[MUD-Dev] Balance... RPG or Role-Playing Game?

[Raph Koster]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: mud-dev-admin at kanga.nu
> [mailto:mud-dev-admin at kanga.nu]On Behalf Of
> Ben
> Sent: Sunday, July 23, 2000 5:59 PM
> To: Post
> Subject: [MUD-Dev] Balance... RPG or Role-Playing Game?
>
> People play games today for the combat.

More people don't play because of the combat than do play because of the
combat, IMHO. How many times have we heard the pejorative "hack n slash" or
these games referred to as juvenile testosterone fests? A game just about
combat is a proven turn-off for most females, for example.

>  If you take that away, what does the game ammount to... at toddlers RPG.

Hurm. One could also argue that it amounts to a subtle and intelligent
activity which is mind-expanding and non-violent. But hey, different strokes
for different folks, right? :)

>  I feel that Role
> Playing is good to
> a point.  If you play a role as deeply as some people feel
> you should, you
> don't just get to fool around and have fun, it becomes a
> serious, full time
> endeavor.  Personally I prefer the kind of game that has you
> play the role
> of a hero.

I don't see a contradiction between playing a hero and engaging in deep or
shallow roleplay. Why do you feel they are opposite sides of the coin?

> It provides a greater relief from everyday life,
> and let's you
> play occasionally for entertainment, instead of playing
> constantly to build
> an online fake 'life'.

I dunno, the kill-gain XP-gain eq-kill again model seems to be one of the
most addictive ways in gaming to build a "fake life." :) It just happens to
be a particularly shallow sort of fake life... Perhaps a way to think of it
is, "since we're getting people to build online fake lives anyway, maybe
they should be about more than just hack n slash."

-Raph




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