[MUD-Dev] RP=MUSH/PG=MUD

[Adam Wiggins]

[Jeff K:]
> At 11:10 AM 6/22/97 PST8PDT, Adam Wiggins wrote:
> >Still not my point.  The point is that players can *know*, from the start,
> >all the (set) rules which govern the world.  Players can't look at the
> >source code for the mud (usually).  This is the difference to which I
> >refer.
> >If you mean rules that the DM just pulls out of their ass, then this isn't
> >a rule at all.  More below.
> 
> I think we just defined the difference between a Roleplayer and a Ruleplayer.

Ah, okay.  This is what my ex refered to as the 'bullshit session' syndrome.
If you are just making things up as you go along with no particular rhyme
or reason, why pretend to be playing a 'game' with any fixed rules at all?
You're writing a story to which many people contribute, which is perfectly
fine.  I've role-played like this before; but we didn't even bother with
pretenses like rulebooks, dice, or tables full of saving throws.  
The advantage, IMO, to a computer being 'in charge' of a role-playing game,
is that it can know and handle a set of 'rules' for a world so complex
as to be completely unmanagable by any human (certainly not in realtime).
More importantly, players never have to know exactly what those rules
are, although they will likely become quite familiar with the manifestations
of those rules.