[MUD-Dev] Fair/Unfair? Scenarios (fwd)
Lucas Moten \{Krozy\}
krozy at hotmail.com
Wed Dec 8 17:40:49 CET 1999
> On Wed, 8 Dec 1999, Mik Clarke wrote:
>> 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...
On Wed, 8 Dec 1999, Matthew Mihaly wrote:
> 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.
But is an unescapable setback "fair"? - In some sense, we can quickly
justify this non-fairness by the way the real world works - life in itself
isn't fair. On the other hand, players are there for their enjoyment. They
expect adequate reasoning for a catastrophic event other then "hey - sh*t
happens". To make an unescapable setback fair, warnings should be in place.
The importance is how that warning is implemented, and this will vary
greatly from presentation type. In text only units, there is generally
"buffer room(s)" and flat out "signs". - Either that or the failed method
which is not warning at the appropriate moment as depicted below:
>On Tue, 7 Dec 1999, Dan Shiovitz wrote:
>
>% look
>Town Square
>This is a peaceful town square with no enemies in sight. Tra la la.
>A cityguard is standing here, doing nothing because nothing is going
>on in the vicinity.
>
>% south
>Other Half of the Town Square
>This is a peaceful town square.
>Seven aggressive monsters are here.
>
>The agressive monster hits you! You are dead. RIP.
The graphical variations may give warning through change of scenery, musical
changes (eerie sounding), etc.
Once a warning has been supplied, the situation is no longer classified as
"unescapable". After that point, what happens to the character, is for the
most part, their own doing.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
-Krozy Reveksa-
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
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