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<H1>RE: [MUD-DEV] a shrinking pool of players?</H1>
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<LI><em>To</em>: "'<A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A>'" <<A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A>></LI>
<LI><em>Subject</em>: RE: [MUD-DEV] a shrinking pool of players?</LI>
<LI><em>From</em>: "Koster, Raph" <<A HREF="mailto:rkoster#origin,ea.com">rkoster#origin,ea.com</A>></LI>
<LI><em>Date</em>: Thu, 17 Feb 2000 13:47:17 -0600</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>
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<PRE>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Chris Turner [<A HREF="mailto:christ#rd,bbc.co.uk">mailto:christ#rd,bbc.co.uk</A>]
> Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2000 6:06 AM
> To: 'mud-dev#kanga,nu'
> Subject: RE: [MUD-DEV] a shrinking pool of players?
>
>
> On Wed, 16 Feb 2000, Koster, Raph wrote:
>
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Ryan P. [<A HREF="mailto:ixiterra#earthlink,net">mailto:ixiterra#earthlink,net</A>]
>
> [Snip]
>
> > > Text muds are one step
> > > between AD&D
> > > and video games. EQ/UO are video games, plain and simple.
> >
> > Fighting words, my friend. I'll leave it to other posters
> to decide whether
> > or not UO, for example (but I could just as easily pick one
> of the others)
> > is a more simplistic mud than your average (or even
> moderately customized)
> > text mud.
>
> It's not really a case of being more simplistic, it's the
> fact that video
> games are incredible accessable to the average person.
> They're in shops,
> they're reviewed in magazines and on the TV. It's very easy
> to stumble
> across a game you've never heard of.
In terms of the ease of finding out about the game: a free text mud is
likely never going to have the advertising that a triple-A game title has,
true (btw, the vast majority of games get no advertising really). This is a
scaleable factor, though. Just as in the video game world, having a brand
name (meaning, a recognizable fiction like World of Darkness, Pern, Robert
Jordan, or whatever) has been pretty clearly shown (via MUDConnector stats)
to have a HUGE impact on attracting newbies to text muds.
In terms of the game proper being accessible: Well, if accessibility means
that it doesn't qualify as part of the mud community, then I'd say the mud
community is doomed. :) Accessibility is an issue of degree, not type,
right?
> Where as text (or rather free) muds, on the other hand,
> suffer from a lack
> of exposure. To find out that they exist, you have to first
> get onto the
> 'net and find them or know someone else that has found them.
> Very catch 22.
Very true.
> > Now, if they are capable of being played that way in order
> to attract more
> > people... does that make them less a mud? Well, no. It
> arguably makes them a
> > better mud (for that specific purpose).
>
> True. It'd be interesting to see just how popular a free mud
> could get with
> the kind of advertising & exposure of UO though.
Free, I don't know. But there are numbers on how well a text mud can do with
large-scale advertising. The games that ran on AOL had a captive audience in
the millions, but did not capture nearly that many people, arguably because
of accessibility as well as the hourly charge they had...
-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>
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<ul><li>Thread context:
<BLOCKQUOTE><UL>
<LI><STRONG>Re: [MUD-Dev] Next gen MUD wishlist</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM>
<ul compact>
<ul compact>
<ul compact>
<ul compact>
<ul compact>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00480" HREF="msg00480.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Next gen MUD wishlist</A></strong>,
Bruce <a href="mailto:bruce#puremagic,com">bruce#puremagic,com</a>, Sat 26 Feb 2000, 21:19 GMT
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</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00369" HREF="msg00369.html">RE: [MUD-DEV] a shrinking pool of players?</A></strong>,
Sellers, Michael <a href="mailto:MSellers#maxis,com">MSellers#maxis,com</a>, Wed 16 Feb 2000, 17:51 GMT
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00367" HREF="msg00367.html">RE: [MUD-DEV] a shrinking pool of players?</A></strong>,
Sellers, Michael <a href="mailto:MSellers#maxis,com">MSellers#maxis,com</a>, Wed 16 Feb 2000, 17:51 GMT
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00372" HREF="msg00372.html">RE: [MUD-DEV] a shrinking pool of players?</A></strong>,
Koster, Raph <a href="mailto:rkoster#origin,ea.com">rkoster#origin,ea.com</a>, Wed 16 Feb 2000, 18:04 GMT
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00390" HREF="msg00390.html">RE: [MUD-DEV] a shrinking pool of players?</A></strong>,
Koster, Raph <a href="mailto:rkoster#origin,ea.com">rkoster#origin,ea.com</a>, Thu 17 Feb 2000, 20:47 GMT
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00437" HREF="msg00437.html">Re: [MUD-DEV] a shrinking pool of players?</A></strong>,
Draymoor <a href="mailto:fibhufky#erols,com">fibhufky#erols,com</a>, Sun 20 Feb 2000, 19:34 GMT
</LI>
</ul>
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00344" HREF="msg00344.html">commercial muds and cable TV (was RE: [MUD-Dev] code base inquiry)</A></strong>,
Sellers, Michael <a href="mailto:MSellers#maxis,com">MSellers#maxis,com</a>, Wed 16 Feb 2000, 00:02 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00348" HREF="msg00348.html">Re: commercial muds and cable TV (was RE: [MUD-Dev] code base inquiry)</A></strong>,
Matthew Mihaly <a href="mailto:diablo#best,com">diablo#best,com</a>, Wed 16 Feb 2000, 01:05 GMT
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00349" HREF="msg00349.html">[MUD-DEV] a shrinking pool of players?</A></strong>,
Johan J Ingles-le Nobel <a href="mailto:xvf61#dial,pipex.com">xvf61#dial,pipex.com</a>, Wed 16 Feb 2000, 01:25 GMT
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
</UL></BLOCKQUOTE>
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