Topic

Pyschological disorders: good idea?

For the game, I mean.

From what I remember from my psych textbooks it's important to distinguish between mood disorders, mental disorders, and personality disorders. If I recall correctly, mood disorders are the kind that require psychiatrists while personality disorders are behavioral in nature, but you can take some creative license here.

For example: if your behavior is consistently selfish/uncooperative, you can develop narcissistic personality disorder and must see a psychologist (branch of bureaucratic arts). If if you spend too much time in a small area, you can develop claustrophobia and/or depression and must see a psychiatrist for antidepressants. (psychology + a medicine skill, perhaps herbology + admixing).

Thoughts on this?

(edit) Since most of the opposed listed the "negative" aspect of psychological disorders as their reason for objecting, answer this: how would you feel about a psychological skill tree that only contributes and doesn't take away? For example, "focus pills" that increase your concentration? Or "mood pills" that act as a lighter version of No No Powder? Say the game doesn't add disorders proper, but adds a "Psychiatry" skill tree from the combination of Bureaucratic Arts, Meditation and Herbology. What are your thoughts on that?

Posted 16 months ago by The Crepeist Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

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  • @shakha: Thanks for taking the time to post all of that from your phone. I know how time-consuming it can be, so I'm glad you took that amount of time to contribute constructive feedback to my thread.

    I've used "pillmaking" to simplify things but you could have potions as well, which perhaps could combine herbology with cocktail crafting. While buffs already exist from drinks, you could use that reasoning to exile herbology completely. Yet, a lot of people like herbology, and I think it's proved an interesting and unique skill deviation from cocktail crafting. Herbology differs from drinks not only in the quality of buffs given but the *type* of buffs given, and pillmaking/potionmaking could further those distinctions.
    Posted 16 months ago by The Crepeist Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I have no problems with the fields of psychiatry (or psychology) in the real world. I think they are valuable resources for people. I don't see that they have a place in this game, however, since we don't psychoanalyze ourselves, typically, and as Windborn said, there is no function (nor desire I should think) to interact with others in that fashion. As far as psychotropic drugs...well, I don't have a problem with them in-game, per se, but I would want some specific examples. We do already have the buffs that can be obtained from drinks and of course there is the no-no powder. And, though I haven't played around much with the herbs, I think they have some interesting effects as well. I'm not sure there is really a need to add another mind altering element to the game, even if it may seem desirable to some.

    I'm wondering if you are doing a research project for a psych class? Or is this just personal interest?
    Posted 16 months ago by Audaria Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Audaria

    Personal interest. I like psychology a lot. I read cognitive science articles frequently in my off time; one of my closest friends is a neuroscience major; I'm a psych minor, and would be a psych major had adding it as a second major not prohibited my graduation.

    The most obvious example of a positive nootropic pill I can think of is a concentration pill. I was diagnosed with ADHD a few years ago and was prescribed Adderall, which if you've never had it is a lot like drinking four cups of coffee in quick succession. If you made this an in-game item, you could call it a "focus pill" or something similar. Based on the way Adderall works in real life, an in-game equivalent is easy: the buff from this would perform tasks faster and increase the rewards from those tasks, but if you switch the task (say, going from mining to repairing) the buff goes away. This buff would be good if you're doing something monotonous like mining or milking butterflies.

    On top of this, you could integrate a lot of questionably effective but cool drug concepts. If you go to any major supermarket in the US you've probably seen things like Vitamin Water or the latest series of "mind drinks" to have cropped up. They have themes like focus, speed, and so on. It's silly, but if you can imagine it, virtually every Vitamin Water flavor is a potential "mind pill" under this idea.
    Posted 16 months ago by The Crepeist Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I like the idea of potionmaking, and I think the devs are already on it. I remember reading in a thread a little while ago that it was on its way. 

    Ah, found it. It doesn't really say what ingredients will be required, and the only use mentioned is gardening. We really don't know much about it, but maybe medicinal potions are also in consideration?

