Emergent Behaviour and Reciprocal Design

Hi, I’d like to talk about emergent behaviour!

I found myself looking at the forums of a relatively new MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) called Star Wars: The Old Republic. As the name suggests, it is a brand new MMORPG set in the Star Wars universe. While it still follows the basic MMORPG format, what really sets it aside as a good case study for emergent behaviour is firstly, it is only two weeks old and as such we can monitor the evolution of the game and how people play it and secondly the somewhat unique stance the designers seem to have taken against emergent behaviour.

In ‘The Mangle of Play’, Steinkuehler reflects upon the complex and delicate balance between how the designers of Lineage II expected their game to be played and how the player base actually play it. Steinkuehler used the example of players ‘farming’ in game currency to sell to other players for real life money; a simple notion that has created a wide reaching range of effects from cyber-racism to causing previously warring groups of players to unite against their perceived common enemy. This example evokes the critical argument behind emergent behaviour: left to their own devices; players’ emergent behaviour will break down and destroy the mechanics of the game. On the other hand, those familiar with MMORPGs will know of many positive examples of emergent behaviour. Scores, if not hundreds of commonly used and accepted conventions of the MMORPG have come from emergent behaviour, to list but a few: Bank alts (Secondary characters created for the sole purpose of keeping in game items for your main character); Merchanting (Selling items for a higher price than you bought them to make a profit); ‘Killin’ n00bs’ (Hunting and killing lower level characters for fun). However one needs but glance over the forums of Star Wars: The Old Republic to see the hordes of players complaining about being banned or otherwise punished for demonstrating these exact types emergent behaviour.

It is interesting to consider that if in the opening weeks of this game, the designers want to keep a tight lid on already established (and arguably not even emergent anymore) emergent behaviours, how then will new scenarios of emergent behaviour be dealt with? (Don’t answer that). I feel that emergent behaviour is a necessary part of any game. When designers make a game they ask test audiences to play it for thousands of hours of game time to assess and develop the game and even then, they are surprised on release by aspects of their own game they did not consider. Emergent behaviour then acts as a sort of on going beta test, where even if it wasn’t what the designers had initially intended, the emergent behaviour should definitely be considered as a legitimate and in some ways better way to interact with their game.

P.S. As an ex mmorpg player, I’m obviously quite biased in regards to this topic but I welcome and encourage another’s perspective on emergent behaviour (or exploitation of game mechanics if that is your view) :p

-Ed