[MUD-Dev] Self-organizing worlds (was: Elder Games)

[Koster]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: B. Scott Boding [mailto:sboding at fcicom.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 1999 9:34 AM
> To: mud-dev at kanga.nu
> Subject: Re: [MUD-Dev] Self-organizing worlds (was: Elder Games)

> I've always thought it would be stylish to use Artificial 
> Life techniques for
> realm maintinance. It would require some AI as well, but it 
> could produce a much
> more rewarding effect. I've always hated how monsters and 
> rooms just regenerate
> on schedule. I thought that if you introduced a population 
> into a realm, and let
> that population perpetuate itself that it would make for an 
> interesting effect.
> If players overharvest the monsters, it actually works against them.
> 
> Not just for combat though, but instead of resetting a room 
> and removing the
> contents, have monsters that actually go around and clean up 
> the areas. They
> could even collect the goods and sell them, or use them to 
> re-equip their army.
> I'm getting a little fanciful here but it would be 
> interesting to see the
> difference.

UO did a lot of this. It wasn't very tolerant of typical player behavior,
and basically blew up. I've since learned that it was an utterly predictable
manifestation of the "Tragedy of the Commons" among other things.


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