The Use of Life News

*This article was originally written by Japanese indie game creator Daraneko, and translated by PLAYISM.

Now, we'll continue on.
The previous installment can be found here.

[h2]◆Fact #6: Extinction and reversion[/h2]

I have explained four basic principles of behaviors contingencies, but there are two more.

What do you think would happen if a behavior that was reinforced became unreinforced after a certain point? For example, if poison was no longer cured by using the antidotal herb. Or like, you were no longer able to look at naughty pictures while playing your game.



I think you can sort of guess the answer, but it reduces the frequency of that reinforced behavior. It's not worth it to use an antidotal herb that doesn't relieve poison. An eroge without naughty pictures may be a perfectly healthy, wholesome game, but it doesn't satisfy the desires of the horny weirdos who just need to get their porn game fix. The frequency of reinforced behaviors does not last forever, and if the results continue to be disappointing, the reinforcement will eventually disappear. So the once-increased behavior returns to normal frequency.

This is called "extinction". It is often confused with the "disinforcement through removal of a reinforcer", but that one is "the disappearance of what was already there", while this one is more like "the failure of what was supposed to be newly available to appear".

By the way, there is a similar thing with disinforcement. If you think something bad will happen if you perform an action, and you try said action, and then nothing bad happens, the behavior that had been decreasing returns to normal. It increases. This is called "reversion".
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Now, I know that many of you are reading this with a "hmmm". This "extinction" tends to be an invisible trap for game designers. If you are not careful, you'll end up getting stabbed from behind. I'll explain what I mean here.


[h2]◆Fact #6 – Special Edition: That thing where you get to the end of the game but lose motivation[/h2]

One of the most common things people say about games is, "I've made it all the way to the end of the game, but I've lost my motivation and haven't beaten the last boss." This is exactly where "extinction" plays a bad role.

Recently, I felt this strongly with the new Fire Emblem game (Three Houses). I don't like to use other people's games as examples, but, well, it's a good example, so...

When I play a fun game, I tend to play it continuously, and the first day I bought this game, I played it all day long. However, the frequency of my playing gradually decreased, and by the end of the game, I only felt the need to play it once every few days.

Let's analyze this in terms of behavior. To analyze it, let's summarize the “reinforcer” evaluation of this game. My personal evaluation of the beginning of the game is as follows.

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◆Class change [ S ]
Your abilities collectively increase greatly, making you stronger and changing your appearance. This is quite important because it changes your movement type and you can acquire skills by mastering a class. This is the key to training, and the class you choose for your character will greatly affect your training methods.

◆Level up [ A ]
You have to be above a certain level in order to change classes, so stuff like "I want to get to level 20" ends up becoming a goal. The early stages of the game are also highly affected by ability increases.

◆Skill level [ A ]
It is necessary to learn new active and passive skills. It also affects the success rate of class changes, and the main character's skill level is also necessary for scouting (making characters friends), so you can set goals like "I want to get my sword skills to B". This stuff is important.

◆Character likability [ A ]
As likability increases, you can see specific events for the characters and it also affects battles as well. Not only is there a likability level for the main character, but there are also likability levels and events between characters, so you can try your best to raise these.

◆Scenario [ B ]
I knew that the three groups that were getting along reasonably well would eventually fight... So I was looking forward to seeing how that would play out. It also serves as a type of “reinforcer” to a certain extent, as your scenario choices can increase the likability of the characters.

◆Guidance level [ A ]
This is an essential element for raising skill level and likability, and its importance is quite high as it affects them quite deeply. Whenever I had extra actions to perform along my way, I would always try to raise my guidance level.

◆Equipment upgrade [ C ]
While I'm happy when I get equipment that looks strong, the system makes the initial training equipment pretty good (I used this to kill goombahs even at the end of the game), so even if I'm able to get something cool, it often can't easily be upgraded, or I end up not using it due of its durability.
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It's basically a whole bunch of “reinforcers”, although a little weak in the equipment department. As a result, my behavior had been reinforced and I continued playing the game for a while.
Next is my evaluation for the end part of the game.

