[MUD-Dev] Level abstractions - Realism vs Game Issues

[Martin Keegan]

On Thu, 14 Aug 1997 clawrenc at cup.hp.com wrote:

> >I hope that reaction (yanking the axe and drawing the sword) was a
> >computer handled reflex... this list is populated with wimps
> >(kidding, really, c'mon guys, put down that LART, it was a joke...)
> >who don't want to offend people's senses of dominance over their mud
> >bodies by letting the bodies act instinctively or reflexively, even
> >in high stress situations.
> 
> I'd suggest that human players do enough reflexive and reactive
> thinking in situations of MUD-stress to satisfy that need (I've seen
> players hurl their bodies out of their chairs when killed, faces drawn
> and white, far too close to adreniline shock for comfort).  Given
> that, wouldn't coding it into the MUD characters tend to prevent the
 
Two guys I know (who run the Australian ISP where my dubious webpages
reside) were playing some beat-em-up coinop game against each other in an
arcade. All four hands were at the controls, furiously twiddling away,
eyes transfixed on the huge screen in front of them. The difference was
that one stood stock still, his only motion being with his fingers,
whereas the other was heaving his body from side to side with every punch.
 
Certainly I've noticed my heart rate increase when approaching some
momentously dangerous and rewarding task on a mud. I don't consider this
sad.
 
Mk