[MUD-Dev] Guilds & Politics [was Affecting the World]

[Matt Chatterley]

On Tue, 9 Dec 1997, Ola Fosheim Gr=F8stad wrote:

> "Koster, Raph" <rkoster at origin.ea.com> wrote:
> >On Friday, December 05, 1997 7:10 AM, Ola Fosheim=20
> >Gr=F8stad[SMTP:olag at ifi.uio.no] wrote:
> >> I've got one question here.  Both UO and M59 was marketed as
> >> roleplaying games right.  What's wrong about being a jerk then?=20
> > Will
> >> this tendency translate well to non-roleplaying games?
> >
> >That was more than one question! As for the first question: being a=20
> >jerk, of course, doesn't necessarily equal roleplaying. In either=20
> >case, we have far more jerks than a roleplaying game usually supports=20
> >in terms of villains. :)
>=20
> I'm really sorry about my math skills :^) Actually, what I was
> thinking of was: Being a jerk can be great fun!  So, if one enters
> what one believes is a game, why not be a jerk?  Of course, there are
> lots of jerks on usenet...  Anyway, my guess is that the jerk ratio
> will depend on how the environment presents itself to the user. AND
> how social norms are being portrayed in the environment.  I believe
> that you will be able to have local villages with dedicated users if
> you provide good support for artistic/creative userbuilding.  Maybe
> only a few will want to build, but I bet a lot of people will like to
> join the group with the most fantastic castle.

A very interesting perspective on a common situation. To expand a little
further upon the 'jerk' theory, what factors might affect this
(theoretically speaking)? Perhaps how you portray your game when you
advertise (do you appeal to the masses, or make your intentions clearer?),
or how you handle new users upon connection. Do those games with huge jerk
problems feed newbies much information, or toss them madly into an
environment to which they may be *completely* new?

I like to think that a substantial portion of 'jerk' behaviour can be
attributed to players not understanding how the game functions and expects
them to function. Am I deluded?
=20
> >"roleplayers" both places... When writing my reply to Mike earlier,=20
> >every time I made a statement I kept checking it in my mind against=20
> >the Dibbell article, and going "did this hold true on LambdaMOO? Yes."=
=20
>=20
> Where is the Dibbell article?

What is the Dibbell article?
=20
> >I suspect the nature of the environment may change the nature of the=20
> >manifestation of this social trend, and the degree of it, but it won't=
=20
> >change it THAT much...
>=20
> MMhhh.. Maybe.  Maybe one should make games that only appeal to old
> mothers. *grin* Or rather, games that only appeal to 25+ ?  That's
> where the money is anyway, isn't it?

Heh. I wonder to what degree you can control the 'target audience' of a
game. Or who would even attempt it conciously; while common in standard
marketting practises, to what degree has anyone tried to apply these
'standard practises' to 'selling' a mud to the masses?
=20
> >Legend has tell, gtell, global channels, dynamically themed=20
> >conferences, OOC spaces, newsletter, discussion lists, web chat board,=
=20
> >bulletin boards, and STILL gets groups forming their own off-mud and=20
> >off-site channels of group communication.
>=20
> Yeah, but why?  Privacy?  Character by character response? Efficiency?
> A sense of ownership?

Perhaps privacy, more likely a sense of ownership, and convenience - if
you have on-mud boards for discussion and notes, many people will like to
use email still (because they prefer the medium).

[snip]

Regards,
=09-Matt Chatterley
=09ICQ: 5580107
"I shall never believe that God plays dice with the world." -Einstein