[MUD-Dev] Depth of realism

[Marian Griffith]

In <URL:/archives/meow?group+local.muddev> on Wed 24 Nov, J C Lawrence wrote:
> On Mon, 22 Nov 1999 11:33:20 -0600 (EST) 
> Travis S Casey <efindel at io.com> wrote:

> > On Fri, 19 Nov 1999, J C Lawrence wrote:

> >> -- Everybody wants to be the hero.  Nobody wants to be a foot
> >> soldier.

It is not that everybody wants to be a hero per se. Being a hero lets
you accomplish things. A foot soldier is just a body to carry a sword
and shield in a formation, your scope to do things is rather limited.

A better wording would be: Everybody wants to be an adventurer.

> > Actually, I do like to play a foot soldier sometimes -- but then,
> > I'm strange.  :-)

Most guides on roleplaying warn about creating characters that are
too powerfull or too weak. Being a god is not fun most of the time
when it comes to roleplaying  (I mean when you are part of a group
of ordinary characters) but being crippled by weaknesses is no fun
either.
Of course a lot depends on the actual roleplaying setting, but for
the most part players want to do things,  and need characters that
will allow them to interact  with other players  and with the game
world.  By doing things I do not exclusively mean physical action.
It is the focus of the typical roleplaying game and mud, but in my
experience a significant portion of the players likes to have some
meaningfull role in the gameworld.  E.g. on Pernmushes very little
physical action takes place,  but every player -is- somebody, with
a job and a role in society. The same is true for most mushes, and
I would expect that even on a game like Ultima  players eventually
settle down for a more roleplaying  and less action oriented style
of playing. Or they leave for other games.

> I was just waiting for someone from the RP side to chime in there.
> The difference of course is the valuation of which is more
> important: What the character does, or what the character
> accomplishes?
> Process vs goal.

It varies from game to game and player to player. This sounds like
a cop-out, but it really is not.  On some games the roleplaying is
geared towards achieiving goals, the rewards of which (be it gold,
levels or equipment) are kept in the game. On other games the same
roleplaying is more geared towards story telling or towards inter-
acting with other players (without a specific plot).  Players have
a preference in one direction or the other, and this may change in
time. I do play roleplaying muds most of the time, but I have some
traditional hack and slash muds  I occasionally visit.  Adopting a
support role on a combat oriented mud often is more fun  than try-
ing to 'win' such game.  It is a form of roleplaying, even if most
of the other players on that mud do not recognise it as such.

Marian
--
Yes - at last - You. I Choose you. Out of all the world,
out of all the seeking, I have found you, young sister of
my heart! You are mine and I am yours - and never again
will there be loneliness ...

Rolan Choosing Talia,
Arrows of the Queen, by Mercedes Lackey




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