[MUD-Dev] (fwd) Re: POLL: Games ruined by bad players (Player killers, tank rushers etc)

[J C Lawrence]

<bow>

BTW, I heartily agree.

From: cat at bga.com (Dr. Cat)
Subject: Re: POLL: Games ruined by bad players (Player killers, tank rushers etc)
Newsgroups: alt.games.ultima-online,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic,rec.games.computer.ultima.online,rec.games.mud.misc
Followup-To: alt.games.ultima-online,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic,rec.games.computer.ultima.online,rec.games.mud.misc
Date: 25 Apr 98 18:08:33 GMT

J C Lawrence (claw at under.engr.sgi.com) wrote:
: Understood.  Others will and do view such cases as a chance to model
: something in their own image.  You are looking for DisneyWorld.
: Others prefer the outback.

I would contend that the games that are out there, both free and 
commercial, provide ample opportunities to visit "the outback" for
those that prefer it.  And I also feel that there's very little for
those that are looking for "DisneyWorld" - or most other "non-outback" 
types of environments that people might want.

I think it's probably somewhat natural that the majority of the "early 
settlers" in online gaming are the the type of people that want to "tame 
the frontier".  But in the long run, once the masses arrive, I think 
more people will want to spend their time and money on the "resorts" - 
just like in the real world.

Our game has the basic principle that nobody can do anything to you 
without your consent.  While this is not how real life works overall, 
since people still do get robbed, raped, killed, etc. - efforts to 
set up environments that provide that level of freedom and safety are 
generally looked upon as desirable and valuable.  The French Quarter in 
New Orleans is probably orders of magnitude safer than the city as a 
whole.  (There's a park in New Orleans that the locals call "Murder 
Park".  The locals do NOT go in there after dark, but an occasional out 
of towner doesn't know any better.)  And it's not because the local 
citizenry or the tourists have banded together to form militias.  It's 
provided by the people that run the place.  Same as any major tourist 
destination, the tourists pump money into the local economy, which 
increases the tax base, some of which is spent on providing the service 
of having enough police around to let the tourists feel safe.  It's money 
well spent, in my opinion.

I think the millions of non-gamers out there in particular will prefer 
the "safer" places rather than the "wild and wooly" ones.  Even if 
they're not called "games", but just "environments".  Even when it comes 
to games, there's an awful lot of people who play the ones that don't 
involve violence and killing (Monopoly, poker, Trivial Pursuit, bridge, 
Scrabble, etc. etc.) rather than the ones that do (like 9 out of 10 
computer games).  And I think the frequency of sexual harrassment is 
enough in itself to keep many women from wanting to participate in the 
totally unregulated, unpoliced environments (and the ineffectually 
policed ones).  Sure, a few women will adopt a male identity, or a gender 
neutral one, but I think a lot more will simply leave and never come back.

Summary: The outback is all very well and good, for that audience that 
wants it, and it's perfectly ok to provide that for them.  But we've 
already got that covered, and we really ought to offer some OTHER types 
of environments too!

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--
J C Lawrence                               Internet: claw at null.net
(Contractor)                               Internet: coder at ibm.net
---------(*)                     Internet: claw at under.engr.sgi.com
...Honourary Member of Clan McFud -- Teamer's Avenging Monolith...

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