sounds like Katamari Damacy. 00:20:18.342 --> 00:20:20.133 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: I think that sounds like a genre. 00:20:20.133 --> 00:20:20.802 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Yeah. 00:20:20.802 --> 00:20:23.340 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: So, get bigger so you can get bigger. 00:20:23.340 --> 00:20:25.028 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Yeah. 00:20:25.028 --> 00:20:27.010 align:middle line:90% Let's see. 00:20:27.010 --> 00:20:31.597 align:middle line:84% What's the game done by Andy Nealen? 00:20:31.597 --> 00:20:32.722 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: [? Orthos? ?] No. 00:20:32.722 --> 00:20:33.674 align:middle line:90% Osmos. 00:20:33.674 --> 00:20:34.975 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Osmos. 00:20:34.975 --> 00:20:40.950 align:middle line:84% Yeah, I think that's a PC and portable device game. 00:20:40.950 --> 00:20:44.020 align:middle line:84% So, Osmos is an interesting situation 00:20:44.020 --> 00:20:47.350 align:middle line:84% because yes, the bigger you get, the bigger you can get, 00:20:47.350 --> 00:20:50.080 align:middle line:84% because the idea of Osmos is like you're just 00:20:50.080 --> 00:20:53.970 align:middle line:84% a little amoeba-like blob, so asteroid, amoeba-like blob. 00:20:53.970 --> 00:20:55.820 align:middle line:84% You can eat anything smaller than you, 00:20:55.820 --> 00:20:57.880 align:middle line:84% and everything that you eat makes you bigger, 00:20:57.880 --> 00:20:59.750 align:middle line:84% so you can eat even bigger things. 00:20:59.750 --> 00:21:01.810 align:middle line:84% But actually it makes it more difficult for you 00:21:01.810 --> 00:21:04.830 align:middle line:84% to navigate because you're more massive now. 00:21:04.830 --> 00:21:07.780 align:middle line:84% So you actually have both negative and positive loops 00:21:07.780 --> 00:21:09.187 align:middle line:90% going on at once. 00:21:09.187 --> 00:21:10.770 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: I have another possible one. 00:21:10.770 --> 00:21:11.730 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Mhm? 00:21:11.730 --> 00:21:12.462 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: Bombs. 00:21:12.462 --> 00:21:13.170 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Bombs? 00:21:13.170 --> 00:21:15.720 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: Yeah, because then [INAUDIBLE] exploding and-- 00:21:15.720 --> 00:21:17.570 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: It makes other things explode? 00:21:17.570 --> 00:21:20.594 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: Well there's that, but there's also some bombs where-- 00:21:20.594 --> 00:21:21.600 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: Nuclear bombs. 00:21:21.600 --> 00:21:22.850 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: Yeah, nuclear bombs. 00:21:22.850 --> 00:21:26.320 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: Oh, so like you're using an atomic bomb to set off 00:21:26.320 --> 00:21:27.820 align:middle line:84% a hydrogen bomb, that sort of thing? 00:21:27.820 --> 00:21:28.550 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: Something like that. 00:21:28.550 --> 00:21:29.430 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: OK, yeah. 00:21:29.430 --> 00:21:33.213 align:middle line:90% 00:21:33.213 --> 00:21:39.670 align:middle line:84% Positive feedback often happens in military conflict, right? 00:21:39.670 --> 00:21:47.740 align:middle line:84% If you've got overwhelming forces every engagement just 00:21:47.740 --> 00:21:52.450 align:middle line:84% makes the ratio, if everything goes according 00:21:52.450 --> 00:21:55.560 align:middle line:84% to military doctrine, every engagement 00:21:55.560 --> 00:21:58.920 align:middle line:84% is going to give you yet a greater advantage. 00:21:58.920 --> 00:22:02.050 align:middle line:90% [INAUDIBLE] 00:22:02.050 --> 00:22:05.960 align:middle line:84% So, the way this has been applied in games is-- 00:22:05.960 --> 00:22:09.100 align:middle line:90% just to make it literal-- 00:22:09.100 --> 00:22:13.390 align:middle line:84% you have some sort of state of the game. 00:22:13.390 --> 00:22:14.590 align:middle line:90% Am I getting this right? 00:22:14.590 --> 00:22:15.699 align:middle line:90% Yeah. 00:22:15.699 --> 00:22:16.990 align:middle line:90% You have the state of the game. 00:22:16.990 --> 00:22:20.820 align:middle line:90% 00:22:20.820 --> 00:22:23.150 align:middle line:84% Wait, hold on, let me just make sure I've 00:22:23.150 --> 00:22:24.290 align:middle line:90% got this perfectly right. 00:22:24.290 --> 00:22:26.020 align:middle line:90% Here we go. 00:22:26.020 --> 00:22:27.644 align:middle line:84% You have some sort of scoring function. 00:22:27.644 --> 00:22:30.440 align:middle line:90% 00:22:30.440 --> 00:22:32.470 align:middle line:84% It doesn't have to be the literal score, 00:22:32.470 --> 00:22:35.740 align:middle line:84% but it has to be some way of assessing how close you 00:22:35.740 --> 00:22:37.600 align:middle line:90% are to some sort of goal. 00:22:37.600 --> 00:22:40.370 align:middle line:84% So either the short term goal or the overall goal 00:22:40.370 --> 00:22:44.780 align:middle line:84% of the game, some sort of scoring function. 00:22:44.780 --> 00:22:51.030 align:middle line:84% And that goes into some set of [? prior ?] input. 00:22:51.030 --> 00:22:56.110 align:middle line:90% 00:22:56.110 --> 00:22:58.740 align:middle line:84% There are some versions of this diagram that separate this 00:22:58.740 --> 00:23:02.640 align:middle line:84% into two things, that's kind of like the player decides 00:23:02.640 --> 00:23:05.040 align:middle line:84% what they're going to do and then actually executes 00:23:05.040 --> 00:23:07.260 align:middle line:90% the input. 00:23:07.260 --> 00:23:10.260 align:middle line:84% Actually, there is one more stage, sorry. 00:23:10.260 --> 00:23:13.647 align:middle line:90% 00:23:13.647 --> 00:23:15.480 align:middle line:84% There is one more stage, and that's the kind 00:23:15.480 --> 00:23:17.200 align:middle line:90% of the mechanical bias. 00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:24.000 align:middle line:90% 00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:26.600 align:middle line:84% So the state of the game can be revealed in some sort 00:23:26.600 --> 00:23:27.770 align:middle line:90% of scoring function. 00:23:27.770 --> 00:23:30.860 align:middle line:84% A player assesses what they want to do 00:23:30.860 --> 00:23:33.470 align:middle line:90% and then tries to execute it. 00:23:33.470 --> 00:23:37.280 align:middle line:84% That is filtered within the computer's or the board game's 00:23:37.280 --> 00:23:39.290 align:middle line:84% or the card game's interpretation of what 00:23:39.290 --> 00:23:42.290 align:middle line:84% that input is going to do, and then that feeds back 00:23:42.290 --> 00:23:44.840 align:middle line:90% into game state, right? 00:23:44.840 --> 00:23:48.170 align:middle line:84% So for games like Mario Kart, you 00:23:48.170 --> 00:23:52.250 align:middle line:84% perceive that you are doing badly 00:23:52.250 --> 00:24:01.480 align:middle line:84% because you are the last one at the back of the races. 