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<H1>RE: [MUD-Dev] characters per account</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>: RE: [MUD-Dev] characters per account</LI>
<LI><em>From</em>: "Zak Jarvis" <<A HREF="mailto:zak#voidmonster,com">zak#voidmonster,com</A>></LI>
<LI><em>Date</em>: Tue, 4 Apr 2000 17:42:37 -0700</LI>
<LI><em>Importance</em>: Normal</LI>
<LI><em>Reply-To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI>
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<PRE>
I'm with Randy Farmer on this issue.
I agree with Randy Farmer, multiple characters per player is a fact of life that you need to design around. (Wish I'd gotten to play Habitat and not just Club Caribe.)
I really do have to question the assumption that a single-character model is in some way innately superior. Partly I question it because it's anathema to my play-style.
When I play multiplayer games that are (ostensibly) about role-playing, what floats my boat is playing numerous roles and maintaining rigid boundaries between them. I don't use one character to assist another. I've had characters who would be glad to kill one another. The possible diversity of the experience is what attracts me to MP-RPGs. I really don't give a crap about numerical advancement or advantage.
I would specifically NOT play a multi-player game advertised as a role-playing that disallowed multiple characters. That's just not an interesting environment for me.
I have no illusions about how representative my view is of the larger gaming community -- I assume my preferences belong to pretty much me alone -- but I know there are other players (and designers) out there who play in a style similar to me.
My opinion is that the feeling that "If only there were a game where people were only allowed to have a single character, everything would be better" is a utopian fantasy born out of a fundamental disillusionment with virtual worlds. They promise to be alternate realities in which we can live out our leisure time, but they invariably fail to meet our basic standards for suspension of disbelief when we learn that there is a guy behind the curtain (or an algorithm or script). We are animals too hungry for new input to be fed by the inherently limited resources of designers. As designers, we can never satisfy the players forever. It's a rare conjunction that allows any player to stay in a game for years and years. The folks who can are very much the exception, and in my experience the ratio of permanent players to good game design is very whacked. It has more to do with the players that a game has attracted than how well it's managed and -- to a frightening extent -- how well it's designed. I suppose it comes down to marketing, really. And being just good enough to be interesting.
-Zak Jarvis
<A HREF="http://www.voidmonster.com">http://www.voidmonster.com</A>
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<LI><STRONG><A NAME="00046" HREF="msg00046.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] characters per account</A></STRONG>
<UL><LI><EM>From:</EM> Timothy Dang <tdang#U,Arizona.EDU></LI></UL></LI>
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<ul><li>Thread context:
<BLOCKQUOTE><UL>
<LI><STRONG>Re: [MUD-Dev] characters per account</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM>
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<LI><strong><A NAME="00038" HREF="msg00038.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] characters per account</A></strong>,
Sayeed <a href="mailto:yu219121#YorkU,CA">yu219121#YorkU,CA</a>, Tue 04 Apr 2000, 19:47 GMT
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<LI><strong><A NAME="00044" HREF="msg00044.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] characters per account</A></strong>,
J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw#cp,net">claw#cp,net</a>, Tue 04 Apr 2000, 22:39 GMT
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<LI><strong><A NAME="00045" HREF="msg00045.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] characters per account</A></strong>,
Brian Green <a href="mailto:brian#psychochild,org">brian#psychochild,org</a>, Tue 04 Apr 2000, 22:50 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00046" HREF="msg00046.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] characters per account</A></strong>,
Timothy Dang <a href="mailto:tdang#U,Arizona.EDU">tdang#U,Arizona.EDU</a>, Tue 04 Apr 2000, 23:53 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00050" HREF="msg00050.html">RE: [MUD-Dev] characters per account</A></strong>,
Zak Jarvis <a href="mailto:zak#voidmonster,com">zak#voidmonster,com</a>, Wed 05 Apr 2000, 00:45 GMT
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<LI><strong><A NAME="00056" HREF="msg00056.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] characters per account</A></strong>,
F. Randall Farmer <a href="mailto:randy#communities,com">randy#communities,com</a>, Wed 05 Apr 2000, 05:53 GMT
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<LI><strong><A NAME="00020" HREF="msg00020.html">RE: [MUD-Dev] characters per account</A></strong>,
Sellers, Michael <a href="mailto:MSellers#maxis,com">MSellers#maxis,com</a>, Mon 03 Apr 2000, 20:23 GMT
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<LI><strong><A NAME="00021" HREF="msg00021.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] characters per account</A></strong>,
LexaH <a href="mailto:LexaH#aol,com">LexaH#aol,com</a>, Mon 03 Apr 2000, 22:31 GMT
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<LI><strong><A NAME="00037" HREF="msg00037.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] characters per account</A></strong>,
Jeff Freeman <a href="mailto:SkeptAck#antisocial,com">SkeptAck#antisocial,com</a>, Tue 04 Apr 2000, 16:25 GMT
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