[MUD-Dev] Fair/Unfair? Scenarios (fwd)

[Matthew Mihaly]

On Wed, 8 Dec 1999, Mik Clarke wrote:

> 
> And there lies the difference between reality and a game.  Games are
> things people do for fun.  They invest a part of their leisure fun in
> participating in the world.  They should have the opportnity to
> survive (they don't have to take it and it certainly shouldn't be
> forced on them, but it should be there).  This is more like the players
> being in a story where the hero might look behind the rocks or turn
> back when they saw the rune of death - or they might not.  This is
> the players decision and they need that degree of control over their
> fate (even more so in a permadeath game).  Those who play carefully
> and pay attention should be able to survive - those who do not end up
> as a red smear.  Unwarned of insta-death rooms deny the intelligent
> players the chance of survival (yes, the inn might be miles away,
> but it should be hard to get to te mine without going past the inn).
> Inescapable areas are just bad design - the player should be either
> dead or able to escape (or maybe be rescued by someone with less
> than divine powers).  Getting trapped is a real pain if you don't
> have a recall ability - if the mud also doesn't do death from
> starvation/thirst then the only way to return the character to play
> is through direct divine intervention - which spoils the sense of
> belief in the world.  Role playing someone trapped forever in a small
> dark cave is fun for about 5 seconds...

Unless you are in a permadeath game, getting trapped in a death trap does
not entail not surviving. It's simply a setback (either minor or major),
and players quickly realize this. 
--matt





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