Zero-player game: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Game that has no sentient players}} |
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A '''zero-player game''' or '''no-player game''' is a [[computer simulation|simulation]] game that has no [[Sentience|sentient]] players.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mukund |first=Madhavan |date=2021-05-01 |title=The Winning Ways of John Conway |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12045-021-1164-6 |journal=Resonance |language=en |volume=26 |issue=5 |pages=603–614 |doi=10.1007/s12045-021-1164-6 |issn=0973-712X}}</ref> |
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In computer games, the term refers to programs that use [[artificial intelligence]] rather than human players.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=7DiB3z2fBpAC&pg=PT504&dq=%22zero-player+game%22&ei=xBicSoblC5CqkATJrKx#v=onepage&q=%22zero-player%20game%22&f=false "Encyclopedia of Play in Today's Society"], Rodney P. Carlisle, [[SAGE Publications]].</ref> |
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| ⚫ | There are various different types of games that can be considered "zero-player".<ref name="cat">{{Cite journal|last1=Björk|first1=Staffan|last2=Juul|first2=Jesper|date=2012|title=Zero-Player Games. Or: What We Talk about When We Talk about Players|url=https://www.jesperjuul.net/text/zeroplayergames/|journal=The Philosophy of Computer Games Conference}}</ref> |
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=== Determined by initial state === |
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The term can also refer to games of pure chance, suchnas [[bunco]], in which participants cannot take any action or make any decision that meaningfully alters the outcome. |
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A game that evolves as determined by its initial state, requiring no further input from humans is considered a zero-player game.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Segovia-Aguas |first1=Javier |title=Synthesis of Procedural Models for Deterministic Transition Systems |date=2023-09-28 |work=Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications |editor-last=Gal |editor-first=Kobi |url=https://ebooks.iospress.nl/doi/10.3233/FAIA230502 |access-date=2024-11-20 |publisher=IOS Press |doi=10.3233/faia230502 |isbn=978-1-64368-436-9 |last2=Ferrer-Mestres |first2=Jonathan |last3=Jiménez |first3=Sergio |editor2-last=Nowé |editor2-first=Ann |editor3-last=Nalepa |editor3-first=Grzegorz J. |editor4-last=Fairstein |editor4-first=Roy|arxiv=2307.14368 }}</ref> |
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[[Cellular automaton]] games that are determined by initial conditions including [[Conway's Game of Life]] are examples of this.<ref>{{citation|author=Martin Gardner|title=Mathematical games: The fantastic combinations of John Conway's new solitaire game 'Life'|date=October 1970|url=http://www.stanford.edu/class/sts145/Library/life.pdf|journal=Scientific American}}</ref>''<ref>{{citation|author1=Ljiljana Petruševski|title=Self-Replicating Systems in Spatial Form Generation – The Concept of Cellular Automata|url=https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/1450-569X/2009/1450-569X0919008P.pdf|author2=Mirjana Devetaković|author3=Bojan Mitrović}}</ref>'' |
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[[Conway's Game of Life]], a [[cellular automaton]] devised in 1970 by the British mathematician [[John Horton Conway]], is considered a zero-player game because its evolution is determined by its initial state, requiring no further input from humans.<ref>{{citation |
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| title = Mathematical games: The fantastic combinations of John Conway's new solitaire game 'Life' |
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| author = Martin Gardner |
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| date = October 1970 |
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| journal = Scientific American |
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| url = http://www.stanford.edu/class/sts145/Library/life.pdf |
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}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=Self-Replicating Systems in Spatial Form Generation – The Concept of Cellular Automata |author1=Ljiljana Petruševski |author2=Mirjana Devetaković |author3=Bojan Mitrović |url=http://elearning.amres.ac.rs/journals/index.php/spatium/article/viewFile/7/6 }}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In addition, some [[Fighting game|fighting]] and [[real-time strategy]] games can be put into zero-player mode where one [[Artificial intelligence|AI]] plays against another AI. |
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''[[Progress Quest]]'' is another example, in the game the player sets up an artificial character, and afterwards the game plays itself with no further input from the player.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fizek |first=Sonia |date=2018-06-18 |title=Interpassivity and the Joy of Delegated Play in Idle Games |url=http://todigra.org/index.php/todigra/article/view/1754 |journal=Transactions of the Digital Games Research Association |volume=3 |issue=3 |doi=10.26503/todigra.v3i3.81 |issn=2328-9422}}</ref> ''[[Godville]]'' is a similar game that took inspiration from ''Progress Quest''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ogneviuk |first1=Viktor |last2=Maletska |first2=Mariia |last3=Vinnikova |first3=Natalia |last4=Zavadskyi |first4=Vitaliy |date=2022 |title=Videogame as Means of Communication and Education: Philosophical Analysis |url=https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/videogame-as-means-of-communication-and-education-philosophical-analysis |journal=Wisdom |volume=1 |issue=21 |pages=101–116 |doi=10.24234/wisdom.v2/11.626|doi-broken-date=2024-11-24 }}</ref> In the game, the player is a god that can communicate with a [[non-player character]] hero.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://rgdoi.net/10.13140/RG.2.1.3797.1604 |title=Jogar, jogo e sociedade = Play, game and society |date=2013 |publisher=CECC - Centro de Estudos de Comunicação e Cultura |isbn=978-989-98248-0-5 |editor-last=Ferreira |editor-first=Cátia |language=pt |doi=10.13140/rg.2.1.3797.1604 |editor-last2=Tavares |editor-first2=Roger | last1=Tavares | first1=Rogério | last2=Ferreira | first2=Cátia }}</ref> However, the game can progress with no interaction from the player.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Alharthi |first1=Sultan A. |last2=Alsaedi |first2=Olaa |last3=Toups Dugas |first3=Phoebe O. |last4=Tanenbaum |first4=Theresa Jean |last5=Hammer |first5=Jessica |chapter=Playing to Wait: A Taxonomy of Idle Games |date=2018-04-21 |title=Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems |chapter-url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3173574.3174195 |language=en |publisher=Association for Computing Machinery |publication-place=New York, NY, USA |pages=1–15 |doi=10.1145/3173574.3174195 |isbn=978-1-4503-5620-6}}</ref> |
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[[Incremental game|Incremental games]], sometimes called idle games or clicker games, are games which do require some player intervention near the beginning however may be zero-player at higher levels.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Madge |first1=Christopher |last2=Bartle |first2=Richard |last3=Chamberlain |first3=Jon |last4=Kruschwitz |first4=Udo |last5=Poesio |first5=Massimo |chapter=Incremental Game Mechanics Applied to Text Annotation |date=2019-10-17 |title=Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play |chapter-url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3311350.3347184 |language=en |location=New York, NY, USA |publisher=Association for Computing Machinery |pages=545–558 |doi=10.1145/3311350.3347184 |isbn=978-1-4503-6688-5}}</ref> As an example, ''[[Cookie Clicker]]'' requires that players click cookies manually before purchasing assets to click cookies in the place of the player independently.<ref>{{Citation |last=Deterding |first=Sebastian |title=24. Cookie Clicker: Gamification |date=2020-12-31 |work=How to Play Video Games |pages=200–207 |editor-last=Payne |editor-first=Matthew Thomas |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.18574/nyu/9781479830404.003.0028/html |access-date=2024-11-20 |publisher=New York University Press |doi=10.18574/nyu/9781479830404.003.0028 |isbn=978-1-4798-3040-4 |editor2-last=Huntemann |editor2-first=Nina B.}}</ref> |
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Some games, such as [[Conway's Game of Life]], evolve according to fixed rules from their initial setup. Others such as [[Snakes and Ladders]] evolve according to chance, but similarly the players have no decisions to make and have no impact on how the game progresses. |
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===AI vs AI games=== |
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A more complex variation on the above is the case of [[artificial intelligence]]s playing a game. Humans may have a challenge in designing the AI and giving it sufficient skill to play the game well, but the actual evolution of the game has no human intervention. |
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In computer games, the term refers to programs that use [[artificial intelligence]] rather than human players,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=7DiB3z2fBpAC&dq=%22zero-player+game%22&pg=PT504 "Encyclopedia of Play in Today's Society"], Rodney P. Carlisle, [[SAGE Publications]].</ref> for example some [[Fighting game|fighting]] and [[real-time strategy]] games can be put into zero-player mode where multiple [[Artificial intelligence|AIs]] can play against each other. Humans may have a challenge in designing the AI and giving it sufficient skill to play the game well, but the actual evolution of the game has no human intervention.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Summerley |first1=Rory |last2=McDonald |first2=Brian |date=2024-03-27 |title=Perceived Foolishness: How Does the Saltybet Community Construct AI vs AI Spectatorship? |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15554120241238262 |journal=Games and Culture |language=en |doi=10.1177/15554120241238262 |issn=1555-4120}}</ref> |
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For [[solved game]]s the optimum strategy for all players is known. Players can maximize their chances of winning by following these strategies, and any deviation would be sub-optimal play. [[Tic-tac-toe]] is a trivial example; two players who follow the easy-to-learn optimum strategy (rather than making sub-par decisions of their own) will always find their games end in a draw. More complex games have also been solved, for example [[checkers]],<ref name=checkers>[http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=computers-solve-checkers-its-a-draw Computers Solve Checkers—It's a Draw]</ref> but in this case learning the optimum strategy is beyond human capabilities. Solutions for even more complex games, such as [[chess]] or [[go (game)|Go]] must exist (as per [[Zermelo's theorem (game theory)|Zermelo's theorem]]) but they have yet to be computed. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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* [[Single-player game]] |
* [[Single-player game]] |
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* [[Two-player game]] |
* [[Two-player game]] |
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* [[Multiplayer game]] |
* [[Multiplayer video game]] |
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* [[Incremental game]] |
* [[Incremental game]] |
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* ''[[Progress Quest]]'' |
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* ''[[Godville]]'' |
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==References== |
== References == |
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{{Reflist}} |
{{Reflist}} |
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[[Category:Game theory game classes]] |
[[Category:Game theory game classes]] |
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[[Category:Game artificial intelligence]] |
[[Category:Game artificial intelligence]] |
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[[Category:Video game modes]] |
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Latest revision as of 03:44, 2 December 2024
A zero-player game or no-player game is a simulation game that has no sentient players.[1]
Types
[edit]There are various different types of games that can be considered "zero-player".[2]
Determined by initial state
[edit]A game that evolves as determined by its initial state, requiring no further input from humans is considered a zero-player game.[3]
Cellular automaton games that are determined by initial conditions including Conway's Game of Life are examples of this.[4][5]
Progress Quest is another example, in the game the player sets up an artificial character, and afterwards the game plays itself with no further input from the player.[6] Godville is a similar game that took inspiration from Progress Quest.[7] In the game, the player is a god that can communicate with a non-player character hero.[8] However, the game can progress with no interaction from the player.[9]
Incremental games, sometimes called idle games or clicker games, are games which do require some player intervention near the beginning however may be zero-player at higher levels.[10] As an example, Cookie Clicker requires that players click cookies manually before purchasing assets to click cookies in the place of the player independently.[11]
AI vs AI games
[edit]In computer games, the term refers to programs that use artificial intelligence rather than human players,[12] for example some fighting and real-time strategy games can be put into zero-player mode where multiple AIs can play against each other. Humans may have a challenge in designing the AI and giving it sufficient skill to play the game well, but the actual evolution of the game has no human intervention.[13]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Mukund, Madhavan (2021-05-01). "The Winning Ways of John Conway". Resonance. 26 (5): 603–614. doi:10.1007/s12045-021-1164-6. ISSN 0973-712X.
- ^ Björk, Staffan; Juul, Jesper (2012). "Zero-Player Games. Or: What We Talk about When We Talk about Players". The Philosophy of Computer Games Conference.
- ^ Segovia-Aguas, Javier; Ferrer-Mestres, Jonathan; Jiménez, Sergio (2023-09-28), Gal, Kobi; Nowé, Ann; Nalepa, Grzegorz J.; Fairstein, Roy (eds.), "Synthesis of Procedural Models for Deterministic Transition Systems", Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications, IOS Press, arXiv:2307.14368, doi:10.3233/faia230502, ISBN 978-1-64368-436-9, retrieved 2024-11-20
- ^ Martin Gardner (October 1970), "Mathematical games: The fantastic combinations of John Conway's new solitaire game 'Life'" (PDF), Scientific American
- ^ Ljiljana Petruševski; Mirjana Devetaković; Bojan Mitrović, Self-Replicating Systems in Spatial Form Generation – The Concept of Cellular Automata (PDF)
- ^ Fizek, Sonia (2018-06-18). "Interpassivity and the Joy of Delegated Play in Idle Games". Transactions of the Digital Games Research Association. 3 (3). doi:10.26503/todigra.v3i3.81. ISSN 2328-9422.
- ^ Ogneviuk, Viktor; Maletska, Mariia; Vinnikova, Natalia; Zavadskyi, Vitaliy (2022). "Videogame as Means of Communication and Education: Philosophical Analysis". Wisdom. 1 (21): 101–116. doi:10.24234/wisdom.v2/11.626 (inactive 2024-11-24).
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link) - ^ Tavares, Rogério; Ferreira, Cátia (2013). Ferreira, Cátia; Tavares, Roger (eds.). Jogar, jogo e sociedade = Play, game and society (in Portuguese). CECC - Centro de Estudos de Comunicação e Cultura. doi:10.13140/rg.2.1.3797.1604. ISBN 978-989-98248-0-5.
- ^ Alharthi, Sultan A.; Alsaedi, Olaa; Toups Dugas, Phoebe O.; Tanenbaum, Theresa Jean; Hammer, Jessica (2018-04-21). "Playing to Wait: A Taxonomy of Idle Games". Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery. pp. 1–15. doi:10.1145/3173574.3174195. ISBN 978-1-4503-5620-6.
- ^ Madge, Christopher; Bartle, Richard; Chamberlain, Jon; Kruschwitz, Udo; Poesio, Massimo (2019-10-17). "Incremental Game Mechanics Applied to Text Annotation". Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play. New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery. pp. 545–558. doi:10.1145/3311350.3347184. ISBN 978-1-4503-6688-5.
- ^ Deterding, Sebastian (2020-12-31), Payne, Matthew Thomas; Huntemann, Nina B. (eds.), "24. Cookie Clicker: Gamification", How to Play Video Games, New York University Press, pp. 200–207, doi:10.18574/nyu/9781479830404.003.0028, ISBN 978-1-4798-3040-4, retrieved 2024-11-20
- ^ "Encyclopedia of Play in Today's Society", Rodney P. Carlisle, SAGE Publications.
- ^ Summerley, Rory; McDonald, Brian (2024-03-27). "Perceived Foolishness: How Does the Saltybet Community Construct AI vs AI Spectatorship?". Games and Culture. doi:10.1177/15554120241238262. ISSN 1555-4120.