Topic

Ajaya Bliss and emergent cooperation

Summary: A new bonus system which rewards cooperation reinforces positive interactions between players .

Introduction: Ajaya Bliss is an special area in the mines that is filled with sparkly rocks. To enter Ajaya Bliss you need to find a hidden key and unlock a door or (I think) have someone teleport you inside. This area was often crowded in earlier tests  because sparkly rocks are more desirable than the other sorts.

Competitive mining: Ore was originally extracted on a first-come, first-served basis. People would either mine by themselves or (reluctantly) share a rock, grabbing as much ore as they could. Later tests introduced bonuses for "helping", but these bonuses were low - perhaps only an extra piece of ore, giving up to a 15% increase in efficiency but sacrificing the chance to mine more ore over a longer time. Players cooperated because they had to - social norms were the only mechanism to encourage sharing.

Newly-increased bonuses: This test introduced changes to the mining bonus system. My observations indicate that it is partially random and partially based on the order in which players have begun to mine. The first player to select a rock can "mine" it as before, but the second and each subsequent player are given the opportunity to help mine instead. The first miner receives the largest bonus, followed by the others in order in which they have begun to mine, but the first miner will become a "helper" once he or she finishes a mining sequence and starts again.

Observations: The new bonus system strongly favors cooperation. I have experienced bonuses of around thirty-five pieces of ore on top of the basic six or seven that can be mined per attempt, and I have heard reports of ninety or more bonus pieces. This means that it is much, much more efficient to work cooperatively - it is not only faster, but mining the bonus pieces of ore does not damage your tool or consume your energy. A new cooperative style of mining has emerged as a consequence of this.

Emergent cooperation: Miners in Ajaya Bliss have learned that large groups earn more ore than smaller ones. They form a sort of conga line of players, leaping around the playing area to find new rocks as they spawn. When they do, one player will spontaneously start to mine and others will join him or her. Sometimes two rocks spawn simultaneously and this pattern is disrupted, but players tend to join whichever rock has the most players. The extra miners consume the rock quickly, typically within a single mining attempt, and then the conga line starts again.

Conclusions: This emergent pattern is beautiful to watch. The players swirl around the playing area like leaves. A lot of sharing goes on, more than can be explained by the selfish desire to increase the number of helpers. By rewarding cooperation the bonus system has reinforced a positive dynamic that extends to other player interactions.

Posted 15 months ago by Tanga Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

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  • After reading all the threads here on Ajaya Bliss I'm really glad to hear how happy the mob miners are in Ajaya Bliss that makes the game fun for them and their friends.  Perhaps sometime in the future I will give it another go and see if I can handle the mob scene better, who knows.  I like having fun.

    Perhaps the developers could create another mine where there would be a lot of sparkly for miners who prefer just to mine solo.  No bonus for helping mine might work and it won't stop so much verbiage and grumpy pants.

    At least I can now see that some miners really love how Ajaya Bliss works and I can appreciate their enjoyment.  Mine in peace.
    Posted 15 months ago by xoxJulie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Well said, julie, glad you feel that way. Your idea seems good, that and the one above, about special reserved rocks. I know there are some plans for customized group areas and homes, maybe we'll see rocks in those someday. I like the community focus in Glitch, but what you do alone certainly doesn't bother me! :)
    Posted 15 months ago by FlirtyvonSexenhaven Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Cerulean  you can totally follow me. and the key spawns somewhere near the entrance but i cant remember. don't pay 3500!!!
    Posted 15 months ago by Geeki Yogini Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The key spawns in the upper left of Gori Blear.  Bring spinach.  

    I think it also spawns in Nandak Intention, maybe in the secret area there.
    Posted 15 months ago by Sheepalot Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I have jumped and I have searched but I have never found the key, so I teleport.  Life is hard enough I take any shortcut that actually works.

    Thanks FlirtyVSH.
    Posted 15 months ago by xoxJulie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I don't like the idea of creating private or semi-private areas out in the wide Glitch world.  Please remember that one of the M's in MMORPG is for "Multi-player".  If you want a solo game, find a nice one for your PC or console at home.

    This whole thread is very similar to the complaints that are about wood trees and community gardens and some people wanting to control them.  The response to these complaints is always the same:  Buy a house and plant what you need.  So I think a great solution to the mining issue would be exactly the same:  The Devs should provide a few houses in Groddle Heights,  Alakol, or elsewhere, where in replacement for one of the patches, you have one sparkly rock.  They can adjust the re-spawn rate for the house rocks to ensure a decent reward balance relative to the rest of the game.
    Posted 15 months ago by KhaKhonsu Subscriber! | Permalink
  • How about some cave houses in the mines, which come with their own slowly re-spawning rocks. That could be pretty cool :)
    Posted 15 months ago by Shepherdmoon Subscriber! | Permalink
  • to put all of this in a short easy way.
    Ajaya is a magical place and no one can explain what it does to players :)
    Posted 15 months ago by GiaTori Subscriber! | Permalink
  • What I did was set my tp point to Ajaya, and if there was a crowd there I'd just go outside and mine.   One time I went outside and found a sparkly and ended up mining the whole rock myself.  I think it was one of those super rocks because it seemed like I was there forever and got nearly 150 chunks from it (or so I recall, I don't keep very good count of these things).  It was boring and I was hoping someone else would come along but I think maybe I gave people in Ajaya (and in the forums) the impression that I wanted to be left alone.   Anyway, after that I adapted to the lonely mining by doing other things at my desk in between hitting "enter enter" to mine the rock.   Co ordinated group mining takes more concentration - no room for multi-tasking.   I was also glad I'd bought some earthshakers from Helga in west spice before I went down there.  Despite what I read in the other thread about earthshakers being of little value to low level miners they did help me get through some solitary mining down there.  And why do earthshakers cost over 400 currents down there and 150 something from Helga in West Spice?  
    Anyway,  I'll still go back to Ajaya.  Just need to get mining 3 or 4 before I can enjoy it.  
    BTW, some of the groups did let me mine alone down there when  they came into the room after me.  I still found it strange and felt weirdly ostracized so I left for nearby locations.  No big deal.  
    Posted 15 months ago by Treesa Subscriber! | Permalink
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