Playing the Odds

One of the most powerful tools a designer can use when developing games is probability, using random chance to determine the outcome of player actions or to build the environment in which play occurs. The use of luck, however, is not without its pitfalls, and designers should be aware of the tradeof...

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Published inThe Best Writing on Mathematics 2013 Vol. 4; pp. 62 - 66
Main Author Johnson, Soren
Format Book Chapter
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Princeton University Press 19.01.2014
Subjects
MATHEMATICS
Popular science
Probability theory
Pure mathematics
Randomness
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Abstract One of the most powerful tools a designer can use when developing games is probability, using random chance to determine the outcome of player actions or to build the environment in which play occurs. The use of luck, however, is not without its pitfalls, and designers should be aware of the tradeoffs involved—what chance can add to the experience and when it can be counterproductive. One challenge with using randomness is that humans are notoriously poor at evaluating probability accurately. A common example is thegambler’s fallacy,which is the belief that odds even out over time. If the
AbstractList One of the most powerful tools a designer can use when developing games is probability, using random chance to determine the outcome of player actions or to build the environment in which play occurs. The use of luck, however, is not without its pitfalls, and designers should be aware of the tradeoffs involved—what chance can add to the experience and when it can be counterproductive. One challenge with using randomness is that humans are notoriously poor at evaluating probability accurately. A common example is thegambler’s fallacy,which is the belief that odds even out over time. If the
Author Soren Johnson
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SubjectTerms MATHEMATICS
Popular science
Probability theory
Pure mathematics
Randomness
Title Playing the Odds
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