[MUD-Dev] Re: Storytelling vs. Simulationist (Was Re: Room descriptions)

[ApplePiMan at aol.com]

At 10/2/98 11:24 AM Adam Wiggins (adam at angel.com) altered the fabric of 
reality by uttering:

>On Thu, 1 Oct 1998, Brandon J. Rickman wrote:
>> [snip good argument against simulation-style muds]
>> There is the potential that you might
>> log in one day and find that all the characters have been killed and eaten
>> by starving wolves.  This is not fun.
>
>Hey now: that's just *your* definition of fun.  You've just pinned
>down one of the best parts of sim: big sweeping changes can, and
>occasionally do, affect the game world, and there's not always anything
>the players can do about it.

I agree this could lead to some entertaining (if not exactly "fun" by my 
definition, either) situations. But note that big, sweeping changes are 
not the exclusive property of a sim. A self-sustaining dramatist approach 
could conceivably come to the conclusion that such a big, sweeping change 
was the best course to promote (literary) conflict in the game world.

-Rick.


---------------------------------------------------------
Rick Buck, President and CEO  <mailto:rlb at big-i.com>
Beyond Infinity Games, Inc.
See you in The Metaverse! <http://www.big-i.com>