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◆Class change [ C ]
I've already completed the class change for the top-level job. And when you max out a higher-level job, you get a skill that is exclusive to that class, and you're like, "You can't use that in a top-level job..." and a little bit of extinction occurs.

◆Level up [ C ]
While it is nice to see abilities increase, the rate of growth is the same as in the beginning, so the importance is not as high as it should be.

◆Skill level [ D ]
I'm almost done, and there are some left, but I don't really feel the need to try to improve or acquire anything else.

◆Equipment upgrade [ D ]
I've got all the strong equipment I need for the moment, and I don't need to force myself to update it.

◆Scenario [ C ]
Unfortunately, I couldn't get that emotionally involved with the characters, and the choices were becoming more and more pointless, so I wasn't really interested in seeing what happened next. (I think I made a mistake in choosing my route.)

◆Character likability [ D ]
My character's likability is maxed out, and actual likability doesn’t increase any further.

◆Guidance level [ D ]
I’ve already maxed out my level so whatever.
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Yeah. So there isn't a single B rank, and you can see that my evaluations have dropped a lot compared to the beginning. And to think how chock full of “reinforcers” it was.

Note that although the “reinforcer” of the training system is very powerful and very easy to create, once levels are maxed out and there's no longer any need for training, it becomes pretty much pointless. As a result of the capping out of the training part, the “reinforcer” has been basically eliminated, and there is no longer a "reason to play this game". That's why people quit games even after having advanced all the way to the endgame.

The player has high enough levels, the strongest weapons, and the most powerful skills, and all they have left to do is take on the last boss... So now, you may be pretty screwed as far as player retention goes. As a game designer, you should also think carefully about how to create reasons (“reinforcer”) to play the game up through the endgame.


[h2]◆Fact #7: The nature of extinction and types of reinforcement[/h2]

So I've explained the horrors of extinction. As for extinction, if you don't get the expected result, it doesn't mean that your behavior will immediately decrease. There is something called "resistance to extinction", and if the resistance to extinction is strong, the behavior will not decrease easily. (Incidentally, there is no such thing as "resistance to reversion", which I guess would be the opposite of resistance to extinction.)

So what kinds of things have strong resistance to extinction? There are two types of reinforcement: "continuous reinforcement" and "partial reinforcement", and each type of reinforcement has a different resistance to extinction. The characteristics of each type are as follows.

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◆Continuous reinforcement
Reinforcing the pattern of getting the “reinforcer” every time you do a specific action. This is the one where you get experience when you defeat an enemy. The resistance to extinction is weak, and when you don't get the reward that was there every time before, the behavior will be reduced more quickly.

◆Partial reinforcement
This is a reinforcement of the pattern where you may or may not get the “reinforcer” when you perform a specific action. This is the kind of reinforcement where you get a rare drop of powerful equipment after defeating an enemy. The resistance to extinction is strong, and since it's a reinforcement that may or may not provide a “reinforcer” in the first place, it's less likely to reduce the applicable behavior even said reinforcer isn't provided every time.
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Partial reinforcement is the deeper one here. Gambling and capsule toy machines are also very powerful forms of partial reinforcement. Also, the reason I make games even though they don't pay off every time is because I used to get so much positive feedback from reviewers, like "Thanks for a great time!" This is also a type of partial reinforcement.



Looking at it this way kinda makes me feel like I should just make all the elements into partial reinforcements...

You need to have the target try until partial reinforcement occurs (until you get the reinforcer), and (and this is just my guess, since it wasn't clearly written in some book) it is preferable to have a strong example of a reinforcer for reinforcement rather than continuous reinforcement.

If you have to work really hard to get a strong weapon in a rare drop, and the weapon you get is only slightly stronger than the one sold in the store, then no one will bother to work hard for that weapon.



By the way, there is a property of extinction called "extinction burst" which is sort of like a special move. To explain it very simply, when you press the attack button and no attack occurs, just keep mashing the attack button again and again... This is an extinction burst. It's an explosion of actions before the extinction. It's not really relevant to this story, so I'll spare you the details. But if you think you can make it work out, by all means go ahead and try it out.


