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

[Adam Wiggins]

[Martin K:]
> On Thu, 14 Aug 1997 clawrenc at cup.hp.com wrote:
> > 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.

Yes.  Go into any arcade and you'll notice this.  More common is with
first-person games with motion people will lean into the turns.  Hell,
even on the old Battlezone vector game we have in our break room where I
work is like this - I have caught myself and others leaning backwards
in an attempt to dodge shots from enemy tanks.

> 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.

I consider this the ultimate compliment as a game (/world) designer - it's
just a high level of immersiveness.  I've seen many people cry out in
literal *pain* when their character gets whomped on particularly hard.