1. GAMES, PEACOCKS, AND THE THEORY OF CONFLICT Jonas Heide Smith (smith@itu.dk) Center for Computer Games Research IT University of Copenhagen KUA12-11-2004

2. GAMES, PEACOCKS, AND THE THEORY OF CONFLICT 2 THE PLAN Introduction What is trust? Two perspectives Supporting trust through game design

3. GAMES, PEACOCKS, AND THE THEORY OF CONFLICT 3 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

4. GAMES, PEACOCKS, AND THE THEORY OF CONFLICT 4 THE PLAN Introduction What is trust? Two perspectives Supporting trust through game design

5. GAMES, PEACOCKS, AND THE THEORY OF CONFLICT 5 WHAT IS TRUST? Sociology: Entering into an interaction in the face of uncertainty. Economy: Acting as if you expect future cooperation.

6. GAMES, PEACOCKS, AND THE THEORY OF CONFLICT 6 THE PLAN Introduction What is trust? Two perspectives Supporting trust through game design

7. GAMES, PEACOCKS, AND THE THEORY OF CONFLICT 7 TWO PERSPECTIVES The rule system The gaming context Online/offline Server setup Possibilities for cheating Length og single games

8. GAMES, PEACOCKS, AND THE THEORY OF CONFLICT 8 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

9. GAMES, PEACOCKS, AND THE THEORY OF CONFLICT 9 THE RULE SYSTEM Sum type Zero-sum Have no trust issues Non-zero-sum Have trust issues

10. GAMES, PEACOCKS, AND THE THEORY OF CONFLICT 10 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…

11. GAMES, PEACOCKS, AND THE THEORY OF CONFLICT 11 THE PLAN Introduction What is trust? Two perspectives Supporting trust through game design

12. GAMES, PEACOCKS, AND THE THEORY OF CONFLICT 12 SUPPORTING TRUST… The Chicken Game Player 2 TurnStraight Player 1 Turn Player 1 = 2 Player 2 = 2 Player 1 = 1 Player 2 = 3 Straight Player 1 = 3 Player 2 = 1 Player 1 = 0 Player 2 = 0 Numbers indicate points earned

13. GAMES, PEACOCKS, AND THE THEORY OF CONFLICT 13 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

14. GAMES, PEACOCKS, AND THE THEORY OF CONFLICT 14 SUPPORTING TRUST… High signal control correlates with low trustworthiness One solution: Reputation systems Another: Multimodal communication

15. GAMES, PEACOCKS, AND THE THEORY OF CONFLICT 15 SUPPORTING TRUST… The difficulty: Trust is not necessarily good. The essence of drama etc… A need to distinguish between necessary and drama-destructive trust

16. GAMES, PEACOCKS, AND THE THEORY OF CONFLICT 16 FINALLY… Thanks for listening… Coming up: Week-end smith@itu.dk