Nic_Smith

The Controls are Lying: A Note on the Memetic Hazards of Video Games [Link]

Chris Pruett writes on the Robot Invader blog: > Good player handling code is often smoke and mirrors; the player presses buttons and sees a reasonable result, but in between those two operations a whole lot of code is working to ensure that the result is the best of many potential results. For example, my friend Greggman discovered that Mario 3's jumping rules change depending on whether or not a level has slopes in it. Halo's targeting reticle famously slows as it passes over an enemy to make it easier to target with an analog stick without using an auto-aim system. When Spider-Man swings, he certainly does not orient about the spot where his web connects to a building (at least, he didn't in the swinging system I wrote). > > Good player handling code doesn't just translate the player's inputs into action, it tries to discern the player's intent. Once the intended action has been identified, if the rules of the game allow it, good player handling code makes the action happen–even if it means breaking the rules of the simulation a little. The goal of good handling code isn't to maintain a "correct" simulation, it's to provide a fun game. It sucks to miss a jump by three centimeters. It sucks to take the full force of a hit from a blow that visually missed. It sucks to swing into a brick wall at 80 miles per hour instead of continuing down the street. To the extent that the code can understand the player's intent, it should act on that intent rather than on the raw input. Do what I mean, not what I say. I suppose this explains why I am better at arcade bowling games than I am at actual bowling. More seriously, while I had some vague awareness of this, I am slightly surprised at the breadth (Mario 3!?) and depth to which this "control re-interpretation" takes place.

32Dec 19, 2011

Nic_Smith

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Introducing Goalclaw, personal goal tracker

Quite a while ago, I wrote that there should be more software tools to assist with instrumental rationality. My recent attempt to create such a tool, GOALCLAW, is now available. GOALCLAW is a general goal tracking webapp which currently provides an average of how the tags entered for events day-to-day...

Oct 21, 20172

Meetup : Rescheduled: Chicago Calibration Game

Discussion article for the meetup : Rescheduled: Chicago Calibration Game WHEN: 31 May 2014 03:00:00PM (-0500) WHERE: Corner Bakery, 360 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL This Saturday, we'll be playing a personal calibration game. From the LW wiki: "One person reads the question aloud, and everyone writes down their 50%...

May 6, 20144

Meetup : Chicago: Seeing with Fresh Eyes Review

Discussion article for the meetup : Chicago: Seeing with Fresh Eyes Review WHEN: 05 April 2014 03:00:00PM (-0500) WHERE: Corner Bakery, 360 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL After a month-long hiatus, we'll be resuming with a meetup focusing on the highlighted entries in the Seeing with Fresh Eyes sequence: •...

Apr 4, 20141

Meetup : Chicago Open Discussion

Discussion article for the meetup : Chicago Open Discussion WHEN: 05 October 2013 03:00:00PM (-0500) WHERE: Corner Bakery, 360 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL This is our not-quite-regular open discussion meetup in Chicago. Discussion article for the meetup : Chicago Open Discussion

Oct 2, 20131

Meetup : Chicago: Discuss Thinking, Fast and Slow

Discussion article for the meetup : Chicago: Discuss Thinking, Fast and Slow WHEN: 03 August 2013 03:00:00PM (-0500) WHERE: Corner Bakery, 360 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL We'll be discussing the beginning of Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow as part of a series of meetups for this book. Discussion article...

Jul 25, 20131

Meetup : Fermi Estimates in Chicago

Discussion article for the meetup : Fermi Estimates in Chicago WHEN: 25 May 2013 03:00:59PM (-0500) WHERE: 1 S Franklin, Chicago, IL We'll be meeting at Argo Tea to discuss and practice Fermi estimates. When should they be used, and what considerations go into them? How many piano tuners ARE...

May 21, 20132

Meetup : Chicago Organizational Meeting and Open Discussion

Discussion article for the meetup : Chicago Organizational Meeting and Open Discussion WHEN: 17 November 2012 01:00:00PM (-0600) WHERE: 360 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL "This is an organizational meeting planned for every other month to discuss the group's progress and ideas for possible future meetups. Afterwards, we will have...

Nov 14, 20123

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Nic_Smith

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Nic_Smith

The Controls are Lying: A Note on the Memetic Hazards of Video Games [Link]

Rationality Power Tools

The Long Now

Scott Sumner on Utility vs Happiness [Link]

Nic_Smith

Introducing Goalclaw, personal goal tracker

Meetup : Rescheduled: Chicago Calibration Game

Meetup : Chicago: Seeing with Fresh Eyes Review

Meetup : Chicago Open Discussion

Meetup : Chicago: Discuss Thinking, Fast and Slow

Meetup : Fermi Estimates in Chicago

Meetup : Chicago Organizational Meeting and Open Discussion

The Controls are Lying: A Note on the Memetic Hazards of Video Games [Link]

Rationality Power Tools

The Long Now

Scott Sumner on Utility vs Happiness [Link]

Introducing Goalclaw, personal goal tracker

Meetup : Rescheduled: Chicago Calibration Game

Meetup : Chicago: Seeing with Fresh Eyes Review

Meetup : Chicago Open Discussion

Meetup : Chicago: Discuss Thinking, Fast and Slow

Meetup : Fermi Estimates in Chicago

Meetup : Chicago Organizational Meeting and Open Discussion