<!-- MHonArc v2.4.4 --> <!--X-Subject: Re: [MUD-Dev] Neverwinter Nights --> <!--X-From-R13: "E. Bngevpx Unyyngl" <pubxrNfvevhf.pbz> --> <!--X-Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 10:06:11 -0800 --> <!--X-Message-Id: 01f801bf2dd4$bfdfdfe0$2100000a@nox.local --> <!--X-Content-Type: text/plain --> <!--X-Head-End--> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <html> <head> <title>MUD-Dev message, Re: [MUD-Dev] Neverwinter Nights</title> <!-- meta name="robots" content="noindex,nofollow" --> <link rev="made" href="mailto:choke@sirius.com"> </head> <body background="/backgrounds/paperback.gif" bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000" link="#0000FF" alink="#FF0000" vlink="#006000"> <font size="+4" color="#804040"> <strong><em>MUD-Dev<br>mailing list archive</em></strong> </font> <br> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] <br clear=all><hr> <!--X-Body-Begin--> <!--X-User-Header--> <!--X-User-Header-End--> <!--X-TopPNI--> Date: [ <a href="msg00245.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00247.html">Next</a> ] Thread: [ <a href="msg00376.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00206.html">Next</a> ] Index: [ <A HREF="author.html#00246">Author</A> | <A HREF="#00246">Date</A> | <A HREF="thread.html#00246">Thread</A> ] <!--X-TopPNI-End--> <!--X-MsgBody--> <!--X-Subject-Header-Begin--> <H1>Re: [MUD-Dev] Neverwinter Nights</H1> <HR> <!--X-Subject-Header-End--> <!--X-Head-of-Message--> <UL> <LI><em>To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI> <LI><em>Subject</em>: Re: [MUD-Dev] Neverwinter Nights</LI> <LI><em>From</em>: "S. Patrick Gallaty" <<A HREF="mailto:choke#sirius,com">choke#sirius,com</A>></LI> <LI><em>Date</em>: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 04:43:56 -0800</LI> <LI><em>Reply-To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI> <LI><em>Sender</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev-admin#kanga,nu">mud-dev-admin#kanga,nu</A></LI> </UL> <!--X-Head-of-Message-End--> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-Begin--> <HR> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-End--> <!--X-Body-of-Message--> <PRE> -----Original Message----- From: Koster, Raph <rkoster#origin,ea.com> To: 'mud-dev#kanga,nu' <mud-dev#kanga,nu> Date: Thursday, November 11, 1999 10:47 AM Subject: [MUD-Dev] Neverwinter Nights >So, who's been following Neverwinter Nights (the new one)? > > <A HREF="http://www.neverwinternights.com">http://www.neverwinternights.com</A> > >If you're familiar with it, how do you feel about it in the context of this >post? > > <A HREF="http://www.kanga.nu/archives/MUD-Dev-L/1998Q3/msg01274.html">http://www.kanga.nu/archives/MUD-Dev-L/1998Q3/msg01274.html</A> > >-Raph > > > >_______________________________________________ >MUD-Dev maillist - MUD-Dev#kanga,nu ><A HREF="http://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev">http://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev</A> > > Honestly I don't know what to think of it based on what I have read and the descriptions and heard from other players who are looking forward to this game. As many of you know the game exists in three forms - as a singleplayer standalone game, as a multiplayer game and also as a multiplayer game administered by a human 'Game Master.' I don't comprehend their description of a persistent world entirely. At first I must admit I was dismissive. Perhaps I have severe mind pollution from all the MMORPGs I've been playing but the affordances the game makes for establishing identity in the game is very interesting and the concept of distributed design is frankly mind-boggling. I can see this being epic, or falling flat all depending on the creative flare of the people who design the modules and a mass of other unpredictable variables. What I see here really is a throwback to the original sort of "We all build it" mud paradigm. Where things are fun, zany, stupid and engaging because they are an insane mix of thousands of minds. I hope it works out. I want to dig out my old D & D stuff and make them into NWN modules. This however doesn't answer your question. Within the context of the post I think that this NWN game will differ from the MMORPG offerings in that the 'character' will be less of a commodity. I don't see the 'character' in this game being a row in a table on the server, but rather more like the piece of paper in the RPG sense - where the character exists largely in the player's enactment moreso than in the intrinsics. > - how do I provide the sense of persistent identity? In this case presistent identity will occur because the player invests of themselves into the character. There are numerous technical affordances for this specifically customization of the 'avatar' pardon the term, however it's the player's immersion that will make the identity 'real' when it comes time to play. I am rambling, but I what I am trying to say is you don't provide this, you make affordances so that the player can accomplish it. - how do I foment the social experience? How do I control the antisocialelement? - how do I keep it running and