00:24:01.480 --> 00:24:06.200 align:middle line:84% You drive your vehicle into one of those rotating boxes 00:24:06.200 --> 00:24:08.920 align:middle line:84% because you're deliberately steering to them 00:24:08.920 --> 00:24:11.760 align:middle line:84% because they're probably your only chance 00:24:11.760 --> 00:24:13.880 align:middle line:90% to be able to catch up again. 00:24:13.880 --> 00:24:16.249 align:middle line:84% You get usually something really, 00:24:16.249 --> 00:24:18.165 align:middle line:84% really sweet because you're all the way behind 00:24:18.165 --> 00:24:20.060 align:middle line:84% and the way the game is designed, 00:24:20.060 --> 00:24:24.220 align:middle line:84% if you're all the way behind you get all the best toys. 00:24:24.220 --> 00:24:26.470 align:middle line:84% Every single tool that you need to be able to catch up 00:24:26.470 --> 00:24:28.678 align:middle line:84% is given to you when you are all the way at the back. 00:24:28.678 --> 00:24:30.590 align:middle line:84% That's the mechanic bias, all right? 00:24:30.590 --> 00:24:32.182 align:middle line:84% It gives you the right tool and that 00:24:32.182 --> 00:24:34.640 align:middle line:84% affects game state because now you have this wonderful tool 00:24:34.640 --> 00:24:37.630 align:middle line:84% and you use it, hopefully it works, and then 00:24:37.630 --> 00:24:39.771 align:middle line:84% you gain a couple of places up in the race. 00:24:39.771 --> 00:24:42.530 align:middle line:90% 00:24:42.530 --> 00:24:46.070 align:middle line:84% So, there are a couple of other examples 00:24:46.070 --> 00:24:47.940 align:middle line:90% that are a little bit clearer. 00:24:47.940 --> 00:24:51.280 align:middle line:90% So, say, basketball. 00:24:51.280 --> 00:24:53.270 align:middle line:84% If you've got a situation where you've 00:24:53.270 --> 00:24:55.880 align:middle line:84% got five people on each side, you 00:24:55.880 --> 00:24:59.360 align:middle line:84% could do a game where if you start 00:24:59.360 --> 00:25:07.740 align:middle line:84% to have a lead of five points, you lose a player. 00:25:07.740 --> 00:25:09.672 align:middle line:90% Someone's benched. 00:25:09.672 --> 00:25:15.262 align:middle line:84% [LAUGHTER] So is that negative or is positive? 00:25:15.262 --> 00:25:16.684 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: Negative. 00:25:16.684 --> 00:25:18.100 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: That's negative, right? 00:25:18.100 --> 00:25:20.690 align:middle line:84% Because you're saying, all right, you 00:25:20.690 --> 00:25:23.660 align:middle line:84% are far enough ahead, we're going to take away 00:25:23.660 --> 00:25:25.970 align:middle line:90% one of the advantages. 00:25:25.970 --> 00:25:28.210 align:middle line:84% Is there another way to do negative feedback 00:25:28.210 --> 00:25:29.810 align:middle line:90% on that example? 00:25:29.810 --> 00:25:31.576 align:middle line:90% Instead of taking away a player? 00:25:31.576 --> 00:25:32.470 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: Add another player to the others. 00:25:32.470 --> 00:25:35.330 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: You could add another player to the other side. 00:25:35.330 --> 00:25:38.990 align:middle line:84% That's also negative feedback, even though you're 00:25:38.990 --> 00:25:40.940 align:middle line:84% adding something, what you're really 00:25:40.940 --> 00:25:44.180 align:middle line:84% doing is you're going to give an advantage to someone who's not 00:25:44.180 --> 00:25:48.150 align:middle line:84% doing so well, and that's trying to bring things to equilibrium. 00:25:48.150 --> 00:25:50.932 align:middle line:84% The positive feedback version of this would be-- 00:25:50.932 --> 00:25:54.750 align:middle line:84% [LAUGHTER] [INTERPOSING VOICES] What? 00:25:54.750 --> 00:25:56.629 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: Turn the three-point line 00:25:56.629 --> 00:25:58.045 align:middle line:84% into a four-point line [INAUDIBLE] 00:25:58.045 --> 00:25:59.096 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Oh, OK. 00:25:59.096 --> 00:25:59.595 align:middle line:90% All right. 00:25:59.595 --> 00:26:00.948 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: Every time you score a point 00:26:00.948 --> 00:26:02.250 align:middle line:90% the other team loses a player. 00:26:02.250 --> 00:26:03.510 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Yeah, OK. 00:26:03.510 --> 00:26:04.369 align:middle line:90% [LAUGHTER] 00:26:04.369 --> 00:26:05.952 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: Do you ever play basketball? 00:26:05.952 --> 00:26:08.730 align:middle line:90% [LAUGHTER] 00:26:08.730 --> 00:26:10.200 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: I was thinking something 00:26:10.200 --> 00:26:13.070 align:middle line:84% more literal like just giving the team that's 00:26:13.070 --> 00:26:14.570 align:middle line:90% ahead extra players. 00:26:14.570 --> 00:26:17.030 align:middle line:90% Right, that's right. 00:26:17.030 --> 00:26:18.830 align:middle line:84% You could do it, every five point that you 00:26:18.830 --> 00:26:20.110 align:middle line:90% get, you get one more player. 00:26:20.110 --> 00:26:22.080 align:middle line:84% Then pretty soon you've got two more players, then pretty 00:26:22.080 --> 00:26:23.973 align:middle line:84% soon you've got three more players, and then-- 00:26:23.973 --> 00:26:25.270 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: Pretty soon you have too many players. 00:26:25.270 --> 00:26:27.832 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: --and then you just have more people than anyone 00:26:27.832 --> 00:26:30.290 align:middle line:84% can move on a basketball court, and as a result of that you 00:26:30.290 --> 00:26:31.890 align:middle line:90% kind of win by default. 00:26:31.890 --> 00:26:34.057 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: Some game have a similar mechanism, 00:26:34.057 --> 00:26:36.390 align:middle line:84% like, somebody's on fire, they make three shot in a row, 00:26:36.390 --> 00:26:39.140 align:middle line:84% and all of a sudden they're just way better at playing. 00:26:39.140 --> 00:26:41.805 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: They run faster, they jump a little higher. 00:26:41.805 --> 00:26:44.069 align:middle line:84% Yeah, and the computer games can totally do that. 00:26:44.069 --> 00:26:45.402 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE] [LAUGHTER] 00:26:45.402 --> 00:26:50.182 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: Well-- [INTERPOSING VOICES] 00:26:50.182 --> 00:26:52.384 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: Being on fire is the same as momentum. 00:26:52.384 --> 00:26:53.050 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Yeah. 00:26:53.050 --> 00:26:54.110 align:middle line:90% Yeah. 00:26:54.110 --> 00:26:56.500 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: Statistically, if you're throwing a good game 00:26:56.500 --> 00:26:59.746 align:middle line:84% and you're doing more and more pitches, better 00:26:59.746 --> 00:27:02.669 align:middle line:84% and better pitches, you are playing better. 00:27:02.669 --> 00:27:04.460 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: But I'm wondering whether that's 00:27:04.460 --> 00:27:05.930 align:middle line:90% correlation or causation. 