[MUD-Dev] You, the game of philosophy.

[coder at ibm.net]

On 12/12/97 at 11:57 PM, Derrick Jones <gunther at online1.magnus1.com> said:
>On Fri, 12 Dec 1997 coder at ibm.net wrote:
>> On 10/12/97 at 01:26 PM, Caliban Tiresias Darklock <caliban at darklock.com>
>> said: 
>>>On Tuesday, December 09, 1997 5:40 PM, coder at ibm.net [SMTP:coder at ibm.net] 
>>> wrote:

>> I am a GoP player in JeffK's terms.

>Okay...what does GoP stand for? been seeing it for a month now, and been
>assuming its something along the lines of PowerGaming (Game or Playground
>player???)

GoP == Game Oriented Player or Goal oriented Player.  Essentially it is
one who playes to "beat" the game in some fashion, be that King of the
Hill, genital waving, min/maxing, or mastery of the game features.

>> In another light
>> the societies and the game are mutually predators, mutually prey,
>> symbiotic parasites, with the key difference that each exists selfishly
>> and with some attempt to be an internally closed system.

>Hrm...may this only be true of some externally imposed society?  A
>society that forms around the game (characters banding together for
>mutual protection...sound like a familiar concept?) could be viewed as a
>predator upon the game as players would seek dominance over the gameworld
>(natural human tendancy to control one's environs...the key IMO to
>separate humans from other animals is this tendancy to adapt our
>envirnment to us, and not the reverse).  However, the game would serve as
>a fostering parent to the society, especially if the world is immersive,
>internally consistant, and dangerous.

Bingo.  You got it.  I view MUDding as a confrontational affair where it
is the players vs the game, and there is a definite sense of "beating", or
at least causitively manipulating the game merely by being able to survive
in the first place, and later to possibly even flourish.

>Thank you for reminding me to view my design as a player.  I keep looking
>at it as a future admin, and in the process lose track of where I should
>be headed.

<bow>

--
J C Lawrence                               Internet: claw at null.net
----------(*)                              Internet: coder at ibm.net
...Honourary Member of Clan McFud -- Teamer's Avenging Monolith...