Influence or conrol others behavior through deceptive, insidious means into manipulator's favor or advantage.
That is not my definition, that is what the word means.
Jee, that sounds awfully negative! I wonder if that's right...
1. handle or control (a tool, mechanism, information, etc.) in a skilful manner. "he manipulated the dials of the set" synonyms: operate, handle, work, control, use, employ, utilize
2. control or influence (a person or situation) cleverly or unscrupulously. "the masses were deceived and manipulated by a tiny group" synonyms: exploit, control, influence, use/turn to one's advantage, manoeuvre, engineer, steer, direct, guide
You can look at a game/ the conception of game & game mechanics from different angles.
But in the end it is:
Players don't know what they want.
Players will have contradicting expectations/ wishes.
Quite some player demanded features are not good for a game (e.g. because they unbalance mechanics, have a bad long term effect on play styles, etc.)
In the end it's like with every piece of art (be it movie, book, computer game, picture, etc). Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.
p.s. The more I play MMORPGs the more I find them lacking in every aspect. But the good thing is since the rise of f2p/ freemium the companies are training their guinea pigs to play without paying.
But perception can be manipulated. It's the essence of advertising - get people to buy things, to want things that they didn't before. Change people's perception so they feel rewarded by buying this product, or neglected if they don't. MMO's function almost solely on this false reward system, and devs know it. Set it up so people will grind for hours for a bit of shiny or a pixel costume or imaginary gold. The longer you can keep people on that treadmill, the longer they pay the sub.
and yet, sub-only MMOs are almost all gone. So this whole thing is really not that successful, since players will just avoid subs in the first place.
Devs can manipulate only a small group of players ... the whales.
At Joey. Yes perceptive can be changed. That doesn't make them false or make perceived fun different from fun.
You are going an activity that's boring. A friend comes and does it with you and now it's fun. Or you decide to look at what you are doing differentlyand make a game of it and now it's fun. In both situations your perception changed.
In every situation you are in you are experiencing it through your own filters. Every thing you do is experienced through your own perceptions. How you perceive the world. This can and does changesometimes fromm one moment to the next.
You cannot experience anything including fun without first perceiving it.
Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it is bad.
Devs and really everyone are trying to figure what we like.
We generally like rewards, bright atmospheres, sometimes dark, learning.... putting those things in games is not manipulation. It I'd them trying to give us a game we like.
Ask those studies that say manipulation are not. They are just study's to find out the things people like.
Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it is bad.
Comments
Jee, that sounds awfully negative! I wonder if that's right...
1.
handle or control (a tool, mechanism, information, etc.) in a skilful manner.
"he manipulated the dials of the set"
synonyms: operate, handle, work, control, use, employ, utilize
2.
control or influence (a person or situation) cleverly or unscrupulously.
"the masses were deceived and manipulated by a tiny group"
synonyms: exploit, control, influence, use/turn to one's advantage, manoeuvre, engineer, steer, direct, guide
This week, we talk about Operant Conditioning, and its unfortunate overuse in modern game design.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWtvrPTbQ_c
That's right. That is what sets the difference between influence and manipulation.
The former is more of an "effect" while the other is "intention".
See your own post:
"the masses were deceived and manipulated by a tiny group"
You can look at a game/ the conception of game & game mechanics from different angles.
But in the end it is:
p.s.
The more I play MMORPGs the more I find them lacking in every aspect. But the good thing is since the rise of f2p/ freemium the companies are training their guinea pigs to play without paying.
and yet, sub-only MMOs are almost all gone. So this whole thing is really not that successful, since players will just avoid subs in the first place.
Devs can manipulate only a small group of players ... the whales.
You are going an activity that's boring. A friend comes and does it with you and now it's fun. Or you decide to look at what you are doing differentlyand make a game of it and now it's fun. In both situations your perception changed.
In every situation you are in you are experiencing it through your own filters. Every thing you do is experienced through your own perceptions. How you perceive the world. This can and does changesometimes fromm one moment to the next.
You cannot experience anything including fun without first perceiving it.
We generally like rewards, bright atmospheres, sometimes dark, learning.... putting those things in games is not manipulation. It I'd them trying to give us a game we like.
Ask those studies that say manipulation are not. They are just study's to find out the things people like.