00:27:05.930 --> 00:27:07.970 align:middle line:84% Is the reason why you're doing better because-- 00:27:07.970 --> 00:27:10.137 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: Right now they're thinking it's causation. 00:27:10.137 --> 00:27:11.219 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: It's causation? 00:27:11.219 --> 00:27:12.370 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: They thinking it. 00:27:12.370 --> 00:27:14.229 align:middle line:84% There's a new study that just came out. 00:27:14.229 --> 00:27:15.770 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: But it definitely comes up 00:27:15.770 --> 00:27:18.430 align:middle line:90% in sports psychology, right? 00:27:18.430 --> 00:27:23.320 align:middle line:84% You're sort of building on the mental momentum of doing well. 00:27:23.320 --> 00:27:28.330 align:middle line:84% And similarly a team that's not doing well can lose hope. 00:27:28.330 --> 00:27:30.590 align:middle line:84% Again, that's positive feedback, I just 00:27:30.590 --> 00:27:33.030 align:middle line:84% want to be extremely clear about the use of positive, 00:27:33.030 --> 00:27:37.700 align:middle line:84% if there's anything that amplifies differences 00:27:37.700 --> 00:27:40.710 align:middle line:90% that already exist. 00:27:40.710 --> 00:27:45.620 align:middle line:84% So, there are a couple of things to think 00:27:45.620 --> 00:27:49.250 align:middle line:84% about when it comes to feedback, especially as a problem solving 00:27:49.250 --> 00:27:51.950 align:middle line:90% technique for design. 00:27:51.950 --> 00:27:55.640 align:middle line:84% We've already talked about how negative feedback tries 00:27:55.640 --> 00:27:57.650 align:middle line:84% to bring things down to equilibrium, 00:27:57.650 --> 00:28:00.150 align:middle line:90% so it's a stabilizing force. 00:28:00.150 --> 00:28:05.090 align:middle line:84% If your game is out of control and unpredictable and chaotic, 00:28:05.090 --> 00:28:07.450 align:middle line:84% negative feedback can rein things in a little bit. 00:28:07.450 --> 00:28:09.675 align:middle line:84% Sure, it may be unpredictable, but it's not 00:28:09.675 --> 00:28:11.060 align:middle line:90% going to hurt me so bad. 00:28:11.060 --> 00:28:14.010 align:middle line:84% Or if somebody gets and advantage 00:28:14.010 --> 00:28:17.180 align:middle line:84% it's not going to be a runaway advantage. 00:28:17.180 --> 00:28:22.152 align:middle line:84% Similarly if your games just actually always hovering 00:28:22.152 --> 00:28:24.610 align:middle line:84% at equilibrium and nobody seems to be getting an advantage, 00:28:24.610 --> 00:28:28.840 align:middle line:84% then positive feedback will destabilize that. 00:28:28.840 --> 00:28:32.750 align:middle line:84% It will make it more likely that somebody who gets an advantage 00:28:32.750 --> 00:28:36.080 align:middle line:84% will actually get a large advantage, 00:28:36.080 --> 00:28:39.470 align:middle line:84% and that could be a good thing if your game is kind of dull 00:28:39.470 --> 00:28:45.260 align:middle line:84% and it's always just kind of hovering at the same level. 00:28:45.260 --> 00:28:49.850 align:middle line:84% But there's a trade-off with that, 00:28:49.850 --> 00:28:52.220 align:middle line:84% because any amount of feedback that you're 00:28:52.220 --> 00:28:54.487 align:middle line:84% adding into your game, especially 00:28:54.487 --> 00:28:56.570 align:middle line:84% this kind of automated feedback, this is something 00:28:56.570 --> 00:28:59.240 align:middle line:84% that your rules are automatically generating, 00:28:59.240 --> 00:29:02.200 align:middle line:84% can actually be taking control away from players, 00:29:02.200 --> 00:29:04.190 align:middle line:84% and as a result of that might actually 00:29:04.190 --> 00:29:06.050 align:middle line:90% make the game less engaging. 00:29:06.050 --> 00:29:11.180 align:middle line:84% So even a game with like, all right, this game is too stable, 00:29:11.180 --> 00:29:13.780 align:middle line:84% we're going to add some positive feedback mechanisms 00:29:13.780 --> 00:29:16.520 align:middle line:84% so that people who have an advantage 00:29:16.520 --> 00:29:18.850 align:middle line:84% can capitalize on that advantage. 00:29:18.850 --> 00:29:21.170 align:middle line:84% But if that's not done right, then you've 00:29:21.170 --> 00:29:24.290 align:middle line:84% just got a situation where once someone starts 00:29:24.290 --> 00:29:26.600 align:middle line:84% winning everybody else loses interest because there's 00:29:26.600 --> 00:29:29.250 align:middle line:90% no way that they can catch up. 00:29:29.250 --> 00:29:31.610 align:middle line:84% So it destabilizes it in a point that, yeah, someone's 00:29:31.610 --> 00:29:33.818 align:middle line:84% going to win this game whereas previous it was always 00:29:33.818 --> 00:29:35.030 align:middle line:90% stuck at equilibrium. 00:29:35.030 --> 00:29:38.067 align:middle line:84% But it's very easy to lose people 00:29:38.067 --> 00:29:39.900 align:middle line:84% in that process because you're just creating 00:29:39.900 --> 00:29:42.230 align:middle line:84% and automated system to take control away from them. 00:29:42.230 --> 00:29:48.550 align:middle line:84% So that's one danger of putting in a feedback system. 00:29:48.550 --> 00:29:51.800 align:middle line:84% Also we talked about bringing things down to equilibrium 00:29:51.800 --> 00:29:54.770 align:middle line:84% to make things a little bit easier for people to catch up 00:29:54.770 --> 00:29:58.220 align:middle line:84% or to make advantages a little bit less drastic. 00:29:58.220 --> 00:30:00.766 align:middle line:84% That can also make our game much more, right? 00:30:00.766 --> 00:30:02.140 align:middle line:84% Because nobody gets an advantage, 00:30:02.140 --> 00:30:03.681 align:middle line:84% and depending on your win conditions, 00:30:03.681 --> 00:30:07.130 align:middle line:84% depending on your end of game conditions, 00:30:07.130 --> 00:30:11.614 align:middle line:84% could actually just make it interminably long. 00:30:11.614 --> 00:30:13.030 align:middle line:84% You could take a half an hour game 00:30:13.030 --> 00:30:14.196 align:middle line:90% and make it a one hour game. 00:30:14.196 --> 00:30:16.490 align:middle line:84% So on the flip side, the positive feedback game 00:30:16.490 --> 00:30:19.140 align:middle line:84% can actually help rein in the length of the game. 00:30:19.140 --> 00:30:23.200 align:middle line:84% So if your game is currently taking an hour long [INAUDIBLE] 00:30:23.200 --> 00:30:25.100 align:middle line:84% and your victory conditions happen 00:30:25.100 --> 00:30:29.960 align:middle line:84% to be on gaining an advantage over your opponents, 00:30:29.960 --> 00:30:32.490 align:middle line:84% then a positive feedback system can help speed that along. 00:30:32.490 --> 00:30:32.990 align:middle line:90% Right? 00:30:32.990 --> 00:30:35.305 align:middle line:84% OK, maybe we can cut it down by half 00:30:35.305 --> 00:30:37.430 align:middle line:84% by just giving some advantages the the person who's 00:30:37.430 --> 00:30:39.360 align:middle line:84% ahead or penalizing the people who are behind. 