thriving? I think in this case the decentralization of the server mechanisms is the key element here. This is a form of evolutionary pressure. Bad MUDs got few players and thus languished. Bad NWN modules I am presuming will accordingly receive bad reviews and be neglected from the player base. Running and thriving? Dynamicism. This is the element which many of the MMORPGs fall dead flat on. They are too afraid of perturbing the income stream to upset the player base and so the scope of what may change is extremely limited compared to a system where noone has to answer to the 'customer'. We can point to many examples of design decisions which later became concrete galoshes because the MMORPG authors did not have the freedom to gut their "MUD" and fix stuff that was broken - because it would have upset paying customers - many of whom are highly sensitive to changes which affect them personally and very vocal. - Nox _______________________________________________ MUD-Dev maillist - MUD-Dev#kanga,nu <A HREF="http://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev">http://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev</A> </PRE> <!--X-Body-of-Message-End--> <!--X-MsgBody-End--> <!--X-Follow-Ups--> <HR> <!--X-Follow-Ups-End--> <!--X-References--> <!--X-References-End--> <!--X-BotPNI--> <UL> <LI>Prev by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00245.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] players who "take away from the game"</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00247.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] players who "take away from the game"</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Prev by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00376.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Mud hosting services</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00206.html">Re: System Security (was: Re: [MUD-Dev] players who "take away from the game")</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Index(es): <UL> <LI><A HREF="index.html#00246"><STRONG>Date</STRONG></A></LI> <LI><A HREF="thread.html#00246"><STRONG>Thread</STRONG></A></LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> <!--X-BotPNI-End--> <!--X-User-Footer--> <!--X-User-Footer-End--> <ul><li>Thread context: <BLOCKQUOTE><UL> <LI><STRONG>Re: [MUD-Dev] Mud hosting services</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM> <ul compact> <ul compact> <ul compact> <LI><strong><A NAME="00274" HREF="msg00274.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Mud hosting services</A></strong>, Dundee <a href="mailto:SkeptAck@antisocial.com">SkeptAck@antisocial.com</a>, Tue 16 Nov 1999, 22:31 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00363" HREF="msg00363.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Mud hosting services</A></strong>, AR Schleicher <a href="mailto:ars@iag.net">ars@iag.net</a>, Thu 18 Nov 1999, 17:00 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00371" HREF="msg00371.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Mud hosting services</A></strong>, Dundee <a href="mailto:SkeptAck@antisocial.com">SkeptAck@antisocial.com</a>, Thu 18 Nov 1999, 18:23 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00376" HREF="msg00376.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Mud hosting services</A></strong>, Greg Miller <a href="mailto:gmiller@classic-games.com">gmiller@classic-games.com</a>, Thu 18 Nov 1999, 19:36 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </ul> </ul> <LI><strong><A NAME="00246" HREF="msg00246.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Neverwinter Nights</A></strong>, S. Patrick Gallaty <a href="mailto:choke@sirius.com">choke@sirius.com</a>, Sat 13 Nov 1999, 18:06 GMT </LI> </ul> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00206" HREF="msg00206.html">Re: System Security (was: Re: [MUD-Dev] players who "take away from the game")</A></strong>, cg <a href="mailto:cg@ami-cg.GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA">cg@ami-cg.GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA</a>, Thu 11 Nov 1999, 18:43 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00215" HREF="msg00215.html">Re: System Security (was: Re: [MUD-Dev] players who "take away from the game")</A></strong>, J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw@cp.net">claw@cp.net</a>, Thu 11 Nov 1999, 22:01 GMT </LI> </UL> <UL> <li><Possible follow-up(s)><br> <LI><strong><A NAME="00217" HREF="msg00217.html">Re: System Security (was: Re: [MUD-Dev] players who "take away from the game")</A></strong>, Bruce Mitchener, Jr. <a href="mailto:bruce@puremagic.com">bruce@puremagic.com</a>, Thu 11 Nov 1999, 22:33 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00222" HREF="msg00222.html">Re: System Security (was: Re: [MUD-Dev] players who "take away from the game")</A></strong>, Cynbe ru Taren <a href="mailto:cynbe@muq.org">cynbe@muq.org</a>, Thu 11 Nov 1999, 23:05 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL></BLOCKQUOTE> </ul> <hr> <center> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] </center> <hr> </body> </html>