    The thing is, we already sort of have nootropics in drink form, e.g. Bubble-Enhanced Meditation from Bubble Tea and Small Enlightenment from Pungent Sunrises. Unfortunately, drinks seem to cover a lot of ground. Herbs could be added to drinks to improve a buff's intensity, or to create similar buffs for different activities, but I'm not sure that a new skill tree is necessary.

    Although it would be fun (and sad) to watch people buy the equivalent of a Power Balance band in Glitch, it wouldn't really work out, except maybe in the same way that the small shiny object with no intrinsic value does. People may fall for it in real life, but we have the wiki.
    Posted 16 months ago by Xacau Feera Blin Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @The Crepeist

    I agree psychology is an interesting field. My degree was in a different direction, but I had my psych elective, which I thoroughly enjoyed - including participation in research projects.

    I like the idea of a concentration or focus...something. I just don't think I like the idea of pills in the game. And I have a feeling it might not go over well with the masses. I decided to sleep on this for a night before responding, trying to figure out why I don't think pills, as such, are a good idea. Mostly, I think it would be redundant. As shakha said, we do have some drinks with nootropic effects and there is herbology, which apparently is still being developed. I think rather than develop pills, I would rather see it added to alchemy. We already craft no-no powder there, along with sparkly powder (or whatever that's called). I guess it also just boils down to the fact that pills don't sound like much fun. I know some people take them for recreational purposes, but they still connote an association with illness that really is not appealing.

    So, to wrap up this rambling post: I like the idea of adding some of your drug concepts into the existing formats - drinks, herbs, or potions (if you consider the powders one makes with the beaker potions.) I just don't see the need, nor do I have the desire, for pills in the game.
    Posted 16 months ago by Audaria Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'm not going to wade into the debate, you can never change anyone's mind, but just in case the glitch developers are counting the Ayes and Noes, I'd like to say that I think this is a terrible, terrible, terrible idea. Please no.
    Posted 16 months ago by Pomponella Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Audaria: Pills don't necessarily connote illness. At least, not anymore. I used to take omega-3 supplements which came in pill form and that was to improve my health from a base state, not to cure any sort of illness. In college -- freshman year, before I knew any better -- I took a lot of ginkgo biloba pills under the assumption that my performance on memory-based tests would improve.

    If you're okay with the addition of nootropics to alchemy, what if pillmaking were an additional step from admixing, just as grilling is an additional step from cooking? 
    Posted 16 months ago by The Crepeist Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @The Crepeist - I take 7 supplement pills everyday to maintain my health, not to treat any illness. But, I know that most people think illness first, when pills are mentioned. If not, I wouldn't have to qualify "pills" with supplement and explain that they are all preventive, not curative. And even though I take pills as supplements, I still don't like the idea of pills in the game. And, I don't think they're necessary, given the other items that already exist.
    Posted 16 months ago by Audaria Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I am against any kind of penalty or even enhancement which is inflicted on me by someone else's judgement. 

    Who decides what is "too long" in any area or in any activity?  Who decides what is "too much"  of anything?

    At the moment we are free to choose whether to use or take certain actions which affect our mood or restrict our activity.  There are drinks, herbs and no-no powder, we can take or leave them.  There are activities which we can do or not.  Those are our decisions.  I would not play, nor, I suspect would many of the people here, if our mental states were judged by others and "treatment" offered.

    I see no need to add realistic psychological "fixes" in the game.  There are many things we can choose now to alter perception or mood. "Choose"  being the operative word.

    Herbology and Potions would be fun, if the results were amusing, otherwise not. 

    Anything which takes away my freedom of choice and gives me forced "adjustments" or "treatment" is way out of order in my book.
    Posted 16 months ago by Cassandria Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Sorry, I'm not getting how bringing psychological disorders into Glitch is going to enhance anything?
    Posted 16 months ago by oli kins Subscriber! | Permalink
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