[MUD-Dev] Self-Sufficient Worlds

[Lee Sheldon]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: mud-dev-admin at kanga.nu
> [mailto:mud-dev-admin at kanga.nu]On Behalf Of
> Zak Jarvis
> Sent: Saturday, April 29, 2000 4:19 AM
> To: mud-dev at kanga.nu
> Subject: RE: [MUD-Dev] Self-Sufficient Worlds
>
> The very entertaining lives which created highly
> readable autobiographies were quite interactive. I never claimed that
> everyone's life was interesting enough for the treatment,
> only that if some
> autobiographies are interesting then narrative must have an
> ability to be
> interactive. Were their lives less interactive because they were more
> interesting?

I'm not arguing level of interactivity, but level of ability to communicate.

> Quality storytelling has been going on for much longer than
> there have been
> 'real' writers. It wasn't invented by Sin-Leqi-Unninni when he carved
> Gilgamesh, or any of the priests, scribes or accountants who'd done so
> before him.

Phooey.  Of course it has.  My point was that if human beings who have led
exceptionally interesting lives have difficulty communicating those lives to
others, then maybe relying on people who have not for your entertainment
might be a risky proposition.

> What I'm saying is that when you have thousands of people in a game
> simultaneously, it can become effectively impossible to
> create narratives
> that matter to both the players and the world.

I couldn't disagree more strongly.

> So, what I've
> been trying to
> design is a framework which will allow the little stories of
> players lives
> in the game to plug into the real overarching story of the
> game, and for
> that story to be influenced by the players. Influenced in
> meaningful and
> dynamic ways.

A perfectly valid approach to a necessary goal, but if it is the ONLY method
you're using, then I fear the result may not be as meangful and dynamic as
you hope.

> In the product I'm working on now, one of my jobs will be writing the
> stories the players interact with. That's not a job I want to
> lose, it's
> one of the things I love doing. However, I want to be able to do it at
> massive scales too, and it's just not possible to do the
> kinds of stories I
> want to do without building these tools. Unfortunately, we've
> not gotten to
> a stage in development where I get to really do what I'm there for, so
> instead you lot get to put up with my ranting. ;)

I don't mind.  I hope you don't mind getting ranted back at. :)

Lee




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