Hello and welcome to the continuation of my debate series of Sir ArmaMalum's Let's Talk. If this is your first time, welcome! The idea here is for me to present and outline a certain topic, complete with my own bit at the end, for the sole intent of talking about it. I tend to stick to out of game subjects like ethics, behavior and other such things but that doesn't mean I won't do gameplay related areas of I think I can do it justice.

#Note: You can vote on next week's topic in the poll below!

Quick Guidelines on replies:

• Be constructive
• Ask questions wherever you can
• Be willing to be questioned yourself

#Egocentric vs. Allocentric Thinking

Egocentric

• Thinking only of oneself, without regard for the feelings or desires of others; self-centered.

Allocentric

• Having one’s interests revolve around the benefit of other over oneself.

Translation: Egocentric thinkers think of themselves first and their team second, while Allocentric are the other way around. Neither is a good or bad thing, to be clear. You can be an incredibly friendly and helpful person, it simply depends on why you’re doing what you’re doing. I could be helping my neighbor because I;m a friendly person, or I could be doing it because he’ll owe me one later.

#Effect on in-game Strategy

No one is going to be one or the other all the time, people change and ways of thought do as well. Some may even change from ego to allocentric thinking between games, so this isn’t a question of “us and them” but of a case by case basis and inclination. One can be either more inclined to be egocentric or allocentric in terms of thought, and sometimes it can be very difficult to tell. So, to help you out I’ll ask a question:

In champ select do you usually focus on getting what you want or what your team will want?

Either way you’re going for increasing your (or your team’s) chances of winning but your approach will differ from others. Of course, this isn’t a catch all question, a new champ could have come out or maybe you just really want to play that one champ today. Hence my emphasis on inclination, because outside factors like this can affect how you’re thinking that game.Now which side you’re on can have an effect many things within a game. How prone you are to roam versus farming, how many risks you’ll take and why, and probably most visibly how you see mistakes.

• Egocentric thinkers will usually take a mistake made by a teammate more personally than an Allocentric thinker, because it’s a direct hit to their chances of winning their game and they’ll feel the need to focus more on making up for the lost slack. This can be done by being more aggressive in their own lane or by roaming to other lanes to keep the enemy team down rather than is/her own team up or plenty of other ways.

• Allocentric however will usually lean more towards how to prevent the problem from happening again and worry less about the mistake that was already made. This can be done by things like warding, keeping his/her team updated on information (i.e. Mia’s) and shot-calling.

Both can be rude or nice about it, but their strategies on how to approach the problems a game of league presents will be influenced based on where they are centered.

#Effect on Champion Choice/Playstyle

Here’s an interesting tidbit. Egocentric vs. Allocentric thinking can also be applied to spatial reasoning. If someone asks you right now where something is are you going to tell them “X distance -that- way and point” (space relative to yourself) or “Turn here, here and here” (space relative to other objects)? This is a prime example of Egocentric and Allocentric Spatial Reasoning respectively.

Now how would this affect what champ you play you may ask? Easy. We humans are downright incredible at our ability to integrate ourselves (sense of self) into the tools we use. Anyone who’s flinched while trying to dodge something in a shooter or “suddenly” lost several hours to an RPG probably knows this.

Examples:

• Ezreal: Egocentric playstyle. Spatial reasoning originates from the primary focal point (your character) to other objects, so as all of Ezreal’s spells originate from him, egocentric spatial reasoning is very good at helping landing those shots.

• Orianna: Allocentric playstyle. Probably the single best example of Allocentric spatial reasoning in League, your primary focus usually isn’t where Orianna herself is, but where you can put The Ball. And in a lot of cases who you can put it on.

######Note: Most champions require a blend of both to play properly, I’m just stating overall general playstyle.

Egocentric players will tend to lean towards skillshot, melee and autoattack champions because of how often they need to juglle range and angles between themselves and their target. They’re much more focused on their own character’s positioning kit-wise than an Allocentric’s preference, mages and supports. These are usually focused on their ‘placeables’ (AoE, simple targetable) much more than their actual character.

Of course there are exceptions like Braum, who is very reliant on his own positioning for shields and placing his passive. Honestly it’s usually better to look at specific abilities themselves and think about where your focus will be when using it.

#The Question(s)

• What do you think you are usually? Ego or Allo?

• Is this discussion going to change how you play? Who you play?

• Did you learn anything?

• Are there any other ways you can think of where these two views can affect your League games?

• Pick a champion, which side you would you say they favor more? (Neither/tied is a perfectly fine answer)

#Relevant Reading

• Allocentrism, Wiki

• EgoCentrism, Wiki

• Allocentric vs Egocentric Spatial Reasoning

• Neuroanatomy of Social Behaviour: An Evolutionary and Psychoanalytic Perspective By Ralf-Peter Behrendt (Warning: full book, I was not able to do more than skim)

My $0.02

I am very much an egocentric individual. I love me some melee casters, I always give directions “as the crow flies” and if there’s something going on that does not immediately involve/interest me in some way it’s very difficult for me to retain interest (History class, for example, was a complete pain the ass for me). I don’t consider myself selfish, but I am very self-centered. Not in the “the world revolve around me” kind of way, but in the fact that my first thoughts are always about my own views and how X subject will affect me, myself and I.

Funny thing is I love supporting as well, but I approach it as a constant challenge for myself keeping my team alive and ahead, and thereby enters the “Ego” of “Egocentric” reasoning.

#Addendum

I tried, I really did. I tried to make this post shorter….

Anyway, I am not a professional in psychology, so if I am using a term incorrectly or misinterpreting anything please call me out on it. I made sure to do some research but naturally I’m not going to do full-grade library hunting and textbook devouring for a post I’m burning y free time for. Sorry guys and gals, I’m limited due to those horrible things like sleeping and sunlight. I’m working on it, but I doubt I’ll be able to shake those obligations anytime soon. :P

Also, I will admit this [SALT] was a bit rushed due to the Champion Concept contest I’m hosting and organizing, so if I’m confusing or downright unintelligible anywhere tell me. I wasn’t able to give this my usual proofreadings.

---

###Previous: Dehumanization in the Playerbase

###Next: Emotional Investment of a MOBA

###All Topics

######Don't forget! You can visit my All Topics post above and suggest as many topics as you'd like, if I think I can do it justice I'll happily put it up in the next poll!