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GAMES, PEACOCKS, AND THE THEORY OF CONFLICT. Jonas Heide Smith (smith@itu.dk) Center for Computer Games Research IT University of Copenhagen KUA 12-11-2004. THE PLAN. Introduction What is trust? Two perspectives Supporting trust through game design. TRUST.
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GAMES, PEACOCKS, AND THE THEORY OF CONFLICT Jonas Heide Smith (smith@itu.dk) Center for Computer Games Research IT University of Copenhagen KUA 12-11-2004
THE PLAN Introduction What is trust? Two perspectives Supporting trust through game design
TRUST • All multi-player games depend on trust • Game type determines the game’s relation to trust • Some forms of distrust are harmful to the gamespace Age of Kings at zone.com Star Wars Galaxies
THE PLAN Introduction What is trust? Two perspectives Supporting trust through game design
WHAT IS TRUST? Sociology: Entering into an interaction in the face of uncertainty. Economy: Acting as if you expect future cooperation.
THE PLAN Introduction What is trust? Two perspectives Supporting trust through game design
TWO PERSPECTIVES The gaming context The rule system Online/offline Server setup Length og single games Possibilities for cheating
TWO PERSPECTIVES The rule system: concerns winning conditions and attribution of game points (the ideal game) Invokes an “ideal player” who is completely in line with the winning conditions specified by the game, wants to win but also acknowledges the importance of sportsmanship
THE RULE SYSTEM Sum type Zero-sumHave no trust issues Non-zero-sumHave trust issues
TWO PERSPECTIVES The gaming context: the features of a game which are general to all or most instances of the game but not related to the core rules. • Players physically together? • Matching reliant on communication? • How much at stake? • Etc…
THE PLAN Introduction What is trust? Two perspectives Supporting trust through game design
SUPPORTING TRUST… The Chicken Game
SUPPORTING TRUST… Signal types Conventional signals: Statements that something is the case. Assessment signals: Unfake-able signals (usually costly to send). E.g. Conspicuous consumption, social contracts, Google page ranking. Amotz Zahavi: The Handicap Principle
SUPPORTING TRUST… High signal control correlates with low trustworthiness One solution: Reputation systems Another: Multimodal communication
SUPPORTING TRUST… The difficulty: Trust is not necessarily good. The essence of drama etc… A need to distinguish between necessary and drama-destructive trust
FINALLY… Thanks for listening… Coming up: Week-end smith@itu.dk