[MUD-Dev] banning the sale of items

[Ryan Palacio]

Tess Lowe wrote:
> Personally I would like to see a level playing field where skill and
talent
> decided who rose to the top of the tree. But failing that I see no reason
at
> all why Money should be any less (or more) acceptable as a means of
getting
> ahead than Time is.

First person shooters, real-time strategy, anything that even remotely
resembles "twitch" environments sounds like your level playing field.
Personally, I have always attempted to devoid games I have worked on of
"twitch" skill.  Reaction time is not a good judge of "role-playing" skill.
How does one algorithmically judge "skill and talent" at role-playing?  In
my mind that is akin to asking a computer to analyze the esthetics of a
painting or piece of music.  It will understand the data.  But can it
understand how it makes you "feel"?

If my understanding of your reference to "skill and talent" is incorrect,
please correct me.  I would be interested to understand how personal "skill
and talent" can be applied without detracting from the assumption of a role.

> And of course as a game designer, I'd much rather people paid to get ahead
> rather than used up my bandwidth 24/7.

But then the game is no longer a personal investment of time and energy.  It
has become a financial investment.  For me, attachment to anything comes not
from its taxation of my pocketbook, but how much of myself, with regards to
time and energy, I have invested.  If the choice ever came between some
achieved via time and energy investment and some obtained via purchase.
Assuming the two held similar dollar value,  I would always choose the
former.

An example of this was presented to me on Friday night.  In the process of
examining boxes in preparation to move, my roommate discovered an old
chainmail shirt he had made.  He had noted the coif next to it that he had
purchased.  But his pride and attachment was to the tattered tunic he had
made with the help of several friends.  The money spent on the coif did not
attach him as significantly to the item as the time and energy invested had
to the shirt.

~Ryan Palacio




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