[MUD-Dev] Re: Room descriptions

[Jon A. Lambert]

On  1 Oct 98, ApplePiMan at aol.com wrote:
> 
> I'm not advocating we should all be doing games that look like something 
> from a Disney animation (though I don't think that option should be 
> dismissed out of hand, either). What I *am* saying is that rather than 
> placing an emphasis on total realism in our graphics, perhaps we should 
> be more concerned with *selective* realism to display the essence, rather 
> than the "photo-reality", of a character. Writers and artists in other 
> media have been doing this since time immemorial; we in the game industry 
> just seem to have lost track of that...
> 

Good points.   There are some excellent examples of the practice. 
The Dogz and Catz screen-savers/toys are but caricatures of dogs and 
cats with the emphasis placed on facial expression. 
The Disney Sega games also place an emphasis on facial expressions 
and mannerisms as well as Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog.  
Furcadia is a good example of caricature in muds.  

I believe that through iconizing and caricaturizing one can capture 
the essence of a character and reflect that characters emotional 
state back both cheaply and quickly.  Much easier done than with 
photo-realism.  And this is not limited to cuteness.  Cartoons and comics 
can also reflect darker and more serious expressions. (i.e. Heavy Metal, 
Batman, etc.).  We also have the ability to put full control of the 
character avatar's appearance and emotions in the hands of the player.  
This would be an excellent addition to a graphical/semi-graphical mud.  By 
allowing a user to customize their characters appearance, mannerisms and 
expressions will serve to strengthen and enhance character identity.  

I posted a screen shot of the MS Chat client awhile back under:
<URL: http://www.kanga.nu/~petidomo/lists/mud-dev/1998Q1/jpg00000.jpg>

And Furcadia screen shots can be found here:
<URL: http://www.realtime.net/furcadia/index.html>

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