[h2]◆Fact #8: Time up to releasing the “reinforcer” and “aversive conditions”[/h2]

Reinforcement or disinforcement occurs when a "reinforcer" or “aversive condition” appears after an action... So how exactly should one time "after an action"?

To sum it up, the sooner after the action, the better. To give an extreme example, the reason you are happy when defeating a metal slime is because "you get a lot of EXP after defeating it". If it's done in such a way that you get a lot of EXP 30 minutes after defeating it, this sense of happiness is going to fade significantly.

If I had to give a clear guideline, I'd say "within 60 seconds". There are no clear boundaries here, so it's really just a guideline. Basically, it's good to show the reinforcer or aversive condition to the player immediately after the applicable action.



For example, if an event choice increases the player-character's likability, it is preferable to tell the player about the increase in likability when they make that choice - not after the event is over. Get it out there as soon as possible.

--
That’s all for the third installment.
The next and final installment will conclude this article. We'll be applying all of the knowledge discussed so far to ruminate on creating the kind of game that "makes you want to keep playing".

The next update will be tomorrow. . See you again then.

[A Little Bit of Promotion]
I’m currently developing the “game book-style RPG” The Use of Life.
It’s the kind of game in which you can choose to use a key to unlock the door standing before you, or you can simply destroy it like a boss.
The demo version is now available on Steam, so by all means give it a try if you’re interested.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1483370/

*This article was originally written by Japanese indie game creator Daraneko, and translated by PLAYISM.

Now, we'll continue on.
The previous installment can be found here.


[h2]◆Fact #4: Behavior “increases” (reinforcement)[/h2]

First, let's talk about reinforcement, the principle of increasing behavior.

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◆Positive reinforcement (reinforcement through provision of a reinforcer)
　⇒Acting causes “good things to happen”, therefore behavior increases
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The most obvious, healthy, and powerful is this "reinforcement through promising a reinforcer". If you get rewarded for your actions, you will do more of that behavior.
I think "eroge", or "sexy games", are easy to understand and would make a good example. As a chart, it would look like this.



Even if the scenario is relatively toned down, or the game itself is a rather boring, if you - as the player - can get your hands on an image that you find to be super hot, then that's a strong example of a “reinforcer” and you're gonna work hard to get it. (Also, you nasty.)

Alright, moving on.

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◆Negative reinforcement: (reinforcement through removal of aversive conditions)
　Acting prevents “bad things from happening”, therefore behavior increases
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This is the same example as the antidotal herb thing that I've been using. Since we want the “aversive condition” represented by poison to be gone, we use the antidotal herb.



This is the kind of thing you do because you don't want to "lose" anything.

In this case, "pulling a gacha when a new character appears" is also included in "reinforcement through removal of aversive conditions". Since reinforcement and disinforcement are compounded, in this example, the behavior of "pulling the gacha" is reinforced by two reinforcements: the reinforcement of the appearance of a new character, which is a provision of a reinforcer, and the reinforcement of the removal of aversive conditions, which is that you will lose if you don't get the character. Gacha can be scary.





Next is disinforcement, or the principle of decreasing behavior.

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◆Disinforcement: behavior decreases
・Positive disinforcement (disinforcement through provision of aversive conditions)
　⇒Acting causes “bad things to happen”, therefore behavior decreases
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This means that you refrain from performing certain actions if you know you’ll be penalized for it.
Like, say you acquire some "red grass", and you try to use it and you end up taking damage... You won't try using that "red grass" again. Also, if you are constantly losing in a competitive game, you will stop playing that game.



OK next. Let’s burn right through these.

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◆Negative disinforcement (disinforcement through removal of a reinforcer)
　⇒Acting prevents “good things from happening”, therefore behavior decreases
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This one is pretty hard to explain. I’m not a fan of this one.
But my feelings here don’t matter. Anyway, to give an example, if the more you fight enemies, the lower your level drops, then you’re gonna stop fighting altogether... That. That’s pretty much it.