00:30:39.360 --> 00:30:42.670 align:middle line:90% 00:30:42.670 --> 00:30:45.080 align:middle line:84% That's an interesting little side 00:30:45.080 --> 00:30:50.930 align:middle line:84% effect, which is because positive feedback builds 00:30:50.930 --> 00:30:56.720 align:middle line:84% on itself, if you have an advantage early on, like you 00:30:56.720 --> 00:31:00.650 align:middle line:84% have early success, then positive feedback 00:31:00.650 --> 00:31:02.170 align:middle line:84% is going to be the mechanism that's 00:31:02.170 --> 00:31:04.040 align:middle line:90% going to help build on that. 00:31:04.040 --> 00:31:06.209 align:middle line:84% On the other hand, if you have a negative feedback 00:31:06.209 --> 00:31:08.000 align:middle line:84% system in your game, which means everything 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:11.110 align:middle line:84% is kind of being brought down to an equilibrium, 00:31:11.110 --> 00:31:14.590 align:middle line:84% but everyone's getting closer to actually finishing the game, 00:31:14.590 --> 00:31:16.660 align:middle line:84% but no one really has a huge lead, 00:31:16.660 --> 00:31:20.405 align:middle line:84% then late successes mean a lot more. 00:31:20.405 --> 00:31:23.590 align:middle line:84% That last boost when you are near the final-- 00:31:23.590 --> 00:31:27.900 align:middle line:90% 00:31:27.900 --> 00:31:28.687 align:middle line:90% What's it called? 00:31:28.687 --> 00:31:29.770 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: The finish line. 00:31:29.770 --> 00:31:31.050 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: The finish line! 00:31:31.050 --> 00:31:34.910 align:middle line:84% That last boost before you hit the finish line 00:31:34.910 --> 00:31:37.011 align:middle line:84% on the very last round of Mario Kart 00:31:37.011 --> 00:31:39.250 align:middle line:84% means a lot because the whole game 00:31:39.250 --> 00:31:43.550 align:middle line:84% is designed with a huge amount of negative feedback, 00:31:43.550 --> 00:31:47.036 align:middle line:84% and could make all the difference. 00:31:47.036 --> 00:31:49.100 align:middle line:84% People have played Mario Kart where 00:31:49.100 --> 00:31:50.600 align:middle line:84% that was pretty much the game, there 00:31:50.600 --> 00:31:53.740 align:middle line:84% was this last fight [INAUDIBLE] Someone just 00:31:53.740 --> 00:31:56.375 align:middle line:84% got hit with a blue shell in the last five seconds 00:31:56.375 --> 00:32:01.880 align:middle line:84% and [INAUDIBLE] So negative feedback prioritizes what 00:32:01.880 --> 00:32:05.890 align:middle line:84% happens late in the game, whereas positive feedback 00:32:05.890 --> 00:32:08.540 align:middle line:84% prioritizes what happens earlier on in the game, the strategies 00:32:08.540 --> 00:32:09.900 align:middle line:84% that you pick, the cards that you have 00:32:09.900 --> 00:32:12.275 align:middle line:84% which you draw in play right at the beginning of the game 00:32:12.275 --> 00:32:14.840 align:middle line:84% [INAUDIBLE] Positive feedback stresses that. 00:32:14.840 --> 00:32:19.120 align:middle line:90% 00:32:19.120 --> 00:32:22.970 align:middle line:84% And finally, , always keep in mind that any interactional 00:32:22.970 --> 00:32:26.321 align:middle line:84% game systems probably create emergent feedback loops even 00:32:26.321 --> 00:32:30.362 align:middle line:84% if you had [INAUDIBLE] So what you want to do is you want 00:32:30.362 --> 00:32:32.300 align:middle line:90% to try to find that. 00:32:32.300 --> 00:32:35.430 align:middle line:84% There is a tool out there that I've seen some student teams 00:32:35.430 --> 00:32:37.258 align:middle line:84% use, and I don't know whether it's 00:32:37.258 --> 00:32:39.674 align:middle line:84% going to be useful for you, I'm just going to give you it. 00:32:39.674 --> 00:32:42.150 align:middle line:84% Has anyone heard of causal loop diagrams? 00:32:42.150 --> 00:32:45.150 align:middle line:90% It's from economics. 00:32:45.150 --> 00:32:46.650 align:middle line:90% You have? 00:32:46.650 --> 00:32:48.830 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE] 00:32:48.830 --> 00:32:50.475 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: It's a very simple concept. 00:32:50.475 --> 00:32:54.580 align:middle line:84% You just basically write in your variables in your game, 00:32:54.580 --> 00:32:57.650 align:middle line:84% and you can add in a few in between variables 00:32:57.650 --> 00:33:02.660 align:middle line:84% if you know how players are thinking about your game. 00:33:02.660 --> 00:33:05.170 align:middle line:84% I've been using Mario Kart too much for an example. 00:33:05.170 --> 00:33:09.430 align:middle line:84% Let's pick another game with a obvious [? defect ?] in it 00:33:09.430 --> 00:33:11.350 align:middle line:84% that everyone in this room probably knows. 00:33:11.350 --> 00:33:12.310 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: Chess. 00:33:12.310 --> 00:33:13.750 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Chess? 00:33:13.750 --> 00:33:14.870 align:middle line:90% Chess, does our piece-- 00:33:14.870 --> 00:33:26.360 align:middle line:84% OK, so, [? our ?] [? pieces ?] in chess sort of influence 00:33:26.360 --> 00:33:41.940 align:middle line:84% the number of attack [? patterns. ?] Which means 00:33:41.940 --> 00:33:46.660 align:middle line:84% the number of pieces will influence the number of pieces 00:33:46.660 --> 00:33:48.790 align:middle line:90% being threatened. 00:33:48.790 --> 00:33:51.915 align:middle line:84% Of your opponents pieces being threatened. 00:33:51.915 --> 00:34:05.551 align:middle line:90% 00:34:05.551 --> 00:34:17.728 align:middle line:84% And so it's just the number of opponent pieces taken. 00:34:17.728 --> 00:34:22.510 align:middle line:90% 00:34:22.510 --> 00:34:25.540 align:middle line:84% Now, if I flip this around a little bit, 00:34:25.540 --> 00:34:30.820 align:middle line:84% I think I could make an argument that if I switched it 00:34:30.820 --> 00:34:37.030 align:middle line:84% to the number of my own pieces, rather than my opponents 00:34:37.030 --> 00:34:38.320 align:middle line:90% pieces, then it connects. 00:34:38.320 --> 00:34:40.540 align:middle line:84% But not everything is a positive connection. 00:34:40.540 --> 00:34:44.040 align:middle line:84% Number of pieces that I have means 00:34:44.040 --> 00:34:46.960 align:middle line:84% if I have more pieces I have attack power, sort of. 00:34:46.960 --> 00:34:51.225 align:middle line:84% It's not exactly a linear connection, but [INAUDIBLE] 00:34:51.225 --> 00:34:52.250 align:middle line:90% chess set, right? 00:34:52.250 --> 00:34:54.619 align:middle line:84% I have more pieces than you, I have more ways 00:34:54.619 --> 00:34:57.010 align:middle line:90% to attack than you. 00:34:57.010 --> 00:34:59.710 align:middle line:84% If I have more ways to attack than you, then actually 00:34:59.710 --> 00:35:01.840 align:middle line:84% I have fewer pieces threatened because I get also 00:35:01.840 --> 00:35:03.670 align:middle line:90% more ways to defend. 00:35:03.670 --> 00:35:08.070 align:middle line:84% So I'm going to say, defend attack [? powers. ?] 