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Human Motivation and Gaming.

Posted by XandrosFor group 0
Xandros
GM, 404 posts
Fri 14 Feb 2014
at 20:42
  • msg #1

Human Motivation and Gaming

In the June 2007 issue of Men's Health, I read that recent research in Self-Determination Theory (SDT) points to three basic needs that must be met to maximize motivation:

1. Autonomy - The choice to do it.
2. Competence - You know what you're doing or at least becoming better at it.
3. Relatedness - The act connects you in some other way to other people.

The RPG best practices that I've observed with "autonomy" include:
a) Choice of whether to play (given)
b) Influence on the outcome
c) Requirement to choose the kind of character you play
d) Requirement to craft your own background with some general guidance
e) Quick reinforcing pleasure/satisfaction (think about how addictive video games are) around goals
f) Manage expectations

This medium is necessarily slower than F2F gaming.  While it certainly has its upsides, creating constant reinforcing pleasure/satisfaction, particilarly in reactive players, is a challenge.  It has negatively affected every game I've played in or GM'd over the past seven years.

Because many people do not write well, "competence" can be daunting.  Keeping activity action-oriented can defuse the competence gap, but leave those seeking more role-playing feeling like they've eaten hors d'oeuvres for weeks.  The other side of this is that people who don't write well frequently don't converse in writing with the other players and become frustrated when their own skills don't allow them to solve a complex situation that requires teaming.  It also means that when salient details are provided by the GM to less active players in the hope of promoting greater participation, those details are frequently not shared.

Players who are not active are necessarily disconnected from the other players.  Encouraging personal interaction with real names, so that people become friends, can help.
Edrich Delbaeth
player, 213 posts
Green Bough Clan (L)
Sat 15 Feb 2014
at 14:05
  • msg #2

Re: Human Motivation and Gaming

Interesting. I'm Mike.
Xandros
GM, 405 posts
Sun 16 Feb 2014
at 01:48
  • msg #3

Re: Human Motivation and Gaming

Adam here.

I wrote this around five years ago and didn't want to lose it.  Now, I find it particularly salient when talking to my daughter's cello teacher.
Edrich Delbaeth
player, 214 posts
Green Bough Clan (L)
Sun 16 Feb 2014
at 13:41
  • msg #4

Re: Human Motivation and Gaming

Cello, very cool. I messed with a stand up bass once, no lessons, a friend had one and we were drunk, so I gave it a go. It was awful.
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