Another example of negative disinforcement is when your mom says “You’re not getting any snacks if you play more than an hour of video games per day!”


[h2]◆In Practice (Digression): “Reinforcement” is a game’s foundation[/h2]

These facts are gonna continue for a little longer... But I don't want to keep droning on with explanations too much. I'd like to touch on how reinforcement and disinforcement can be applied to game design.

First, let's go back to the goal I mentioned at the beginning of this article. Here it is.
Also, this time, as is the case with behavior analysis, our goal will not be to "make a fun game". Instead, the goal is to increase the player's behavior of "playing the (super-duper fun and awesome) game (that I totally made)".

Increasing behavior is reinforcement. So, in game design, it is very important to think about how to reinforce the behavior of "playing the (super-duper fun and awesome) game (that I totally made)".

For example, let's think about "leveling up. It's used in all sorts of games, right? Level up. When you level up, your status increases and you learn skills, so it is easy to use as "reinforcement through provision of a reinforcer". As an example, think of a game with a bit of level-up action. It can be a game you like, a game you dislike, or even your own game.
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OK. So, is leveling-up in that game actually fun? Do you feel satisfied when you level up? Does it make you feel like you want to go and level up even further?
To put it a different way: how strong is the “reinforcer” provided when leveling up?
I know it's probably hard to imagine, so let’s set up a rough guide for this “strength”.

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[ S Rank ]
I enjoy playing this game so much that I end up leveling up. I actually play this game specifically for the sake of leveling up.

[ A Rank ]
I'm happy when I level up, and I can set "goals" like "I want to get to level XX".

[ B Rank ]
I feel that I'm getting stronger as I level up, and I'll be happy when my level goes up.

[ C Rank ]
It's good to have a high level, but I don't really think about it that much.

[ D Rank ]
Leveling up doesn't fully function as a "provision of a reinforcer". It has become unimportant.
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If you want to reinforce something, of course, you should have a strong "provision of a reinforcer", and conversely, a weak "provision of a reinforcer" is not useful for reinforcement. The stronger this “reinforcer” is, the better.

If I were to use my own rough guide above, I would say that a rank of B or higher is desirable, and if you are going to put a lot of effort into that content, you should use something ranking A.
On the other hand, if it's C rank or lower, it needs to be tweaked or it's just a useless feature, so you might want to consider removing it.

In this case, I used level-up as an example, but if you thoroughly peruse and judge whether or not this “reinforcer” is functioning properly for every element of the game, you will be able to see what needs to be fixed in the game.

It can be good to handle a large framework in subdivisions, for example, when evaluating a "character enhancement system" in subdivisions.

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◆Level up [C]
When your EXP reaches a certain level, your level will increase and your parameters will rise. The amount of increase is more modest than that of equipment.

◆Updating equipment [A]
Obtained in armory shops and dungeons. When you get new equipment, your parameters will increase significantly. Due to its high importance, it works well as a strong reward.

◆Learning skills [A]
You learn skills as you get used to them and as your skill level increases. The higher-level skills are clearly stronger and become the goal of raising the skill level.
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In this case, leveling up is weak, because the role of "parameters increase" is already covered by equipment updating, and it's not as good as that either, so its function as a "provision of a reinforcer" is weak. There are a few ways to fix this, such as "include a parameter that only increases as you level up" or "change the skill level increase to be done with points obtained through leveling up".

As an example of how to use this, you can use it to "evaluate" a game in this way. You don't need to know anything about behavior analysis to do this, but naming concepts like "reinforcement" and “reinforcer” makes it easier to fully grasp. Since you can measure every element of the game on the same scale, it's easy to spot areas that need to be leveraged.

So, uh... yeah.
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Well, sure, this stuff can be used for evaluation, too, but...
Just how exactly can it be used for game design itself?
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This is probably what you’re thinking right now, isn’t it? Yeah, I can tell. I was afraid of that.
It's not that I can't explain that stuff, but I need to toss out a couple more of those facts first. Otherwise my explanation is gonna come out all half-baked. So please join me once again for a little more of that "Facts" section.

