[MUD-Dev] Player-admins, was wimping/wiping and the big blind spot

[Sellers]

Peter wrote:
> >But, I think the real
> >question here is "Do you have to play in order to design a fun game?"
> 
> And I think, simply, my answer is a resounding "yes." Play games. Have
fun.
> Think about why you're having fun- ...
> Are you playing a game or are you watching a simulation? And which is 
> fun versus intellectualy stimulating?

Let me offer a slightly contrarian position. 

It is not necessary to be able play games *well* to design them well.
Playing games and designing games are two skill sets that overlap but not
completely.

Similarly, it is emphatically not the case that if you can play games well,
you can design games well (you might be surprised to find how many people
believe this to be the case).  

Finally, while I really do agree with the advice above, it's important too
not to get stuck on just what *you* find nifty in a game, nor what you find
impenetrable.  Your tastes are inevitably a small, thin, skewed subset of
what others will consider fun.  

To design games I think you need to be able to appreciate them, to see what
makes them tick, to see what makes *other people's* faces light up, and to
develop a sense of when something is too dry, too difficult, too tedious.
All of thise naturally requires a penchant for playing games.  But it also
requires the more difficult ability to stand back and see how others react
when they play games, which is not at all the same thing.  

Mike Sellers



_______________________________________________
MUD-Dev mailing list
MUD-Dev at kanga.nu
http://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev