Comments on: Deathtrap Design and the Invisible Gorilla

By: Todd Berkebile

Todd Berkebile — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:34:27 +0000

Sounds like a good book to add to my reading list. I wonder if film directors would have good insight into this selective attention phenomenon that might be adapted to video games. In film its very important to control and direct the viewer’s attention so they are looking at the right places at the right time.

By: Dr. Shiva

Dr. Shiva — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:38:22 +0000

Here the enhanced version of the gorilla movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGQmdoK_ZfY

By: ZZTRaider

ZZTRaider — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 06:31:44 +0000

It’d be really awesome if someone did a similar study comparing the people that enjoy playing on PvP servers (preferably one with a good bit of PvP actually going on) and the people who notice the gorilla, to see if there’s any correlation.

Personally, being on a PvP server meant that even during combat, I would constantly be turning my camera, watching my surroundings to ensure that nobody sneaks in behind me to gank me. Even while chatting with guildmates in Ventrilo, it was never a big deal, because staying aware became part of the routine, out of necessity. After all, for the vast majority of enemies that you’re fighting while leveling or farming, it’s not all that important to be as efficient as possible.

By: Dr. Shiva

Dr. Shiva — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 12:50:57 +0000

Another much simpler trap of this type many people will stumble in is the one with the bus riddle. Tell them a specific number on passenger in the bus and at every stop you modify the numbers of passenger who enter the bus and leaving it. Makes this several times and then ask them how many time the bus did stopped! You will be surprised that most people who do not know the trick will fail to respond clearly! Even this shows quite well, that humans can only focus on one thing well. The result of this you can see daily everywhere for example in accidents on which you have to think how was this possible at all like a car who is colliding with a big truck or with a tramway. How can it be that the drivers are overseeing such big vechicles? The answer ist that humans can only have one primary focus. And if that one is demanding then all other stuff is getting locked out completely!

By: Game Retail Store » This Week In Video Game Criticism: The Final Motion Video Fantasy

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 08:05:01 +0000

[...] Heimburg at the Elder Game blog wrote about situational awareness in a post titled ‘Deathtrap Design and the Invisible Gorilla’. Taking the jumping off point of a popular study that found intense concentration could cause [...]

By: Michael Wright

Michael Wright — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:39:59 +0000

I agree with Robert Yang. This research should serve to point out to developers the need to be aware of and manage the player’s focus. If the ball in the original example turned red everyone would notice it. If they were told beforehand that a gorilla might cross the screen, how many people would miss it? If they did miss it, they would be much less likely to feel tricked. They were told to watch the ball and that’s what they did. I would be upset if I was in one of these experiments and I “failed” because I did exactly what I was told to do and that wasn’t really what they wanted after all.

By: Deathtrap Design and the Invisible Gorilla | Joel's Scattered Thoughts

Deathtrap Design and the Invisible Gorilla | Joel's Scattered Thoughts — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 16:40:02 +0000

[...] the Invisible Gorilla trick, but I hadn’t though of its applicability to raid encounters. Elder Game: MMO game development » Deathtrap Design and the Invisible Gorilla argues that the reason raiders stand in the fire is the same reason people don’t notice the [...]

By: Selective Attention | BestShooters.net

Selective Attention | BestShooters.net — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 07:03:54 +0000

[...] Heimburg has a good post about why it may be cognitively impossible for some people to obey Rule 1 of raiding [...]

By: Stabs

Stabs — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 04:49:53 +0000

Eric, if invisible gorillas were the only variation in a sea of kill ten rats quests then I’d agree with you. However what makes playing WoW more immersive, more sticky for players is the hugely diverse variation. Invisible gorillas are a tiny part of a greater whole. What I’m praising is the mosaic of varying game experiences.

WoW’s different from other MMOs in that most other MMOs have an overall theme and try to stick with it whereas WoW is designed on the “ok, we’ll stick that in somewhere” philosophy. WoW is sticky because there’s tons to see and do and veterans find a routine without finding a rut.

When you say “designers don’t consider the psychological ramifications of this decision” I’m sure you’re wrong. I can point you to comments by Max Schaeffer about Diablo 2 in 2000 that showed that Blizzard valued frustrating and unpleasant mechanics as a way of varying the play experience: “the feeling of tension and fear that makes the rewards of success that much better”.
http://www.warpcore.org/~sirian/diablo2/protest-2a.html

By: Pai

Pai — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 04:35:28 +0000

@Robert: I think that’d be an awesome idea. RPGs are supposed to be about immersion in a world, and to make NPCs and even other mobs react in realistic ways to each other would enhance the overall experience, imo.