――
That’s all for the second installment.
The next installment will mark the end of the Facts section, but I’d like to take some of the stuff I’ve explained and put that toward discussing and analyzing the oft-lamented phenomenon that could be described as, “That thing where you’re like, ‘I've made it all the way to the end of the game, but I've lost my motivation and haven't beaten the last boss’”.

The next update will be tomorrow.See you again then.

[A Little Bit of Promotion]
I’m currently developing the “game book-style RPG” The Use of Life.
The theme is "Dueling", and it features some pretty intense battles that will really keep you on the edge of your seat.
The demo version is now available on Steam, so by all means give it a try if you’re interested.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1483370/_/

*This article was originally written by Japanese indie game creator Daraneko, and translated by PLAYISM.

Behavior analysis is a rather unusual field of psychology. To put it bluntly, it’s kind of like...

“The ‘mind’? What’s the point in looking at something so uncertain and vague?
Forget that stuff, let's focus on "actions" that can actually be observed and measured!”

As a discipline of psychology, it has taken quite a drastic left turn, in a way.
It is also a very practical discipline.
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Alright, so "playing video games" is one type of behavior. In other words, if we understand the "mechanism of behavior" studied in behavior analysis, we can further deepen our understanding of the behavior of "playing video games".

OK that sounded way too stuffy. I get tired just writing stuff like that out. Anyway, I found some info that might be useful for making games, so I'll touch on that stuff here as I contemplate it myself. Here we go.

Table of Contents

• The Point of this Article
  
• Fact #1: The cause of a behavior lies “after the behavior”
  
• Fact #2: Thinking of "behavior" in terms of "behavioral contingencies"
  
• Fact #3: Four basic principles of behavior
  
• Fact #4: Behavior “increases” (reinforcement)
  
• Fact #5: Behavior “decreases” (disinforcement)
  
• Implementation (Digression): “Reinforcement” is a game’s foundation
  
• Fact #6: Extinction and reversion
  
• Fact #6 – Extra: That thing where you get to the end of the game but lose motivation
  
• Fact #7: The nature of extinction and types of reinforcement
  

This time, since we're dealing with behavior analysis, I won't set a target of "making interesting games". Instead, the target is to increase a player's behavior of "playing the game" (an extremely fun game I made myself).
We're not aiming for "fun", but imagine a situation in which a player "keeps playing the game on and on". As a game designer, I think this is a great situation.



First off, I will introduce the above-mentioned info on behavior analysis in "Fact" sections, using games as examples. Then, based on these facts, I'd like to discuss how this stuff can be applied to game design as an example.
So for now, let's start with the explanation.



Just looking at the title of this section, you’re probably like, “What the hell are you even talking about?” But that’s fair. Anyway, if you’ve played a lot of RPGs, then you’ve probably used some sort of “antidotal herb” at some point. Well, why did you use this “antidotal herb”? Why not use a “medicinal herb” or something instead?



Why do people use “antidotal herbs”? Well, because it’s there... Just kidding; it’s not that simple and vague. They use it to relieve themselves of the crappy status ailment known as “poison”. Let’s put it into chart form:



The reason for the action of "using the antidotal herb" can be said to be due to the fact that "the poison will disappear after using the antidotal herb". So, the antidotal herb is used with the expectation that the poison will disappear.

Now you're probably saying, "What the hell are you talking about? Like, no duh."
This kind of behavior, in which the cause of occurrence comes after the action, is called "operant behavior". You don't have to bother remembering this name, as it won't be on the test.
All human behavior, except for reflexive behavior, falls under operant behavior. (Reflexive behaviors are things like crying because of dust in your eye, Pavlov's dog, stuff like that.)

So what I'm trying to say is, if you design a game so that the behavior of "playing the (super-duper fun and awesome) game (that I totally made)" increases in accordance with the operant behavior mechanism, then theoretically, people will be more willing to play the (super-duper fun and awesome) game (that I totally made). Theoretically, I mean. It's pretty amazing, isn't it?





