[MUD-Dev] Confined Gameworld

[Ling]

Kickback reaction.  A good portion of the designers here for
goal-orientated muds seem to desire pretty large gameworlds where the
player has to spend a fair amount of real time to traverse the entire
world.  This is implied either through the theme's setting (eg: a galaxy),
discussions on various ways to generate almost limitless vistas (eg: 
fractal landscapes) or slowing down player movement (eg: real time caravan
journeys between cities).

I was wondering if anyone has considered the precise opposite.  For
example, a floating castle, a small island, a space colony or even the
Tube (London underground).  Obviously this is not suitable for the large
commercial ventures but it does seem to be the 'best' thing for hobby muds
which don't aspire to entertain hundreds of players. 

A small gameworld would encourage crowding and more player-player
interaction but this very same advantage can be a disadvantage.  It could
also help avoid the Brand New and Damn Empty Mud Syndrome that afflict
most muds when they start out.  More attention could be paid to detail so
locations could be made more intricate. 

Possible themes?  How about gangsters in an unnamed city set in the Raging
Twenties and Troubled Thirties?  Or survivors of a holocaust etching out a
living in the subway?  Or rival castes on the floating city of Laputa? 

Thoughts?

  |    Ling Lo
_O_O_  kllo at iee.org




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