Abstract
The decision making process in a given game is usually organized in binary form and oriented toward a final and finite set of goals. This determinative action shapes the game on both formal and ludological levels. At the same time, however, the computer (or better, the algorithm) is also a decision making machine: the deeply logical calculus of the code and the program do not seem to know any 'perhaps'—the system works (literally) according to the logic of 'or', which represents one of the central elements of digital computing. The decision rationality of computers (at the heart of computer games) is characterized by simplification, reduction, symbolic coding, and also by a dynamic of action and reaction (in the sense of decision and consequence). Such observations about the consequential logic of game-based AI inevitably lead to one grand question: Who is the primary decision maker in games—the player or the machine?
Highlights
If one asks about the connection between AI and games, the concept of decision seems an apt focal point for reflecting on this relationship
This remarkable amalgamation materialized primarily through the rise of the business simulation game. This very specific, model-based game type was developed at the same time—and in many instances, in the same labs as—their close technical software siblings known as Decision Support Systems
The system utilizes computer hardware and software, manual procedures, management and decision models, and a data base [...] (Davis 1974, p.5). Given these nascent understandings about the emerging field of management information system (MIS) and cybernetics, it is no surprise that the System Development Corporation (SDC) was early on establishing itself as a provider of successful commercial offerings that were at the intersection of business simulation and MIS systems
Summary
Business simulations became popular after the end of the Second World War in the context of a general change in social control logics. I briefly sketch how, on the one hand, the mathematization and scientification of corporate management, and on the other hand, how the possibilities offered by computers led to the creation of a specific proposition that described how human action can be reproduced and predicted (in the sense of its simulatability); such concerns are as relevant today as they were in the 1960s This focus on the intersection of simulation projects and game applications is motivated by the fact that within the initiation of the game process (i.e., game play), the subject appears at first to be called/hailed into existence. This phenomenon and its decision-based mechanisms warrants examination
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
