WHY STUDY MOTIVATION:
Quality of result is a function of motivation. We can use it to achieve:
- better game experience through player motivation
- better job satisfaction and team work
- better AI
1 – MECHANICAL MOTIVATORS
(“extrinsic” is a popular term but I do not use it, as it seems inaccurate)
- Rewards in terms of behavioral psychology
1. food, sex, other physiological
2. materialism / stockpiling resources (money or other)
3. scores or Achievements in games
4. levels, experience points, items, skill points in RPGs
5. etc
- Punishments - deprivation of the above, pain, etc
Problems:
- Rewards become less effective with time (burnout)
- Suppression – in combination of different rewards, lesser rewards are ignored
- Rewards are relative, player compares them to last experiences
- Works great for mechanical tasks, but severely harms productivity in cognitive, intellectual, creative, conceptual tasks (focus of attention is narrowed)
More on behavioral psychology:
2 – DYNAMICAL MOTIVATORS
(“intrinsic” is a popular term but I do not use it, as it seems inaccurate)
Exploring the Unknown:
- Discovery
- Creativity
- Curiosity
- Experimentation
- Research
- Learning
Achieving Goals:
- Complex problems (no brain-numbing repetition)
- Challenge
- Progress
- Mastery
- Competition
Taking initiative:
Must be allowed and encouraged
Feedback:
Should be as frequent and detailed as possible
Autonomy:
Forcing somebody to do something always lowers performance
- Level 1 – You decide what to do next (choose task)
- Level 2 – You decide the approach to get it done (choose gameplay for it)
- Level 3 – You execute those decisions the way you like it (choose style and tools)
Example 1: results-only work environment (no daily schedules) management approach
Example 2: desire for power (dictatorship / monopoly) means more personal autonomy at expense of other’s autonomy
Team:
- Socialization
- Teammates help me
- I can help teammates
- Approval of others
Morality:
- Fairness (of reward for example)
- Truthfulness
- Respect
Purpose:
- Useful for me, some personal involvement
- Contribution for the rest
- Producing long-lasting results
Security:
- Sufficient salary
- Loose deadlines
- Level of other personal risk involved
Convenience:
- Less time required
- Less effort required
- Other form of comfort
Ownership of the things I create
Example – in Spore players are emotionally connected to the creatures they make even though quality is worse than professional made content
Importance of self
Anything that makes you feel important (attention, fame)
Additional Notes:
- Different motivators have different weight for different people
- Some motivators conflict, can’t have them all maximized, balance
- Generally short-term stress is beneficial for productivity and long-term stress is harmful
References:
“Punished by rewards” by Alfie Kohn
“Outliers: The Story of Success” by Malcolm Gladwell