So we've discussed operant behavior. Let's get to know a bit more about how it works. Earlier, I showed you this diagram as an example using antidotal herbs.



In operant behavior, there is a very strong connection between "action" and "result," as in "I used the antidotal herb, and the poison disappeared. So if I get poisoned, I'll use the antidotal herb." In this way, "action" and "result" are very strongly connected.
Behavior analysis places a great deal of importance on this connection, and the basic idea is to consider "before action", "action", and "result after action" as a single set. This is what is technically known as a "behavioral contingency". If you want to influence someone's behavior, you have to think about what to do with the "result after action".






When I mention "influencing someone's behavior," I don't mean it in an overly dramatic way. There are two simple things to consider: how to "increase behavior", and how to "decrease behavior". The first thing to understand is that there is something that explains the general framework.

First off, for increasing behavior, this is called "reinforcement". There are basically two ways to do this.

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◆Reinforcement: Behavior increases
・Positive reinforcement: (reinforcement through provision of a reinforcer)
　⇒Acting causes “good things to happen”, therefore behavior increases

・Negative reinforcement: (reinforcement through removal of aversive conditions)
　⇒Acting prevents “bad things from happening”, therefore behavior increases
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The next step is to reduce behavior, which is called "disinforcement". There are two basic ways to do this as well.

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◆Disinforcement: Behavior decreases
・Positive disinforcement (disinforcement through provision of aversive conditions)
　⇒Acting causes “bad things to happen”, therefore behavior decreases

・Negative disinforcement (disinforcement through removal of a reinforcer)
　⇒Acting prevents “good things from happening”, therefore behavior decreases
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Elements that affect these “reinforcements” and “disinforcements” are known as “reinforcers” and “aversive conditions”, respectively.
Think of a “reinforcer” as a kind of “reward”; basically, something that will make the receiver happy.

The opposite is true for "aversive conditions", which would be something more off-putting, like a penalty. "Poison" would be an example of an “aversive condition”.



By the way, "poison" can also work as a "reinforcer" in a situation such as "I want to use a skill that will be greatly enhanced if I become poisoned". It's just a matter of "whether it makes you happy or unhappy" in a particular situation.

Allow me to explain each of these reinforcers and aversive conditions.

-----
That’s all for this first article. Big picture-wise, we’re still kind of at the beginning of the beginning, really.

Anyway, for the next installment, I plan to provide more specific information and examples of how said information can actually be properly more employed in the creation of video games.
The next update will probably be on tomorrow. See you again then.

[A Little Bit of Promotion]
I’m currently developing the “game book-style RPG” The Use of Life.
It’s a game in which the player-character’s various “attachments” change in accordance with the choices you make, with the story’s ending also changing ultimately depending on your “use of life”.
The demo version is now available on Steam, so by all means give it a try if you’re interested.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1483370/_/

Hi everyone,

The Early Access Version of The Use of Life is now available on Steam! You can play up to Chapter 2 in the Early Access version. However, the choices you make in Chapter 1, can heavily change the protagonist's fate...
*Warning: Save data from the demo version will not carry over.

We will continue to develop the game until its full release, carefully listening to user feedback along the way. We will also continue to update the game regularly to fix bugs, improve quality, and adjust the balance of the game. Major updates down the line will include:

• Main Scenario Updates (chapters added for each branch)
  
• Implementation of higher-level classes
  
• Implementation of "Infinite Arena (tentative)", a mode that allows users to continue fighting until they die.
  

You can send us your feedback from within the game or post it in the Steam thread! We would love to hear your feedback!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1483370/_/

Visit the Playism Website Follow us on Steam Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook

Dear Users,

The Use of Life is a solo developer indie game made in the image of a Choose Your Own Adventure book with multi-ending capabilities.
That's very glad to announce that PLAYISM will be releasing globally and support for this game. Early Access for this game will be coming soon.

Wishlist on Steam today!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1483370/


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