New Rule

This article from Raph’s website the other day about this article from the Boston globe raises a couple intriguing questions:

If the prefrontal cortex can be so easily bent under the strain of overstimuli from urban existence, then do we indeed, as Raph suggests, have something to consider when building crowded virtual worlds? Most virtual worlds run on the “more is better” paradigm, and they inundate their users with flashy attention-grabbing attractions the same way storefronts do on city streets, should we not then also expect users to succumb to the overload and “splurge” on virtual assets they don’t need. The difference is there’s no cost involved with acquiring virtual assets except time - so does this present a problem? Obviously the system is powerfully effective and dispersing product, so if the product is worthwhile then what do we have to complain about? I think about things like Democracy Island in Second Life, areas that are designed to educate, inform, and entertain visitors with socially pertinent issues. If we set up that kind of island like a busy city street and get people to travel it, and if those people find themselves consuming the content from the same sort of willpower failure, is that then defensible because the content they are consuming is noble and altruistic? Seems like a number of value judgments to add up.

If we consider open-world games or MMOs that offer players a huge environment in great variety, can we predict, track, and even manipulate their play path using this information? I think about World of Warcraft, a game with massive and beautiful natural environments that can have profound emotional impact on the player - people love Strangelthorn but hate Silithus, love Elwynn Forest but hate the Burning Steppes. The difference between these “natural” setting is obvious and the preferences are unsurprising. What is remarkable is the way it alters their play - they avoid the ugly zones even to the exclusion of beneficial quests and rewards. And given this data about overstimuli, it makes me wonder how players react to the game’s urban environments - the capital cities, places everyone must visit regularly for skill and gear management. Do players feel overwhelmed in these dense, complex, bustling places? Do they feel pressured and irritable, eager to leave and return to the rural zones? If so, that raises some interesting points about level and world design and how to immerse the player in a positive way. Perhaps we should consider the ways in which a city produces stress in real life when building cities into our games.

Tags: Game Design //