Two players in the Prisoner's Dilemma are each given two options - cooperate with their opponent or defect against them for a high risk-high reward. The final outcome is influenced by the other player's choice so each game is a gamble on what the other player will choose. Played once, the dominant strategy is to defect against the other player, creating competitive gameplay between the the players. However, when the Prisoner's Dilemma game repeats between the same players over multiple rounds, the players gravitate toward a cooperative strategy in the long-term.
For my project, I have implemented the Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma in a 2D game in order to see if an inherently competitive game naturally turns cooperative by the choices and interactions the players make with one another.
This project is still in progress and updates will appear on this webpage as it passes milestones. In the first week of February, I will begin playtesting to analyze what strategies players use - Cooperative or Defective. I will present my Masters project and its findings at the Guildhall exhibition at the end of February.