B.F. Skinner, Game Rewards, and the Game Major

B.F. Skinner - haciendapub.com

Burrhus Frederic Skinner (B.F. Skinner) is a man who studied behavioral psychology at Harvard University and crafted many experiments to discover how operant conditioning functions. One of these experiments involved the Operant Conditioning Chamber, that of which many people know of as animal test; Rats were placed in a box and performed certain tasks. Each task would either have a negative or positive consequence and the rat's resulting behavior would be recorded. Within these various studies that Skinner conducted, he found that operant condition changes the behavior of how one reacts to an event over time. For example, if someone gets an F in school and is punished (sent to their room, grounded, etc.), they are more likely to attempt not to get an F to prevent the punishment. On the other hand, if a someone gets an A in school and they are rewarded for doing so (given money, new electronics, etc.), they are more likely to attempt getting more A's. 

These Principals are seen in our every day lives. They are also a driving mechanic behind a lot of the things we do. We eat to avoid the consequence of dying; We exercise to avoid becoming unhealthy; We work to gain money. Operant Conditioning is also seen in many games. In Adventure Games, you learn to explore because finding extra items can make the adventure easier and more fun. In Fighting Games, you learn combos to make winning easier. In almost every game, you learn to avoid taking damage so you do not die and have to start over. Many of the games that have and will fail are due to there being a lack of reward or accomplishment given to the player(s). 

     Because I am currently studying games what makes a game good and/or bad, many questions are surfacing on the subject of game making. How can I tell if my game is good? How can I tell if it's bad? How do I make a good game? A lot of these questions are currently being explored as I continue to draft a few ideas for a Print-N-Play game, and eventually a full-on board game. In many successful board games, like Chess, Monopoly, or even Checkers, each play session always contains something gratifying about forming the strategy used to defeat the opponent(s). I'm currently hoping to be able to extract many more examples of successful games and incorporate them into my own creation in a short game that is both unique and creative.