[MUD-Dev] Self-Sufficient Worlds

[John Bertoglio]

> Schubert, Damion Sent: Friday, April 28, 2000 7:41 PM
> > From: Christopher Allen [mailto:ChristopherA at skotos.net]
>  
> > However, requirements for a PC economy do not have to include 
> > "realistic" so
> > I don't think there is anything that prohibits a design of a 
> > game that is
> > completely PC driven -- it is just very hard.

I would guess that the hardest part is creating a world where 
all the basic needs of players can be met. I suspect that the
techniques described by the Dark Zion team may work _if_ the 
world is sufficiently rich in options to allow player 
cleverness to replace that of designers. There would be some
cool graduate thesis material in how that world develops.
It takes a lot of courage for a design team to relinquish
control over the micro elements of the world. Without a 
currency, you have no medium of exchange. Without NPCs
simple design expedients like shops to equip players are 
no longer options. Looks like something worth watching.

> The first half of this statement more astutely sums up how
> I feel about player economies than any way I could think 
> of to say it.  =)  Player economies should be player-driven,
> intricate, rewarding, community-building and many other 
> things, but 'realistic', deceptively, isn't one of them.

The goal is an "illusion of realism", not reality itself. A 
few thousand PC's online at a time do not represent a large
enough group for anything approaching true realism. However,
the micro economy within the view of the PC's can be crafted
in a manner where it "feels" correct. The macro economy is
assumed to absorb the excess chairs and door knockers which
have no value in the game economy. 

John A. Bertoglio 
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