00:35:08.070 --> 00:35:11.446 align:middle line:84% Anything that I can attack, I can prevent from-- 00:35:11.446 --> 00:35:13.020 align:middle line:84% I say, well, if you take this piece, 00:35:13.020 --> 00:35:16.020 align:middle line:84% then I'm just going to take the piece that you just moved, 00:35:16.020 --> 00:35:21.360 align:middle line:84% and with a one for one trade, I also have more pieces than you. 00:35:21.360 --> 00:35:28.826 align:middle line:84% And if you fewer of my pieces are threatened, 00:35:28.826 --> 00:35:31.291 align:middle line:90% that means I can-- 00:35:31.291 --> 00:35:33.980 align:middle line:84% let's see, if number of pieces that are threatened goes down, 00:35:33.980 --> 00:35:37.826 align:middle line:84% then the number of pieces that I can take goes up. 00:35:37.826 --> 00:35:38.450 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: Wait. 00:35:38.450 --> 00:35:40.420 align:middle line:90% [INTERPOSING VOICES] 00:35:40.420 --> 00:35:42.970 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: I think, yeah. 00:35:42.970 --> 00:35:44.471 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE] be ignored 00:35:44.471 --> 00:35:45.054 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Hm? 00:35:45.054 --> 00:35:46.637 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: If the number of your pieces 00:35:46.637 --> 00:35:49.084 align:middle line:84% threatened goes down then the number of your pieces taken 00:35:49.084 --> 00:35:49.975 align:middle line:90% goes down, as well. 00:35:49.975 --> 00:35:50.600 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Yes. 00:35:50.600 --> 00:35:52.000 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: Those two are positively correlated. 00:35:52.000 --> 00:35:53.615 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: Yes, yes, that's right. 00:35:53.615 --> 00:35:54.330 align:middle line:90% You are right. 00:35:54.330 --> 00:35:58.570 align:middle line:90% 00:35:58.570 --> 00:36:00.440 align:middle line:90% And that should just decrease. 00:36:00.440 --> 00:36:05.308 align:middle line:84% And if the number of pieces taken goes down-- 00:36:05.308 --> 00:36:09.950 align:middle line:84% If the number of pieces taken goes up, 00:36:09.950 --> 00:36:11.040 align:middle line:90% then I have fewer pieces. 00:36:11.040 --> 00:36:16.240 align:middle line:84% If I have fewer pieces taken, then I have more pieces. 00:36:16.240 --> 00:36:19.150 align:middle line:84% So we have two classes and we have two minor 00:36:19.150 --> 00:36:22.080 align:middle line:84% [? suspicions. ?] Over all, this entire loop 00:36:22.080 --> 00:36:24.440 align:middle line:90% is called a reinforcing loop. 00:36:24.440 --> 00:36:24.940 align:middle line:90% Right? 00:36:24.940 --> 00:36:27.250 align:middle line:84% This is part of the feedback loop. 00:36:27.250 --> 00:36:30.250 align:middle line:84% You can connect this to other things. 00:36:30.250 --> 00:36:34.720 align:middle line:84% Maybe in chess I'm not terribly good at causal loop diagrams 00:36:34.720 --> 00:36:37.310 align:middle line:84% to begin with, but in chess you might 00:36:37.310 --> 00:36:39.700 align:middle line:84% be able to connect it to other things like positioning 00:36:39.700 --> 00:36:42.660 align:middle line:84% of pieces, or the value of pieces. 00:36:42.660 --> 00:36:47.500 align:middle line:84% So those might be reinforcing, and reinforcing is basically 00:36:47.500 --> 00:36:49.952 align:middle line:84% another way of saying it's a positive feedback loop. 00:36:49.952 --> 00:36:52.410 align:middle line:84% Another way that you can say is that it's a balancing loop, 00:36:52.410 --> 00:36:54.326 align:middle line:84% which means actually a negative feedback loop, 00:36:54.326 --> 00:37:03.460 align:middle line:84% and that's usually you put that with [? another ?] [? B. ?] 00:37:03.460 --> 00:37:05.960 align:middle line:84% [? Just remember ?] that thing used as well as students from 00:37:05.960 --> 00:37:08.586 align:middle line:84% economics and management who have actually done that 00:37:08.586 --> 00:37:10.960 align:middle line:84% because they're trying to study things like supply chains 00:37:10.960 --> 00:37:14.630 align:middle line:84% and how a system [INAUDIBLE] and industry. 00:37:14.630 --> 00:37:16.493 align:middle line:84% That's why they've already used the tool 00:37:16.493 --> 00:37:19.610 align:middle line:90% and then they can put it in. 00:37:19.610 --> 00:37:21.932 align:middle line:84% But, it might be worth looking up, 00:37:21.932 --> 00:37:24.332 align:middle line:84% it might be a useful diagnostic tool for your game 00:37:24.332 --> 00:37:25.790 align:middle line:84% if you're just trying to figure out 00:37:25.790 --> 00:37:28.140 align:middle line:84% what are all the different loops and just write down 00:37:28.140 --> 00:37:33.740 align:middle line:84% all of your variables and figure out whether things even up. 00:37:33.740 --> 00:37:37.527 align:middle line:84% Two negatives and two positives give you a reinforcing loop; 00:37:37.527 --> 00:37:39.110 align:middle line:84% positive, positive, positive, positive 00:37:39.110 --> 00:37:42.090 align:middle line:84% gives you a reinforcing loop; positive, positive, negative, 00:37:42.090 --> 00:37:44.000 align:middle line:84% and that's it, gives you a balancing loop. 00:37:44.000 --> 00:37:50.250 align:middle line:84% Basically, [INAUDIBLE] add up to positive, positive, [INAUDIBLE] 00:37:50.250 --> 00:37:51.540 align:middle line:90% negative. 00:37:51.540 --> 00:37:54.980 align:middle line:84% So, the one thing to keep in mind 00:37:54.980 --> 00:37:56.450 align:middle line:84% is that occasionally what happens 00:37:56.450 --> 00:38:02.010 align:middle line:84% is that you have something like a time delay, 00:38:02.010 --> 00:38:04.097 align:middle line:84% and that's notation for a time delay. 00:38:04.097 --> 00:38:05.930 align:middle line:84% And that means things sometimes won't end up 00:38:05.930 --> 00:38:08.480 align:middle line:84% oscillating because of your [? timeline. ?] 00:38:08.480 --> 00:38:11.520 align:middle line:84% So you get a better state in some things. 00:38:11.520 --> 00:38:14.600 align:middle line:84% We had a game, for instance, which was about climate change 00:38:14.600 --> 00:38:20.020 align:middle line:84% and you can invest money into research. 00:38:20.020 --> 00:38:22.910 align:middle line:84% Yeah, at some point of time in the far, far future 00:38:22.910 --> 00:38:24.029 align:middle line:90% that pays off, right? 00:38:24.029 --> 00:38:25.820 align:middle line:84% But that doesn't necessarily mean that it's 00:38:25.820 --> 00:38:27.175 align:middle line:90% going to pay off right away. 00:38:27.175 --> 00:38:29.960 align:middle line:90% 00:38:29.960 --> 00:38:32.820 align:middle line:84% So that may end up in situations where 00:38:32.820 --> 00:38:35.750 align:middle line:84% you can make money, big fluctuations around the 00:38:35.750 --> 00:38:38.750 align:middle line:84% [? store, ?] so balancing in terms of equilibrium. 00:38:38.750 --> 00:38:42.780 align:middle line:84% But just like a thermostat that's very slow to respond. 00:38:42.780 --> 00:38:46.580 align:middle line:84% You might have something like a heater that warms up a room 00:38:46.580 --> 00:38:49.940 align:middle line:84% and it makes the room too warm before the sensor actually 00:38:49.940 --> 00:38:52.830 align:middle line:84% realizes that it's warm enough and then shuts it off 00:38:52.830 --> 00:38:55.176 align:middle line:84% and then the room becomes really, really cold 00:38:55.176 --> 00:38:57.050 align:middle line:84% before the sensor realizes that it's too cold 00:38:57.050 --> 00:38:58.970 align:middle line:90% and then turns it back on again. 00:38:58.970 --> 00:39:01.780 align:middle line:84% And that can lead to these oscillations. 00:39:01.780 --> 00:39:03.530 align:middle line:84% So keep in mind also things like timelines 00:39:03.530 --> 00:39:05.155 align:middle line:84% when you're drawing out these diagrams. 