About
oTree is an open-source framework that lets you build any kind of interactive task that you want people to take part in, such as:
- Multiplayer or single-player strategy games
- Dynamic questionnaires
- Assessments and tests
It is frequently used for research in economics, psychology, and related fields, and has been used in 600 academic publications.
The best way to understand is by seeing it in action!
Why use oTree?
Versatile
Few frameworks are as user-friendly yet versatile as oTree. Build anything from a game of tic-tac-toe to a live auction market.
Easy
oTree limits itself to the most basic programming concepts: if-statements, loops, simple functions, lists, and dicts.
Ideal for learning
oTree is a fun way to learn programming. And it is a great hands-on addition to courses in subjects like game theory or social psychology.
Ease into programming
Use oTree Studio, a hybrid point-and-click interface that puts oTree on rails.
Walkthrough
Just as Python is a high-level language, oTree is a high-level framework. You don't need to know things like HTTP, SQL, URL routing, websockets, or data serialization. Jump in and start building fun things right away!
Code that is simpler than most GUIs
oTree Studio is a visual layer on top of an easy-to-understand Python code format.
Players will be automatically split into groups of 2, and the game repeats for 10 rounds.
class Constants(BaseConstants):
players_per_group = 2
num_rounds = 10Here we define the columns of the database table.
class Player(BasePlayer):
contribution = models.CurrencyField(min=0, max=100)
opt_out = models.BooleanField()This page has a time limit of 60 seconds, and is only shown to player 1.
class Contribute(Page):
timeout_seconds = 60
form_model = 'player'
form_fields = ['contribution']
def is_displayed(player):
return player.id_in_group == 1Multiplayer games are super simple. Just add a WaitPage in your game, and it will automatically synchronize players, at which point you can perform calculations.
class WaitForOthers(WaitPage):
def after_all_players_arrive(group):
p1, p2 = group.get_players()
p1.payoff = p1.contribution
p2.payoff = 100 - p1.contributionThis page gives the user a choice to finish the current section, or skip to one of your other apps (e.g. questionnaire).
class Results(Page):
form_model = 'player'
form_fields = ['opt_out']
def app_after_this_page(player, upcoming_apps):
if player.opt_out:
return 'questionnaire'Chain pages together
page_sequence = [Contribute, WaitForOthers, Results]Chain apps together
app_sequence = ['trust_game', 'questionnaire']Dynamic templates
Design your user interface with dynamic tags, HTML, and CSS.
Built-in components like a chat box and automatic form layout.
Please answer the following questions.
{{ formfields }}
You may chat with other users here:
{{ chat }}Conditional logic
{{ if player.payoff > 0 }}
Congrats, you made {{ player.payoff }}
{{ else }}
You did not make any money.
{{ endif }}Features for advanced users
Test your apps with bots, which run in parallel to play multiplayer games against each other. You can program different bot strategies and run multi-agent simulations.
yield Survey, dict(name='Bob', age=20)
yield Auction, dict(bid=random.randint(100, 200))
yield Results
Live pages let players interact within the same page, in real
time. Send messages to specific players using their ID, or
broadcast to the group using special ID
0.
class Auction(Page):
def live_method(player, bid):
group = player.group
if bid > group.highest_bid:
group.highest_bid = bid
return {
0: dict(msg='New high bid!', bid=bid)
}
else:
my_id = player.id_in_group
return {
my_id: dict(msg='Your bid was too low.')
}The above just scratches the surface of what oTree can do. Check out the documentation for more details.