<!-- MHonArc v2.4.4 --> <!--X-Subject: Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: Less numbers, more roleplaying. --> <!--X-From-R13: Oqnz Ivttvaf <avtugsnyyNhfre2.vasvpnq.pbz> --> <!--X-Date: Sun, 09 Nov 1997 21:01:59 +0000 --> <!--X-Message-Id: 199711092030.NAA18025#user2,inficad.com --> <!--X-Content-Type: text/plain --> <!--X-Reference: Marcel-1.26-1109131338-bc8Ky&5#Gryphon,knoware.nl --> <!--X-Head-End--> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <html> <head> <title>MUD-Dev message, Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: Less numbers, more roleplaying.</title> <!-- meta name="robots" content="noindex,nofollow" --> <link rev="made" href="mailto:nightfall#user2,inficad.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="msg00264.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00266.html">Next</a> ] Thread: [ <a href="msg00260.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00301.html">Next</a> ] Index: [ <A HREF="author.html#00265">Author</A> | <A HREF="#00265">Date</A> | <A HREF="thread.html#00265">Thread</A> ] <!--X-TopPNI-End--> <!--X-MsgBody--> <!--X-Subject-Header-Begin--> <H1>Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: Less numbers, more roleplaying.</H1> <HR> <!--X-Subject-Header-End--> <!--X-Head-of-Message--> <UL> <LI><em>To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#null,net">mud-dev#null,net</A></LI> <LI><em>Subject</em>: Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: Less numbers, more roleplaying.</LI> <LI><em>From</em>: Adam Wiggins <<A HREF="mailto:nightfall#user2,inficad.com">nightfall#user2,inficad.com</A>></LI> <LI><em>Date</em>: Sun, 9 Nov 1997 13:30:20 -0700 (MST)</LI> <LI><em>Reply-To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:nightfall#inficad,com">nightfall#inficad,com</A></LI> </UL> <!--X-Head-of-Message-End--> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-Begin--> <HR> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-End--> <!--X-Body-of-Message--> <PRE> [Marian Griffith:] > It still is the way I like to play, even if it is not the 'official' way > to play muds. I think this is the key to the whole issue. If you get rid of an 'official' (or, more accurately, 'standard') method to play the game, it will simutaneously appeal to more players from different backgrounds and with different ideas of what's fun, and be more flexible and thereby more entertaining in the long run to the players as a whole. Of course, the hard part about this is that it's difficult to make a game which seems to have some sort of purpose to it, especially when you first start the game. I think Ultima Online has done a very good job with this sort of an approach, but still the main complaint I hear (especially from those used to the more directed form of playin single player computer games) is that they can't figure out what they should be doing when they start the game. Personally I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts on this. We've touched on it before but I don't think ever dived in very deeply. Usually the short answers are 'good, accessable documentation' and 'good character creation.' Also we've talked about newbie guides (NPCs with a script or players who volunteer themselves) taking you through the basic features of the game in an interactive tour (a great idea, IMO, one I've seen used to excellent effect on several muds). Still, these are just tack-on features, ones that try to make the user more at home in an unfamiliar environment. When they actually go to dive into the game on their own, what can they _do_ right away that is productive and at least mildly entertaining for them? I tend to think this is highly dependant on the given game, so I was wondering what (if anything) the various folks with well-defined game ideas (Nathan, Raph, Jeff K, maybe JC...?) plan on allowing or requiring new players to do first. Commonly players are just tossed into a random town with a message of 'Good luck' at which point they type 'score' and see that they need three points to reach Rank 2. Simple, boring, and linear - not to mention, with the complex skill systems, body-stealing, or other methods of character advancement availible, this doesn't work anyhow. </PRE> <!--X-Body-of-Message-End--> <!--X-MsgBody-End--> <!--X-Follow-Ups--> <HR> <ul compact><li><strong>Follow-Ups</strong>: <ul> <li><strong><A NAME="00340" HREF="msg00340.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: Less numbers, more roleplaying.</A></strong> <ul compact><li><em>From:</em> Marian Griffith <gryphon#iaehv,nl></li></ul> <li><strong><A NAME="00301" HREF="msg00301.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: Less numbers, more roleplaying.</A></strong> <ul compact><li><em>From:</em> coder#ibm,net</li></ul> </UL></LI></UL> <!--X-Follow-Ups-End--> <!--X-References--> <UL><LI><STRONG>References</STRONG>: <UL> <LI><STRONG><A NAME="00260" HREF="msg00260.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: Less numbers, more roleplaying.</A></STRONG> <UL><LI><EM>From:</EM> Marian Griffith <gryphon#iaehv,nl></LI></UL></LI> </UL></LI></UL> <!--X-References-End--> <!--X-BotPNI--> <UL> <LI>Prev by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00264.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: Gender specific</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00266.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Gender specific</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Prev by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00260.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: Less numbers, more roleplaying.</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00301.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: Less numbers, more roleplaying.</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Index(es): <UL> <LI><A HREF="index.html#00265"><STRONG>Date</STRONG></A></LI> <LI><A HREF="thread.html#00265"><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><A NAME="00199" HREF="msg00199.html">Re: DESIGN: ECONOMICS: Money Supply</A></strong>, coder <a href="mailto:coder#ibm,net">coder#ibm,net</a>, Sat 01 Nov 1997, 23:26 GMT <LI><strong><A NAME="00200" HREF="msg00200.html">Re: Less numbers, more roleplaying.</A></strong>, coder <a href="mailto:coder#ibm,net">coder#ibm,net</a>, Sat 01 Nov 1997, 23:24 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00201" HREF="msg00201.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: Less numbers, more roleplaying.</A></strong>, Caliban Tiresias Darklock <a href="mailto:caliban#darklock,com">caliban#darklock,com</a>, Sun 02 Nov 1997, 00:14 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00260" HREF="msg00260.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: Less numbers, more roleplaying.</A></strong>, Marian Griffith <a href="mailto:gryphon#iaehv,nl">gryphon#iaehv,nl</a>, Sun 09 Nov 1997, 16:33 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00265" HREF="msg00265.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: Less numbers, more roleplaying.</A></strong>, Adam Wiggins <a href="mailto:nightfall#user2,inficad.com">nightfall#user2,inficad.com</a>, Sun 09 Nov 1997, 21:01 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00301" HREF="msg00301.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: Less numbers, more roleplaying.</A></strong>, coder <a href="mailto:coder#ibm,net">coder#ibm,net</a>, Sat 15 Nov 1997, 17:56 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00371" HREF="msg00371.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: Less numbers, more roleplaying.</A></strong>, Marian Griffith <a href="mailto:gryphon#iaehv,nl">gryphon#iaehv,nl</a>, Sun 23 Nov 1997, 16:07 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00390" HREF="msg00390.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: Less numbers, more roleplaying.</A></strong>, Derrick Jones <a href="mailto:gunther#online1,magnus1.com">gunther#online1,magnus1.com</a>, Mon 24 Nov 1997, 06:07 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00402" HREF="msg00402.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: Less numbers, more roleplaying.</A></strong>, Marian Griffith <a href="mailto:gryphon#iaehv,nl">gryphon#iaehv,nl</a>, Mon 24 Nov 1997, 19:46 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </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>