[MUD-Dev] Reusable plots for quests

[Brian Price]

> From:          clawrenc at cup.hp.com
>    at 09:10 AM, "Brian Price" <blprice at bedford.net> said:
> 
> >Three or four years ago, I was working on a multi-plot interactive 
> >story/game.  While I never finished it, I did lay out the groundwork 
> >for such a system.  Some of the recent topics touched upon the desire
> > to provide re-usable quests and those discussions reminded me of my 
> >earlier work.  Please bear with me, it is a bit rough and a bit long 
> >winded.
> 
> My writers reaction (I made my living for a short while writing short
> stories) is that is not useful as it stands, and will only be usful
> when it is mapped against the basic plot forms (boy beets girl, little
> tailor, man learns a lesson).  It is the human interest of those plot
> forms which drives and provides value to the node structure you
> describe.

Although I have no background as a writer other than abortive 
attempts, I'm inclined to agree with you.  The pnel theory describes a 
framework into which basic plot forms must be mapped to be useful.  

The main idea was that the theory would provide a logical system 
wherein various flavors of the central plot could be implemented 
along with various sub-plots and random encounters to add spice.  It 
is definately not a system intended to replace the writer, merely to 
allow the writer to describe a multi-plot storyline to a program.  It 
is in the writer/program interface wherein the difficult part lies.

                   Brian Price
               <blprice at bedford.net>