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

[Caliban Tiresias Darklock]

On 12:58 AM 10/3/98 -0400, I personally witnessed ApplePiMan at aol.com
jumping up to say:
>
>One of the problems with attracting volunteers, as far I can see, is that 
>the process is of necessity "catch as catch can". 

And it's different with paid employees? Since when? ;)

>I can't comment much 
>more on systems that are under NDA and in fact may be patentable, 

I'd urge you to consider the impact of patenting your systems. First, that
means no one else can use it for several years. Second, that means you
don't have any effective competition. The first is just plain unfair, and
the second doesn't exactly encourage you to do the best job you can on the
implementation. Just think about it. I won't tell you what to do, but I
really do dislike patents and think the world would be a better place with
fewer of them.

>I was merely trying to indicate that there are constraints on what 
>could be done within budget, as well as what you can justify to your 
>investors, in a commercial venture. 

It depends on who your investors are, how much they're investing, and what
they expect in return. A 40% return in a year probably won't mean a whole
lot to a guy who wants to invest a couple thousand dollars, but if you're
investing a couple million dollars -- then you start getting into notable
sums. Most MUDs trade in intangibles (power, respect, accomplishment) with
the staff who invest their time and effort. When you move to a more
financial aspect, you don't really change the economics of the situation
all that much; it's just something more tangible than a privilege setting.

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Caliban Tiresias Darklock     <caliban at darklock.com> | "Hell, you don't   
Darklock Communications   <http://www.darklock.com/> |  know me."         
FREE KEVIN MITNICK!   <http://www.kevinmitnick.com/> |    - Charles Manson  
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