Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Not Everyone Is Irrational:
Although we cannot expect superrationality, we
can expect that at least
some
players will act in a rational fashion at least
some
of the time.
Pursuing Rationality Has Limits:
Even when people are attempting to be ratio-
nal, they are often limited in their ability or desire to do so. This results in them
acting partially rationally—often to varying degrees.
Acting Irrationally Can Be Logical:
Because we cannot expect
everyone
else to
act either perfectly rationally or partially rationally, it is sometimes
logical
for us
to act in a fashion that is not
perfectly
rational.
People Exhibit Bounded Rationality:
People are not perfectly rational because
they often fail in their abilities to perceive and calculate the information cor-
rectly.
Pursuing Rationality Can Be Prohibitive:
Sometimes the costs of attempting
perfect rationality are so high compared to the benefits we would gain that we
can justify remaining in
rational ignorance
of the information.
The above observations lead us, not to a pinpoint solution of how to approach
modeling human behavior, but rather to the notion that a range of behaviors is
more appropriate. On one end of this range is the pure logic and math of perfect
rationality; on the other end is the mindless chaos of randomness. Neither endpoint
is acceptable as a solution that resembles the way “real people� think and act. But
what lies in the middle?
Before we can proceed with modeling behaviors, we need to know what that
range is. And before we can begin to map out what that range is, we need to deter-
mine how ranges like this are measured. That is, we need a measuring stick.
