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This isn't about the virtues of rationality; it's about cheering for rationality.
In response to
Empiricism in Gameplay
You're criticism is welcome. We are certainly trying to make the game more than just a cheer, and I realize the information in my posts is a bit vague, but that's because I really, really don't want to spoil the game.
In response to
Empiricism in Gameplay
Since there seem to be quite a few lesswrongers involved in making games, or interested in doing it as a hobby, I just created a little mailing-list for general chat - talk about your projects, rant about design theory, ask for advice, talk about how to apply lesswrong ideas to game development, talk about how to apply game development ideas to lesswrong's goals, etc.
In response to
2011 Less Wrong Census / Survey
Hopefully this new survey will reveal more diversity and will be taken by more than ~160 users.
In response to
Rationality Quotes October 2011
"I can do parkour for the rest of my life without even moving. Just efficient thinking."
- Ryan Doyle, parkour athlete
In response to
Gameplay Art
Did you see my recent post on "Rationality and Video Games"? Would you be interested in pulling resources together?
Also, can you link to your game (if it's out), or some more screenshots, or a website?
here's our website The game is still very much in development.
In response to
Gameplay Art
Are games art?
This is a solved question, just like, "If a tree falls in the forest, and there is nobody around to hear it, does it make a sound?" Taboo sound / taboo art. The question dissolves pretty much by itself.
Another way to think about it: if I say games are art, what do you expect from that? If I say games are not art, what do you expect that to mean?
I would say that games are a medium for expression. It doesn't have to be artistic expression.
Oh, cool, I just posted a comment to your new article, not realizing you had a comment here.
Puzzle games are everywhere, but they only make you better at solving those exact puzzles (or very similar ones). The player doesn't carry that knowledge out of the game and into the world. I want to make games that teach skills that the player can apply to the real world.
I'll keep in touch, and let you know what my next project will be. May be we can pull our resources together and make it happen.
Puzzle games are everywhere, but they only make you better at solving those exact puzzles
On a previous article I posted here, a user asked me if it was going to be an educational game or just one that promotes rationality. For your reason above, we are designing the game mostly to promote the concept of rationality, rather than teach it.
Johnathan Blow had this to say about puzzles:
"A good puzzle to me is one that when you understand it, you not only understand the solution to the puzzle, but that also illuminates something else that you hadn't thought about that is some other part of the larger world."
This is essentially what we are trying to do with our virtue puzzles. I think our Perfectionism puzzle illustrates this beautifully, but I don't want to spoil that.
PM me your email address and we can talk about the prospects of working together in the future.
I concur.
The beginning of games typically have next to no worthwhile activities.
Wired's article on the making of Halo 3 describes the process of leading the player along a set path using 'no return' strategies exactly like the one displayed here. The motive for doing so in Bungie's case was to make it so the player did not get confused and wander around endlessly. In this case, the no return strategy is supposed to be symbolic of something, of an irrecoverable loss. However, if nothing is being lost, then it fails to symbolize in any meaningful way.
I would say in order to get the ledge to symbolize that loss meaningfully, you'll have to fill the beginning of the game with worthwhile and engaging activities. Mini-games if you will. That way, falling down the ledge will be a kind of 'Ender burrowing through the Giant's eye' sort of moment. It will move the game past the time-wasting distractions of the beginning and it can start to take on real meaning.
Now, I definitely don't want to introduce any elements of scope creep into your development, but I do think that if you want to tell the story you are trying to tell, then there has to be something for the player to give up.
My plan is to make the first area a "playground" of game mechanics to make it feel like a "lived-in" place. You're essentially leaving your "home" to go on an adventure. Your example of Ender's Game is fascinating. Thanks for the advice.
In response to
Rationality and Video Games
Well, what a coincidence, I'm making a game to promote rationality as well: http://lesswrong.com/r/discussion/lw/7ow/gameplay_art/
also an older post: http://lesswrong.com/lw/55z/a_gameplay_exploration_of_yudkowskys_twelve/
We are taking an "expression through gameplay" approach to ensure that the game remains fun. There won't be any text whatsoever outside of maybe titling the level when you enter it. It's a puzzle game, so it's going to ask the player to think in a variety of different ways. Thinking about how to solve problems is an important starting point for learning about rationality, and so we are trying to make the solution to the puzzle more meaningful than just "you succeed!"
visit our site http://shinyogre.com/
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I spotted a non-existent tiger face just to the right of the fox - then I noticed the fox and was confused about why it's called a threat.
I needed a word that didn't explicitly tell the viewer what to look for. "Prey" or "Predator" would have made it too obvious, and I certainly didn't want to say "find the fox" or "find the animal".
I used the word "threat" because the act of finding the fox in the image represents our survival mechanisms being put to use, even if the animal is not a real threat, if you heard rustling in the foliage, the first instinct is to assume it's a threat.