00:39:05.155 --> 00:39:07.080 align:middle line:84% How long does it take this advantage 00:39:07.080 --> 00:39:09.596 align:middle line:84% to turn into that advantage, or this increase 00:39:09.596 --> 00:39:10.720 align:middle line:90% to turn into that decrease? 00:39:10.720 --> 00:39:16.807 align:middle line:90% 00:39:16.807 --> 00:39:18.180 align:middle line:90% Yeah, any questions? 00:39:18.180 --> 00:39:18.854 align:middle line:90% Yes. 00:39:18.854 --> 00:39:20.354 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: So isn't [? a change in ?] 00:39:20.354 --> 00:39:23.214 align:middle line:84% negative and positive feedback usually-- 00:39:23.214 --> 00:39:25.380 align:middle line:84% it seems really weird because usually positive means 00:39:25.380 --> 00:39:27.950 align:middle line:84% a multiplier greater than one and negative 00:39:27.950 --> 00:39:29.870 align:middle line:84% means a multiplier between zero and one, 00:39:29.870 --> 00:39:33.230 align:middle line:84% in the sense that, how much does your point [? mean ?] really 00:39:33.230 --> 00:39:34.383 align:middle line:90% near? 00:39:34.383 --> 00:39:37.418 align:middle line:84% If I had a one point lead right now, 00:39:37.418 --> 00:39:39.137 align:middle line:84% positive feedback means that it's really 00:39:39.137 --> 00:39:39.890 align:middle line:90% like a two point lead-- 00:39:39.890 --> 00:39:40.473 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Hm. 00:39:40.473 --> 00:39:43.350 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: --because the points provide more for me later 00:39:43.350 --> 00:39:46.748 align:middle line:84% and, even though, [INAUDIBLE] negative loop that wins but it 00:39:46.748 --> 00:39:49.385 align:middle line:84% will often mean that it's actually more like a half point 00:39:49.385 --> 00:39:52.604 align:middle line:84% lead because it means less than it really does, whereas-- 00:39:52.604 --> 00:39:53.270 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Yeah. 00:39:53.270 --> 00:39:55.570 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: --it means power differences definitely 00:39:55.570 --> 00:39:58.549 align:middle line:84% have a case where sometimes if it's negative then 00:39:58.549 --> 00:40:00.340 align:middle line:84% that can literally be negative in the sense 00:40:00.340 --> 00:40:03.039 align:middle line:84% that taking this lead right now could actually hurt me 00:40:03.039 --> 00:40:04.580 align:middle line:84% because in the game it could actually 00:40:04.580 --> 00:40:06.486 align:middle line:90% hurt me in the long run. 00:40:06.486 --> 00:40:07.860 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: Yeah, I think positive 00:40:07.860 --> 00:40:13.660 align:middle line:84% and negative signals originally inherited from math, 00:40:13.660 --> 00:40:15.010 align:middle line:90% cybernetics. 00:40:15.010 --> 00:40:19.310 align:middle line:84% It's actually referring to a differential, rather than the-- 00:40:19.310 --> 00:40:22.750 align:middle line:84% it's referring to the rate of change, 00:40:22.750 --> 00:40:25.250 align:middle line:84% rather than the actual multiplier. 00:40:25.250 --> 00:40:30.970 align:middle line:90% 00:40:30.970 --> 00:40:35.050 align:middle line:84% That's some baggage that we've taken on. 00:40:35.050 --> 00:40:37.650 align:middle line:84% It's funny because some people think negative feedback 00:40:37.650 --> 00:40:39.432 align:middle line:90% means bad, right? 00:40:39.432 --> 00:40:42.100 align:middle line:84% And it's like, no, negative feedback could mean good, 00:40:42.100 --> 00:40:45.296 align:middle line:84% and could mean that negative feedback for someone who's 00:40:45.296 --> 00:40:48.430 align:middle line:90% behind could be an advantage. 00:40:48.430 --> 00:40:53.590 align:middle line:84% So the terminology doesn't quite make it easy for everyone 00:40:53.590 --> 00:40:57.280 align:middle line:84% to use, but it's something that is currently 00:40:57.280 --> 00:40:59.930 align:middle line:84% in use, so it's good to know that game designers do 00:40:59.930 --> 00:41:02.058 align:middle line:90% use these terms. 00:41:02.058 --> 00:41:03.052 align:middle line:90% Hm? 00:41:03.052 --> 00:41:04.635 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: Talking about flight control 00:41:04.635 --> 00:41:06.034 align:middle line:90% systems and positive feedback. 00:41:06.034 --> 00:41:07.040 align:middle line:90% Bad. 00:41:07.040 --> 00:41:08.415 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: A control system where 00:41:08.415 --> 00:41:10.000 align:middle line:90% positive feedback would be bad. 00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:12.865 align:middle line:84% Yeah, I think that's kind of the opposite of the word control. 00:41:12.865 --> 00:41:16.645 align:middle line:84% [LAUGHTER] Chain reaction might be a great way 00:41:16.645 --> 00:41:19.770 align:middle line:90% to describe that, for instance. 00:41:19.770 --> 00:41:24.210 align:middle line:84% Any other questions about these ideas? 00:41:24.210 --> 00:41:27.010 align:middle line:84% A lot of the stuff that I've been talking about 00:41:27.010 --> 00:41:29.840 align:middle line:84% is known as first order cybernetics, which is basically 00:41:29.840 --> 00:41:33.285 align:middle line:84% the system is doing its own thing happily, 00:41:33.285 --> 00:41:36.856 align:middle line:84% and if I'm taking a look at the system from the outside 00:41:36.856 --> 00:41:38.230 align:middle line:84% I don't really have any influence 00:41:38.230 --> 00:41:41.090 align:middle line:90% on how it's going to perform. 00:41:41.090 --> 00:41:43.350 align:middle line:84% But, there is a second order, a whole school 00:41:43.350 --> 00:41:46.160 align:middle line:84% of second order cybernetics that I'm totally unfamiliar with, 00:41:46.160 --> 00:41:48.330 align:middle line:84% which actually takes into account having 00:41:48.330 --> 00:41:50.600 align:middle line:84% a person in the loop, which you would think 00:41:50.600 --> 00:41:53.470 align:middle line:84% would be a lot more applicable for games, especially 00:41:53.470 --> 00:41:54.890 align:middle line:90% games being played by people. 00:41:54.890 --> 00:41:59.060 align:middle line:84% But I don't know much about second order cybernetics. 00:41:59.060 --> 00:42:02.180 align:middle line:84% So, if you're interested in a research project or something 00:42:02.180 --> 00:42:06.032 align:middle line:84% like that, a thesis or something like that, come and talk to me. 00:42:06.032 --> 00:42:09.438 align:middle line:84% I would love to [INAUDIBLE] because I don't know about 00:42:09.438 --> 00:42:10.634 align:middle line:90% that just yet. 00:42:10.634 --> 00:42:13.630 align:middle line:90% All right. 00:42:13.630 --> 00:42:16.450 align:middle line:84% One final word, this is a very formal way 00:42:16.450 --> 00:42:20.290 align:middle line:90% of looking at game systems. 00:42:20.290 --> 00:42:22.110 align:middle line:84% Just as I have [INAUDIBLE] I just 00:42:22.110 --> 00:42:26.920 align:middle line:84% admitted that it doesn't take people's involvement 00:42:26.920 --> 00:42:33.610 align:middle line:84% in the process very well, it is not necessarily the case 00:42:33.610 --> 00:42:36.430 align:middle line:84% that the formal ways of looking at a system, 00:42:36.430 --> 00:42:39.470 align:middle line:84% just looking at how the rules interact, 00:42:39.470 --> 00:42:42.690 align:middle line:84% is necessarily always the best way to look at games. 