<!-- MHonArc v2.4.4 --> <!--X-Subject: Re: [MUD-Dev] Trouble Makers or Regular Citizens --> <!--X-From-R13: X Q Znjerapr <pynjNpc.arg> --> <!--X-Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2000 15:02:15 -0700 --> <!--X-Message-Id: E12jqvk-0001qL-00#under,eng.cp.net --> <!--X-Content-Type: text/plain --> <!--X-Reference: NDBBKBHGBINDDPKLMPBHOEHICMAA.zak#voidmonster,com --> <!--X-Head-End--> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <html> <head> <title>MUD-Dev message, Re: [MUD-Dev] Trouble Makers or Regular Citizens</title> <!-- meta name="robots" content="noindex,nofollow" --> <link rev="made" href="mailto:claw#cp,net"> </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="msg00555.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00557.html">Next</a> ] Thread: [ <a href="msg00122.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00139.html">Next</a> ] Index: [ <A HREF="author.html#00556">Author</A> | <A HREF="#00556">Date</A> | <A HREF="thread.html#00556">Thread</A> ] <!--X-TopPNI-End--> <!--X-MsgBody--> <!--X-Subject-Header-Begin--> <H1>Re: [MUD-Dev] Trouble Makers or Regular Citizens</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] Trouble Makers or Regular Citizens </LI> <LI><em>From</em>: J C Lawrence <<A HREF="mailto:claw#cp,net">claw#cp,net</A>></LI> <LI><em>Date</em>: Mon, 24 Apr 2000 15:02:12 -0700</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> On Mon, 10 Apr 2000 02:16:58 -0700 Zak Jarvis <zak#voidmonster,com> wrote: > Very often, MUDs (and I use that in the broadest, most general > sense) play host to vicarious entertainment. There is a > fundamental crisis of structure, cohesion and social harmony > because the environment is *virtual*. Im GoP games (I'm not as clear on how this applies to non-GoP games) there is an inherent sense of allegiance and affinity among players due to the simple fact that all players (other than the game designers et al) are injected from the outside world into the game world and are thus all aliens holding their alieness and desire to survive/succeed in this strange world in common. It is easy to create a sense of shared assault by the players on the game/world "We are gathered together here to see if we can figure out how the heck this world works. So let's go kick some Orcish butt and see!" Teams, clans, guilds, etc can all tbe viewed as meta-forms of the basic cooperative wish to figure out survival within the game world. > My sense is that trying ever harder to impose order is going to > push the designer more and more towards the role of despot. Herding cats. Dictatorial force NEVER works in any useful fashion unless it aligns with the basic needs and wants of the ordered, and even then it works badly and often unpredictably. Try forcing a cat to eat now and not ten minutes from now (or to wash behind its ears). Try forcing a kid to go to sleep (you can force them to lie down, sure, but sleep is a different matter). Phyrric victories. You might win the battles, but you will lose the wars (and quite a bit of skin in the case of the cat). Carrots on the ends of sticks work much better, especially if they never notice the stick. > A better approach is to recognize, augment and direct the natural > processes that happen in virtual environments. Leadership. It doesn't have to be obvious. It doesn't have to be overt. It doesn't even have to be explicit. You can finagle behind or in front of the scenes; agitate, foment, and curry all the changes you want, but none of it is going to happen until somebody else agrees and NOBODY ever agreed with you because you told them they HAD to agree with you, not even your kid sister/brother. Homilies of catching more flies with sugar than vinegar. You can't usefully order somebody to be your friend. But you can create that friendship and then use that friendship to help create other different things. This doesn't have to be a conniving manipulative thing. It can be a thing of simple friendhsip and the assistance one gives one friends (as a game designer you don't want your players occupying the position of "enemy"). -- J C Lawrence Internet: claw#kanga,nu ----------(*) Internet: coder#kanga,nu ...Honorary Member of Clan McFud -- Teamer's Avenging Monolith... _______________________________________________ MUD-Dev mailing list 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--> <UL><LI><STRONG>References</STRONG>: <UL> <LI><STRONG><A NAME="00122" HREF="msg00122.html">RE: [MUD-Dev] Trouble Makers or Regular Citizens</A></STRONG> <UL><LI><EM>From:</EM> "Zak Jarvis" <zak#voidmonster,com></LI></UL></LI> </UL></LI></UL> <!--X-References-End--> <!--X-BotPNI--> <UL> <LI>Prev by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00555.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Alignment</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00557.html">[MUD-Dev] selling Godhoods</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Prev by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00122.html">RE: [MUD-Dev] Trouble Makers or Regular Citizens</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00139.html">RE: [MUD-Dev] Trouble Makers or Regular Citizens</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Index(es): <UL> <LI><A HREF="index.html#00556"><STRONG>Date</STRONG></A></LI> <LI><A HREF="thread.html#00556"><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] Trouble Makers or Regular Citizens</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM> <ul compact> <ul compact> <ul compact> <ul compact> <ul compact> <LI><strong><A NAME="00173" HREF="msg00173.html">RE: [MUD-Dev] Trouble Makers or Regular Citizens</A></strong>, Matthew Mihaly <a href="mailto:the_logos#achaea,com">the_logos#achaea,com</a>, Tue 11 Apr 2000, 18:49 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00190" HREF="msg00190.html">RE: [MUD-Dev] Trouble Makers or Regular Citizens</A></strong>, Chris Lloyd <a href="mailto:crl199#soton,ac.uk">crl199#soton,ac.uk</a>, Wed 12 Apr 2000, 01:09 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </ul> </ul> </ul> <LI><strong><A NAME="00111" HREF="msg00111.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Trouble Makers or Regular Citizens</A></strong>, Par Winzell <a href="mailto:zell#alyx,com">zell#alyx,com</a>, Mon 10 Apr 2000, 06:50 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00122" HREF="msg00122.html">RE: [MUD-Dev] Trouble Makers or Regular Citizens</A></strong>, Zak Jarvis <a href="mailto:zak#voidmonster,com">zak#voidmonster,com</a>, Mon 10 Apr 2000, 17:27 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00556" HREF="msg00556.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Trouble Makers or Regular Citizens</A></strong>, J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw#cp,net">claw#cp,net</a>, Mon 24 Apr 2000, 22:02 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </ul> <LI><strong><A NAME="00139" HREF="msg00139.html">RE: [MUD-Dev] Trouble Makers or Regular Citizens</A></strong>, Koster, Raph <a href="mailto:rkoster#origin,ea.com">rkoster#origin,ea.com</a>, Mon 10 Apr 2000, 23:23 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00147" HREF="msg00147.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Trouble Makers or Regular Citizens</A></strong>, Jon Lambert <a href="mailto:jlsysinc#ix,netcom.com">jlsysinc#ix,netcom.com</a>, Tue 11 Apr 2000, 05:08 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00223" HREF="msg00223.html">RE: [MUD-Dev] Trouble Makers or Regular Citizens</A></strong>, Tess Lowe <a href="mailto:tess#havensong,com">tess#havensong,com</a>, Wed 12 Apr 2000, 14:22 GMT </LI> </UL> </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>