Core Competencies & Connectionism — The Technical Design Philosophy

This chapter describes the central idea behind {{AOW}}: the {{Tamagotchi}} principle, the role of AI and connectionist approaches of subsymbolic nature, as well as the definition and systematics of over 100 core competencies.

The Idea — Tamagotchi Meets High Technology

Set on a vast, hybrid open world stage called {{Antarien}}, in third-person perspective with a first-person option, a medieval, ancient to futuristic-looking fantasy MMORPG blend of survival, real-time, horror and strategy ({{MH3SR}}) shall be built.

The Tamagotchi Principle

The uniqueness of the idea lies in the way of playing with complexity through controlled group dynamics. The concept follows the principle of the {{Tamagotchi}}: The player character will only conditionally log out from the world of {{Antarien}}. The world, the character, the social relationships and the resources will therefore be able to change dynamically in the player's absence, driven by group dynamics and highly scalable time-variant processes.

The {{Tamagotchi}} represents a virtual chick that must be cared for like a real pet from the moment it hatches. It has needs such as sleeping, eating, drinking, affection and also develops its own personality. At various times, the {{Tamagotchi}} calls out and demands the owner's attention. If you neglect it, it dies. This principle is transferred in {{AOW}} to the entire player character — with the depth of a complete life.

Via the smartphone, the player receives an interface to their virtual world. Comprehensive functions with alarms, events and appointments are displayed here. Considering the fact that only one server world serves international time zones, the world will never sleep.

Offline Behavior and AI

In the player's absence (AFK/Offline), the character will follow the learned knowledge and patterns. Technologically, the character has access to, among other things:

Reproduce learned behavioral patterns. The character acts on the basis of its trained neural connections — not on the basis of scripts.

Optimization of strategies across generations. Successful patterns are inherited, ineffective ones die out.

Adaptation to changed environmental conditions. The character responds to new situations with learned adaptivity.

Automation of routine tasks. Repetitive actions are taken over by the agent while the player is offline.

The integration of these connectionist approaches of {{Subsymbolik}} nature in an {{MH3SR}} is, to our knowledge, unique in this combination to date.

Complexity and Accessibility

The player should be guided systematically through an intuitive tutorial. With the player's experience and depending on the earned time quotas, the complexity is automatically and progressively increased through the degree of perception and automation.

{{AOW}} is not a casual game. The concept pursues the ambitious goal of becoming one of the most complex, if not the most complex {{MH3SR}} of tomorrow. The richness of detail and the phases of every game mechanic shall operate at a highly complex level. At the same time, it should also be possible for the casual gamer to participate in a beginner-friendly way by reducing the complexity level according to the triangle principle of speed, cheap production and quality.

Worldview and Shadow Powers

At the center of events stands the caracal self-discovery of the player with their characters — their confrontation with body, mind and soul, in conflict with an abominable and secret malicious culture living in the forests of {{Antarien}}, one that is without equal.

High Technology in the Creation Process

A game in which futuristic elements of an extinct species, with their obelisks and artifacts, myths, occult rites and cults reveal themselves throughout the land. Entire religions are built upon them. In stark contrast to the prevailing development of the era, they shall be superior in both ethical and technical matters, and in the conception of high culture as part of knowledge.

The fundamental idea: Contrary to the prevailing doctrine, technological progress is not established with the advancement of a civilization, but the opposite — with increasing backdating, high technology is revealed in the creation process. This is another core competency of the concept.

Housing and Settlement Construction

The central framing of a player group shall establish social behavioral patterns. As a core element stands competent ownership through {{Housing}}. From small dwellings, building sites to commercial buildings, entire settlements and villages shall be able to emerge through the community. Special attention is given to the manner in which plots and building sites can be earned through gameplay. The richness of detail and the phases of construction shall also operate at a highly complex level.

The Shadow Powers

Through the establishment of opposing worldviews and ideologies, socially complex structures, players are pointed — through their actions and deeds, through a palpable {{Konsequentialismus}} with all its consequences regarding the grievances — despite superficial perfection, beauty and grace of {{Antarien}} — to the shortcomings of certain established systems in a playful manner.

The shadow powers of {{Antarien}} are, through deeply interlocked feedback loops, seemingly always and everywhere present in all influential areas — politics, economy, social affairs, education and research — omniscient and globally represented with their decision-making competencies.

{{Antarien}} is filled to the brim with conspiracy theories, fringe sciences, hard facts, ideologies, pragmatics, as well as fiction in a world seemingly shrouded in myths and legends. The shadow powers are not simple antagonists — they are systemic forces woven into every aspect of Antarien society.

Core Competencies — Gears in the Machine

The following explanations shall present the core competencies in {{Antares Open World}}. In the later course of the manuscript, all over 100 available systems with their unique selling points will be treated sufficiently and in detail.