00:42:42.690 --> 00:42:44.890 align:middle line:84% In many ways, in many occasions, it 00:42:44.890 --> 00:42:48.550 align:middle line:84% is actually not a useful technique. 00:42:48.550 --> 00:42:50.190 align:middle line:84% I can have [? all these systems ?] 00:42:50.190 --> 00:42:54.210 align:middle line:84% in my rules, but if people are going to read my rules 00:42:54.210 --> 00:42:56.020 align:middle line:84% and interpret my rules, as you've already 00:42:56.020 --> 00:42:59.486 align:middle line:84% seen happen in this class, differently, 00:42:59.486 --> 00:43:03.610 align:middle line:84% then they may be motivated to do things 00:43:03.610 --> 00:43:06.010 align:middle line:84% that operate against my assumptions 00:43:06.010 --> 00:43:10.680 align:middle line:84% because that's something else in my narrative, my aesthetic, 00:43:10.680 --> 00:43:13.560 align:middle line:84% in their own individual motivations. 00:43:13.560 --> 00:43:17.140 align:middle line:84% If somebody wants to take down somebody else in a game 00:43:17.140 --> 00:43:20.820 align:middle line:84% just because they happen to hate that person 00:43:20.820 --> 00:43:25.183 align:middle line:84% and it's outside of the game rules then nothing in the rules 00:43:25.183 --> 00:43:27.010 align:middle line:90% are going to tell me that. 00:43:27.010 --> 00:43:29.575 align:middle line:84% But it's still going to affect how that game gets played, 00:43:29.575 --> 00:43:33.650 align:middle line:84% and I might want to take that into account. 00:43:33.650 --> 00:43:36.840 align:middle line:84% The Game of Diplomacy, for instance, 00:43:36.840 --> 00:43:40.380 align:middle line:84% has to take into account the fact that you're probably 00:43:40.380 --> 00:43:42.167 align:middle line:84% playing it with people that you know, 00:43:42.167 --> 00:43:44.125 align:middle line:84% and you have some sort of existing relationship 00:43:44.125 --> 00:43:44.890 align:middle line:90% with them. 00:43:44.890 --> 00:43:47.920 align:middle line:84% I don't think it does a very, very good job of insulating you 00:43:47.920 --> 00:43:49.960 align:middle line:90% from the fallout of the game. 00:43:49.960 --> 00:43:53.550 align:middle line:84% [LAUGHTER] Everyone knows what I'm talking about, right? 00:43:53.550 --> 00:43:54.720 align:middle line:90% OK. 00:43:54.720 --> 00:43:56.790 align:middle line:84% Just unfriend the people that you play diplomacy 00:43:56.790 --> 00:43:58.420 align:middle line:90% with anymore. 00:43:58.420 --> 00:44:00.460 align:middle line:84% That's why I don't like playing that game, 00:44:00.460 --> 00:44:02.032 align:middle line:90% but I like talking about it. 00:44:02.032 --> 00:44:04.570 align:middle line:90% 00:44:04.570 --> 00:44:08.920 align:middle line:84% So, we'll be going into things like games for social play, 00:44:08.920 --> 00:44:10.584 align:middle line:84% and the social function of games, 00:44:10.584 --> 00:44:13.216 align:middle line:84% how you interact with people, right? 00:44:13.216 --> 00:44:14.590 align:middle line:84% Some other topics are going to be 00:44:14.590 --> 00:44:16.590 align:middle line:84% things like games of simulation, games that 00:44:16.590 --> 00:44:20.990 align:middle line:84% have a slightly flawed mirror to the real world, 00:44:20.990 --> 00:44:22.320 align:middle line:90% but an interesting one. 00:44:22.320 --> 00:44:26.230 align:middle line:84% It could be a fun house mirror which could be fun. 00:44:26.230 --> 00:44:30.610 align:middle line:84% So, we'll be looking at that in weeks ahead. 00:44:30.610 --> 00:44:32.680 align:middle line:84% This is probably about as formal as we get. 00:44:32.680 --> 00:44:34.060 align:middle line:84% We've been talking about things like information systems, 00:44:34.060 --> 00:44:35.420 align:middle line:90% that's also very formal. 00:44:35.420 --> 00:44:39.140 align:middle line:84% Just keep in mind that's just one school of game design 00:44:39.140 --> 00:44:42.852 align:middle line:90% and writing about game design. 00:44:42.852 --> 00:44:44.708 align:middle line:90% OK. 00:44:44.708 --> 00:44:48.230 align:middle line:84% So we have games that all have an interesting way 00:44:48.230 --> 00:44:49.580 align:middle line:90% of dealing with this. 00:44:49.580 --> 00:44:52.302 align:middle line:84% Some of them, you're going to see these problems come up, 00:44:52.302 --> 00:44:53.760 align:middle line:84% like especially in [? Imperiums. ?] 00:44:53.760 --> 00:44:55.140 align:middle line:84% How many people do we have in class today? 00:44:55.140 --> 00:44:57.098 align:middle line:84% One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, 00:44:57.098 --> 00:44:58.820 align:middle line:90% nine, 10, 11. 00:44:58.820 --> 00:44:59.640 align:middle line:90% OK. 00:44:59.640 --> 00:45:05.675 align:middle line:84% So, 11, that's like one four-person game-- 00:45:05.675 --> 00:45:08.880 align:middle line:90% [INTERPOSING VOICES] 00:45:08.880 --> 00:45:09.520 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: OK. 00:45:09.520 --> 00:45:10.426 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE] 00:45:10.426 --> 00:45:14.680 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: So we'll get about three games going on at once. 00:45:14.680 --> 00:45:17.270 align:middle line:84% Some games like King of Tokyo is very much 00:45:17.270 --> 00:45:20.440 align:middle line:84% a king of the hill game, so it's deliberately 00:45:20.440 --> 00:45:24.100 align:middle line:84% trying to ask you to take down the person who's in the lead, 00:45:24.100 --> 00:45:26.060 align:middle line:84% and the game mechanics make wonder 00:45:26.060 --> 00:45:30.240 align:middle line:84% whether being in the lead is really all that great. 00:45:30.240 --> 00:45:33.020 align:middle line:84% So, it's playing around with [INAUDIBLE] Small World 00:45:33.020 --> 00:45:39.947 align:middle line:84% is occupying territory with your army. 00:45:39.947 --> 00:45:40.446 align:middle line:90% Yeah? 00:45:40.446 --> 00:45:42.487 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE] when he talked about Vinci, 00:45:42.487 --> 00:45:44.080 align:middle line:84% Small World is a update of Vinci. 00:45:44.080 --> 00:45:46.350 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: Yeah, though faster to play, 00:45:46.350 --> 00:45:47.680 align:middle line:90% which fits in this class. 00:45:47.680 --> 00:45:50.190 align:middle line:84% We have Vinci too if anybody wants to take a look at that. 00:45:50.190 --> 00:45:53.200 align:middle line:84% We have that at home but we don't play that often 00:45:53.200 --> 00:45:55.044 align:middle line:90% because it takes like two hours. 00:45:55.044 --> 00:45:57.030 align:middle line:84% Unless, of course, you already know it. 00:45:57.030 --> 00:46:00.930 align:middle line:84% Lifeboats is just about a bunch of sailors 00:46:00.930 --> 00:46:05.150 align:middle line:90% trying to get to safety. 