human behavior « Apostolos Koutsokalis

Tag Archives: human behavior

Know your enemy

Posted on 25/09/2015 by apo

I was not planning on adding this first part to the intro, but since people are – surprisingly – still asking and one of the reasons I like having my thoughts easily accessible is being able to effortlessly have people refer to them without having to repeat myself over and over, I guess I can squeeze in a couple of paragraphs. They actually should be quite coherent with the rest. The things I am still getting asked are something along the lines of:

-What is/was the army/experience like?
-What did you get out of it?
-Did you make the right choice by going?

So answering in reverse order:

-Yes, there were quite a few pros and cons, after weighting them and considering all circumstances I made a choice. And since it was my choice it was and will be the best. I could elaborate more, but decision-making and reflecting on past actions are solid materials for a proper future post.

-While answering “nothing” always tempts me, it would truly be an understatement. It is in fact possible to get something good out of any situation. And while the Greek army did not offer me challenging experiences in terms of schedules, or having to cooperate, or follow orders, I still managed to get some things out of it. A couple of new friends, some technical work experience, a confirmation on my theory about the world. Which brings me to my next answer. Read more …

Twitch Plays Pokemon

Posted on 20/05/2014 by apo

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When I set out to finish this post, that has been in the making for far too long, I had a feeling that it would lack a very important factor: timing. I asked myself “why would anyone care anymore? You already told people in private almost anything you had to say or comment about twitch plays pokemon“. But then I realized: Twitch still plays Pokemon.

While the viewership or excitement might not be the same, enough elements still Read more …

Coping with “idea overflow”

Posted on 25/02/2014 by apo

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A few weeks ago my friend Chris sent me an e-mail containing a link to this discussion. It is a condition that I share with many other people in the world and not just a conversation starter. And I say “condition” because I don’t think it can be exclusively hindering to a person or the society if handled properly.

First things first, what is “idea overflow”? Interestingly enough there is no entry about it on wikipedia so the following definition is my own. “Idea overflow” is a condition where a person keeps having a constant stream of ideas – new or old ones – on his mind without being able to finish or develop any of them – fast enough or even at all – and thus becomes unable to contain that stream of ideas to a bearable limit. And if the definition didn’t help you enough let’s just say that “idea overflow” is what made me pause twice while typing this, so I could create a couple of drafts that hopefully will later become future blog articles and what is now making me consider whether I should implement a voting system where readers would vote on the next draft that want completed.

Taking myself as an example you can see Read more …

The DISlike button

Posted on 04/01/2014 by apo

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One of the wonders of living in the 21st century is the seemingly limitless options we have on anything. From shopping to elected officials and from cat pictures to socializing. When presented with such an – at times overwhelming – number of choices one has to be able to keep up with the pace, not so much concerning the quantity but the quality of said choices.

The thing is though, that more often than not, we are offered to just choose what we like best. Think about it. We bookmark our preferred sites, star our favorite tweets, like the best facebook posts and comments, listen only to the music we like, vote for the politicians that we think can best represent us. We only aim towards what we want, what we think is best, while completely ignoring everything else. No ‘but’s no bargaining. Either take it, or leave it.

We are operating under a general lack of dislike means and limited negative feedback options.

I am not saying that positive feedback is a bad metric, but one that is overused compared to others that complement it. Positive feedback alone cannot present the full picture and also usually doesn’t contribute in the creation of new developments, but rather prolongs existing states. Still not convinced? Well, time for the obligatory post example. Read more …

What I learned from TGTSNBN: Metagaming

Posted on 28/12/2013 by apo

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Wikipedia defines metagaming as: a broad term usually used to define any strategy, action or method used in a game which transcends a prescribed ruleset, uses external factors to affect the game, or goes beyond the supposed limits or environment set by the game. Another definition refers to the game universe outside of the game itself.

In simple terms, it is the use of out-of-game information or resources to affect one’s in-game decisions.

While in other games metagaming is generally more accepted or even “required” (think of famous chess openings, or current stronger deck types in card games, or strategies adopted by professionals in video games), it is a completely different story in RPGs. Read more …

What I learned from TGTSNBN: The one man army

Posted on 27/12/2013 by apo

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Transitioning from a concept to a final product is no easy task. Let alone a country-wide game that is played by 10-40 people everyday (peak active players were around 100). What we’re looking at is 2-7 sessions everyday, that means 2-7 GMs that need to be briefed in advance. It also requires those players having their characters ready and possibly a session tailored to their tastes. That doesn’t sound like an impossible feat right? Well it isn’t, provided that we are discussing a finished product.

After 2.5 years the game is still in development, with parts of it being redesigned every couple of weeks and new features still rolling out. Game design, ~~web application development~~, class balancing, GM briefing, loot handing, character leveling bonuses, feedback receiving, session managing, group moderating, bug squashing and so many more are required for the game to operate smoothly. I am not trying to make it sound harder than it actually is. It is hard! Especially for a single person to pull all that off!

The game’s owner/designer/master admin that will from now on be reffered to as “A.” wanted to make it happen all by himself. And by “all” I mean everything that he believed wasn’t straight out of the question for him (i.e. programming). So take another look at the above requirements without wondering anymore why “web application development” was striken through. And no, that’s not one less job for A. because mister A. will now also need to communicate with the web developer, graphics designer and suddenly we’re back to square one. Read more …