[MUD-Dev] Usability and interface and who the hell is suppo

[Jon A. Lambert]

On 19 Sep 97 at 20:50, clawrenc at cup.hp.com wrote:
> In <01BCC450.6D97E470.caliban at darklock.com>, on 09/18/97 
>    at 07:10 PM, Caliban Tiresias Darklock <caliban at darklock.com> said:
> >On Wednesday, September 17, 1997 7:33 PM, Jon A. Lambert 
> >[SMTP:jlsysinc at ix.netcom.com] wrote:
> >> Different DOES entail turning off hundreds of Diku-expectant players.
> 
> >So your goal, if I hear this properly, is to make a game that a
> >certain  type of people will DISlike? Does this strike anyone else as
> >a perverse,  cynical, and ludicrous goal?
> 
> No, you are reading sloppily.  Another possible reading:  The goal
> will by implication "turn off" a certain set of people.  This is
> acknowledged and accepted as a side-effect of the goal definition.  It
> is not defined as part of the goal.

That was my intended meaning and it probably wasn't phrased clearly 
enough.  There was an endless rgma thread about the fears/facts(?) 
that one would turn off those who expectations of the mud they are 
entering being highly colored by previous experience, particularly 
that of Diku-like muds. Some would-be implementors had the opinion 
that they didn't want these types of players anyway.  Those aren't my 
goals.  My goals are really that of "hopeful conversion" of some 
rather than attempting to cater to a group's (alleged) style of play. 

> >> I see no need for player
> >> documentation to be printable or downloadable.
> 
> >If I can't download the documentation and look at it while I'm not on
> >your  game, it's harder for me to learn my way around. If I can't
> >print it, it's  harder for me to find information on commands.
> >Hardcopy and local copies  are important. But as the game's designer,
> >or as one of its primary  founding players, you won't understand
> >it... it's easy, see, not that much  at all.

Actually, some of my concerns relate to issues of copyright regarding 
downloadable and printable documentation.  Not that I can prevent 
it, mind you, only actively discourage it.  I do agree that 
documentation on how to play should be easily available and up to 
date.  It should be one click or keystroke away. There are some 
aspects of play that are only documented when players have certain 
in-game abilities.  This is to provide some sense of world mystery 
and unlocking of knowledge, not for obfuscation of playability.

 
--
Jon A. Lambert

If I'd known it was harmless, I would have killed it myself.