Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
H EDONIC C ALCULUS
In the late 18th century, the English utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham devel-
oped what came to be known as the felicific or hedonic calculus . He developed an
algorithm that was formulated, in his mind, to help in calculating the degree or
amount of pleasure (i.e., hedonism) that an action was likely to cause. Likewise, it
could be used to calculate the amount of pain that said action would cause—perhaps
doing one or the other to two different people—or even doing both to the same
person.
By rating any given action, he posited that you could determine whether an
action was worthwhile—or even moral. In fact, by using his algorithm and the
various weights he applied to actions, Bentham constructed arguments in favor of
individual and economic freedom, the separation of church and state, freedom
of expression, equal rights for women, the end of slavery, the abolition of physical
punishment, animal abuse laws, the right to divorce, free trade, the interest charged
on loans, and even the decriminalization of homosexual acts (and remember, this
was the 18th century!).
Although this may be presumptuous, his methods were definitely crafted in
such a way as to make life easier for game artificial intelligence (AI) developers. As
a unit of measurement (i.e., a common “utility� value), he reduced everything to
“hedons� and “dolors�—positive and negative, respectively. He rated actions using
a combination of variables, which he called “elements� or “dimensions.� What they
amounted to was vectors of pleasure (or pain) that could be added together to
combine into one final result. These dimensions included:
1. Intensity: How strong is the pleasure?
2. Duration: How long will the pleasure last?
3. Certainty or Uncertainty: How likely or unlikely is it that the pleasure will
occur?
4. Propinquity or Remoteness (Time Distance): How soon will the pleasure
occur?
5. Fecundity: How probable is it that the action will be followed by sensations
of the same kind?
6. Purity: How probable is it that the action will not be followed by sensations
of the opposite kind?
7. Extent: How many people will be affected?
The first six of these were designed to be applied to the individual in question,
whereas the seventh was meant to encompass others as well.
 
 
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