Doc Monocle
Smash Ace
A long time ago, I constructed what would later morph into an active utility formula. Here it is:
Va= Q^-z*t/q,
where, Va is active utility, Q is the quantity of a good that one estimates as necessary to accomplish a task, z is the number of alternative goods that can accomplish the same task, t is the time anticipated to elapse before another unit of the good may be acquired, and q is the quantity of a good that one expects to find in unit time.
It is difficult to describe exactly what led me to extend it to the context of game analysis, but I shall lay out the rough meaning of it for Smash Bros. characters as an example:
The game of Smash Bros has a primary objective-- launch the opponent character beyond an upper, lower, left, or right blast zone without (of course) being launched beyond these. Provided a reference stage (such as Final Destination) and a fixed distance from each blast zone, the distance is used as a basis for the player's approximation of how many times they would have to apply a given condition to K.O. the opponent. Fortunately, one need not account for knockback scaling and the background mechanics, as active utility falls within the class of 'subjective formulae,'-- all that really matters is the player's approximation, and how it is affected by changing conditions controllably... (I shall return to update this after figuring passive utility).
Va= Q^-z*t/q,
where, Va is active utility, Q is the quantity of a good that one estimates as necessary to accomplish a task, z is the number of alternative goods that can accomplish the same task, t is the time anticipated to elapse before another unit of the good may be acquired, and q is the quantity of a good that one expects to find in unit time.
It is difficult to describe exactly what led me to extend it to the context of game analysis, but I shall lay out the rough meaning of it for Smash Bros. characters as an example:
The game of Smash Bros has a primary objective-- launch the opponent character beyond an upper, lower, left, or right blast zone without (of course) being launched beyond these. Provided a reference stage (such as Final Destination) and a fixed distance from each blast zone, the distance is used as a basis for the player's approximation of how many times they would have to apply a given condition to K.O. the opponent. Fortunately, one need not account for knockback scaling and the background mechanics, as active utility falls within the class of 'subjective formulae,'-- all that really matters is the player's approximation, and how it is affected by changing conditions controllably... (I shall return to update this after figuring passive utility).
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