[MUD-Dev] Gamasutra: Online Justice Systems

[Ola Fosheim Grøstad <olag@ifi.uio.no>]

Sayeed wrote:
> format.  We want law and punishment and a semblance of ordered
> society in a fictional format which makes it interesting.  It is
> obvious though, that the reason society can exist as such
> is because of responsibility-mechanisms, and without these
> mechanisms, no world, either real or fake, can have the
> level of peace that we desire.  Multiple characters is the
> primary reason these mechanisms fail in online worlds.

Not necessarily, you can get somewhere by restricting significant
actions to members of large groups.  Then introduce collective
punishment.  This will however make membership hard to obtain, and such
mechanisms are rather ugly... (Note: there is a limit to what you can
achieve even if you prevent multiplaying, because there are obviously
many MUDs to play on.)

That said, I favour the idea that you can have as many simultaneous
characters as you want (with some sanity checks/mechanisms).  I find
multiple embodiment both fascinating and useful.  Tired of waiting for
someone or something?  Just hit the <tab> key and switch to another
place and another body.  You might even allow your friends to borrow
your bodies, or you might share the fireproof body with your guild, or
there might be bodies that would benefit from being controlled by
multiple people (like a tank).

Ola.




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