A core competency is understood as the ability, cf. feature, or an activity that should elevate a game compared to the competition and thereby gain a competitive advantage over them. Characteristics such as utility, protection against imitation, differentiation and diversification are the most important determinants, as long as one wishes to follow a resource-based model approach.

The Gearbox Model

{{AOW}} draws inspiration from {{Konnektionismus}} through the mapping of its systems via subsymbolics. All core competencies are highly dynamic systems that mesh together like gears as a greater whole — or figuratively speaking, work together as a gearbox. Each of these systems is controlled by both its internal and external influencing variables. Furthermore, all systems compete with one another.

Property	Significance
Internally controlled	Each system has its own influencing variables
Externally controlled	Other systems influence behavior
Competing	Systems are in competition with each other
Non-removable	A system must never be removed
Generalizable	A system can be presented in simplified form
Causality-generating	Without coupling mechanisms, no drive in the gearbox

A system in a later implementation must not be omitted, but may very well be presented in a generalized manner. Figuratively speaking, this gear in the system would still rotate, but would not have the ability to assume a causal role in the gearbox. The coupling mechanisms are missing — ergo no linkage for the piston of an engine. The importance of implementation is essential, even if a system would not yet carry a function.

Connectionism and Subsymbolism — The Heart of AOW

The concept is strongly oriented toward its affinity for generating knowledge from experience. In this process, such an artificially virtually created system learns from examples. After completion of the learning phase, it can make generalizations. This is a connectionist system: It does not simply memorize examples but recognizes the patterns in the training data. The system can thus also evaluate completely unknown data and assess it based on what it has learned.

Symbolism Versus Subsymbolism

Two fundamental approaches to knowledge representation:

Knowledge representation: Explicit (rules)
Solution path: Algorithm, reproducible
Transfer: Write down the rule
Basis: Induction
Example: "When 12 PM -> go to the table -> eat apple"

Learning from an example and thereby knowing the underlying rule. Knowledge can be explicitly represented — written down as an algorithm and reproduced. The solution path is mapped by the rules and reproducible. This is exactly what {{AOW}} does not want to implement.

Knowledge representation: Implicit (blackbox)
Solution path: Not quantifiable
Transfer: Only through experience
Basis: {{Konnektionismus}}
Example: Character learns hunger association from experience

Arriving at the same result by learning from examples, but the difference lies in the representation: The rules are not quantifiable. The system provides no insight into the learned solution path, as it represents knowledge implicitly. If one were to give their "blackbox" to someone, they could reproduce the same results with it.

The Bakery Example

A concrete example illustrates the difference. How would one conventionally program a character to eat automatically? Symbolically: "Whenever it is 12 PM, go along a defined path to the table, pick up an apple and eat it." An algorithm.

In {{AOW}}, knowledge must be generated implicitly. Three influencing factors for hunger: (1) I smell something delicious, (2) I see something to eat, (3) I feel hungry. In all three cases, the perception is associated with "I want to eat." Since the character does not possess this knowledge, one must teach it to them: Let your character eat something, bring them within sight of food, grill a rabbit for them at the campfire — and your character learns over time that one of the input variables triggers hunger.

In doing so, universal and causally derivable thought patterns emerge that do not need to be mapped in algorithms, since these methodologies also function automatically on new data. At some point, the character will walk past a bread bakery in a foreign city of {{Antarien}}. Although no programmer had ever written a single line of code for this case, the character will, through the signature of the scent of bread, remember the learned association of the pleasant smell of food, initiate hunger and demand nourishment — perhaps even fresh bread, if it was bread that was once prepared at the campfire.

The power of these subsymbolic systems is, in combination with all presented core competencies, nearly limitlessly portable in their heuristics. This one example — hunger through scent — is meant to be universally valid and formulated for every conceivable action and situation. The same mechanism applies to danger recognition, social interaction, trade, combat and every other system.

Connectivity — The Interconnection

If one imagines each "blackbox" subsystem as an information processing unit, these units must be able to communicate with each other. The interconnection of these highly dynamic and networked systems exhibits a specific behavior that is studied under the problem-solving approach of {{Konnektionismus}} in cybernetics. The interaction of these systems — also called components — is described as the behavior of artificial intelligence.

Thus, from apparent chaos, mature system orders emerge which, through their simulation across infinities of possible influencing variables, through their artificial vitality, can come to life.

{{Subsymbolik}} forms the basis of the entire {{AOW}} concept for all subsequent core competencies. Each of the over 100 systems in the following design chapters (DSGN_015 through DSGN_096) builds upon this connectionist foundation. The chapters describe the "what" — this chapter describes the "how" at a conceptual level.