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<H1>[MUD-Dev] Re: Room descriptions</H1>
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<LI><em>To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI>
<LI><em>Subject</em>: [MUD-Dev] Re: Room descriptions</LI>
<LI><em>From</em>: Orion Henry <<A HREF="mailto:orionz#ix,netcom.com">orionz#ix,netcom.com</A>></LI>
<LI><em>Date</em>: Sat, 26 Sep 1998 17:25:22 -0700</LI>
<LI><em>Reply-To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI>
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<PRE>
"Koster, Raph" wrote:
>
> I've often seen it cited as a rule that room descriptions in muds should
> not impose feelings on the player or character.
>
> How do you feel about room descriptions like these? These are from an
> area I did for Legend which was never completed, themed around an
> idealized 1950s:
I must say that they are very well written but I come from a very
minimalist school of throughout on room descriptions.
A room description does not affect a character and therefore
should not pretend to. In an ideal situation a room should not
even make mention of objects or people. It should be concise
and at most two sentences long.
If you want some boxes stacked in a room, make the boxes and
stack them on each other. If you want some catty teenagers
hanging around, load them up and give then scripts to do and
say what is desired.
Things like "You choke on the greasy air" do not belong in a
room description... If you desire the player to see this
add it as an effect that happens to the character and has
nothing to do with a "room description".
Don't tell a player that they are afraid... make them afraid.
You could perhaps even have events in the room trigger things
like "a shiver runs down your spine" but again these things
should never in the room description.
I was working for some time on a system that had no room descriptions
at all. The descriptions were generated entirely from objects,
creatures, wall and door info, etc... I realize that this
sort of thing wont have tons of atmosphere ( at very best it
will just read ok ) but that's not the job of the room desc,
that's the job of what happens there...
If you want cobwebs, make some spiders and get them spinning :)
Orion
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<li><strong><A NAME="01294" HREF="msg01294.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Room descriptions</A></strong>
<ul compact><li><em>From:</em> Raph & Kristen Koster <koster#eden,com></li></ul>
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<LI><STRONG><A NAME="01284" HREF="msg01284.html">[MUD-Dev] Room descriptions</A></STRONG>
<UL><LI><EM>From:</EM> "Koster, Raph" <rkoster#origin,ea.com></LI></UL></LI>
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<ul><li>Thread context:
<BLOCKQUOTE><UL>
<LI><STRONG>[MUD-Dev] Re: Room descriptions</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM>
<ul compact>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01390" HREF="msg01390.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Room descriptions</A></strong>,
S. Patrick Gallaty <a href="mailto:choke#sirius,com">choke#sirius,com</a>, Wed 30 Sep 1998, 23:15 GMT
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01391" HREF="msg01391.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Room descriptions</A></strong>,
Koster, Raph <a href="mailto:rkoster#origin,ea.com">rkoster#origin,ea.com</a>, Wed 30 Sep 1998, 23:35 GMT
</LI>
</ul>
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01284" HREF="msg01284.html">[MUD-Dev] Room descriptions</A></strong>,
Koster, Raph <a href="mailto:rkoster#origin,ea.com">rkoster#origin,ea.com</a>, Sat 26 Sep 1998, 22:31 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01289" HREF="msg01289.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Room descriptions</A></strong>,
Caliban Tiresias Darklock <a href="mailto:caliban#darklock,com">caliban#darklock,com</a>, Sat 26 Sep 1998, 23:30 GMT
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01292" HREF="msg01292.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Room descriptions</A></strong>,
Orion Henry <a href="mailto:orionz#ix,netcom.com">orionz#ix,netcom.com</a>, Sun 27 Sep 1998, 00:23 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01294" HREF="msg01294.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Room descriptions</A></strong>,
Raph & Kristen Koster <a href="mailto:koster#eden,com">koster#eden,com</a>, Sun 27 Sep 1998, 03:08 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01295" HREF="msg01295.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Room descriptions</A></strong>,
Hal Black <a href="mailto:hal#moos,ml.org">hal#moos,ml.org</a>, Sun 27 Sep 1998, 03:57 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01301" HREF="msg01301.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Room descriptions</A></strong>,
#Make Nylander <a href="mailto:thenewt#use,usit.net">thenewt#use,usit.net</a>, Sun 27 Sep 1998, 13:48 GMT
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01335" HREF="msg01335.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Room descriptions</A></strong>,
Adam Wiggins <a href="mailto:adam#angel,com">adam#angel,com</a>, Mon 28 Sep 1998, 19:41 GMT
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