00:46:05.150 --> 00:46:07.830 align:middle line:84% Basically, their boats are sinking 00:46:07.830 --> 00:46:09.540 align:middle line:84% and they're all trying to get to safety 00:46:09.540 --> 00:46:11.900 align:middle line:84% and everyone's jumping on and pushing 00:46:11.900 --> 00:46:14.961 align:middle line:84% people out of lifeboats, and swimming to lifeboats, 00:46:14.961 --> 00:46:15.794 align:middle line:90% and stuff like that. 00:46:15.794 --> 00:46:19.280 align:middle line:84% So it's all about knocking people out. 00:46:19.280 --> 00:46:22.900 align:middle line:90% Hoity Toity and-- 00:46:22.900 --> 00:46:24.644 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: El Grande and [INAUDIBLE] 00:46:24.644 --> 00:46:26.727 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: Yeah, I actually know relatively little 00:46:26.727 --> 00:46:27.470 align:middle line:90% about these ones. 00:46:27.470 --> 00:46:28.850 align:middle line:90% I forget-- 00:46:28.850 --> 00:46:29.790 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: Bluffing. 00:46:29.790 --> 00:46:30.761 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Yeah. 00:46:30.761 --> 00:46:32.260 align:middle line:84% Hoity Toity's a game about bluffing? 00:46:32.260 --> 00:46:33.670 align:middle line:90% OK. 00:46:33.670 --> 00:46:37.405 align:middle line:84% These were recommended by somebody's [? father ?] when I 00:46:37.405 --> 00:46:44.340 align:middle line:84% shared with them the [? syllabus. ?] And El Grande 00:46:44.340 --> 00:46:48.020 align:middle line:84% is a Spanish game about being territorial? 00:46:48.020 --> 00:46:48.887 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: Yeah. 00:46:48.887 --> 00:46:50.720 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: No, I totally [? made this up. ?] 00:46:50.720 --> 00:46:52.550 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: Do you have English rules in here? 00:46:52.550 --> 00:46:54.508 align:middle line:84% PROFESSOR: Yes, the English rules are in there. 00:46:54.508 --> 00:46:56.470 align:middle line:84% The box is just [INAUDIBLE] but I'm 00:46:56.470 --> 00:46:58.410 align:middle line:84% pretty sure I looked in there earlier 00:46:58.410 --> 00:47:01.970 align:middle line:84% and I saw British or English rules. 00:47:01.970 --> 00:47:04.870 align:middle line:84% Intrigue is the game that I like the thing the most. 00:47:04.870 --> 00:47:08.250 align:middle line:84% It's basically, you're running a university 00:47:08.250 --> 00:47:09.874 align:middle line:84% and you're trying to put your foot down 00:47:09.874 --> 00:47:11.900 align:middle line:90% with another university. 00:47:11.900 --> 00:47:14.900 align:middle line:84% That's not what the game says in the box, 00:47:14.900 --> 00:47:17.580 align:middle line:84% but I would like you to try playing the game 00:47:17.580 --> 00:47:19.094 align:middle line:90% with that theme in mind. 00:47:19.094 --> 00:47:26.510 align:middle line:84% [LAUGHTER] So, yeah, it's interesting game 00:47:26.510 --> 00:47:30.000 align:middle line:84% because you are doing exactly the same thing 00:47:30.000 --> 00:47:31.830 align:middle line:84% that everybody else is trying to do, 00:47:31.830 --> 00:47:34.520 align:middle line:84% but in order to succeed in the game you have 00:47:34.520 --> 00:47:41.560 align:middle line:84% to put your troops, your colors, into other people's territory, 00:47:41.560 --> 00:47:43.490 align:middle line:84% and they're trying to put into yours. 00:47:43.490 --> 00:47:48.400 align:middle line:84% And there's some mutual benefit [INAUDIBLE] So a lot 00:47:48.400 --> 00:47:50.390 align:middle line:90% of opportunity for you-- 00:47:50.390 --> 00:47:52.109 align:middle line:84% It's a pretty good negative feedback game 00:47:52.109 --> 00:47:53.900 align:middle line:84% because it gives you a whole bunch of tools 00:47:53.900 --> 00:47:56.354 align:middle line:84% to basically take [INAUDIBLE] take the lead. 00:47:56.354 --> 00:47:59.150 align:middle line:90% 00:47:59.150 --> 00:48:04.130 align:middle line:84% Take a look at which games hide the progress of players 00:48:04.130 --> 00:48:05.230 align:middle line:90% from you. 00:48:05.230 --> 00:48:07.417 align:middle line:84% Some of these games, you can easily see who's ahead, 00:48:07.417 --> 00:48:09.458 align:middle line:84% and some of these games it's really hard to tell, 00:48:09.458 --> 00:48:12.020 align:middle line:84% but that's deliberate so that you don't have these situations 00:48:12.020 --> 00:48:17.939 align:middle line:84% where someone all gang up on the people who are in the lead. 00:48:17.939 --> 00:48:20.230 align:middle line:84% Look at how they're avoiding things like [? turtling ?] 00:48:20.230 --> 00:48:23.510 align:middle line:84% and how they discourage [? stuff like ?] sandbagging, 00:48:23.510 --> 00:48:27.770 align:middle line:84% or maybe sometimes encourage them and use them in favor 00:48:27.770 --> 00:48:28.630 align:middle line:90% of them. 00:48:28.630 --> 00:48:31.800 align:middle line:84% Like Intrigue definitely encourages sandbagging. 00:48:31.800 --> 00:48:33.252 align:middle line:90% All right. 00:48:33.252 --> 00:48:37.007 align:middle line:84% And then we'll have these boxes out at three o'clock, working 00:48:37.007 --> 00:48:38.650 align:middle line:84% on teams, [INAUDIBLE] I think we're 00:48:38.650 --> 00:48:40.520 align:middle line:84% going to see your teams before spring break 00:48:40.520 --> 00:48:43.400 align:middle line:84% so you might want to give each other tasks to work on 00:48:43.400 --> 00:48:44.800 align:middle line:90% during spring break. 00:48:44.800 --> 00:48:47.430 align:middle line:84% If you can't think of anything, test over spring break. 00:48:47.430 --> 00:48:51.650 align:middle line:84% A good number of you are going to see people 00:48:51.650 --> 00:48:53.150 align:middle line:90% who haven't seen your game yet. 00:48:53.150 --> 00:48:53.650 align:middle line:90% And-- 00:48:53.650 --> 00:48:55.460 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: So that you can have written rules, a first draft 00:48:55.460 --> 00:48:56.990 align:middle line:90% of your written rules. 00:48:56.990 --> 00:48:59.160 align:middle line:84% It's a great opportunity to take the test then. 00:48:59.160 --> 00:48:59.560 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Yeah. 00:48:59.560 --> 00:49:01.250 align:middle line:84% And if you don't have a first draft of the written rules 00:49:01.250 --> 00:49:03.560 align:middle line:84% then this last hour of class is probably a good time 00:49:03.560 --> 00:49:07.870 align:middle line:84% to bring out the laptop and just start editing that text so 00:49:07.870 --> 00:49:09.916 align:middle line:84% that you can go into spring break with something 00:49:09.916 --> 00:49:10.975 align:middle line:90% that you can test with. 00:49:10.975 --> 00:49:12.559 align:middle line:90% All right? 00:49:12.559 --> 00:49:14.225 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: And for the game King of Tokyo 00:49:14.225 --> 00:49:16.183 align:middle line:84% the people will probably be able to play twice, 00:49:16.183 --> 00:49:17.860 align:middle line:90% maybe you can play another game. 00:49:17.860 --> 00:49:19.748 align:middle line:84% But yet again they're all about 40 minutes. 00:49:19.748 --> 00:49:21.182 align:middle line:90% PROFESSOR: Yeah. 00:49:21.182 --> 00:49:23.830 align:middle line:90% AUDIENCE: Is El Grande longer? 00:49:23.830 --> 00:49:27.160 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: Yeah, El Grande is probably 90 minutes or so. 00:49:27.160 --> 00:49:28.700 align:middle line:84% AUDIENCE: Small World is 40 to 80. 00:49:28.700 --> 00:49:29.950 align:middle line:90% [INAUDIBLE] 00:49:29.950 --> 00:49:38.768 align:middle line:90%