[MUD-Dev] trade skill idea

[John Buehler]

> Koster, Raph
> Sent: Wednesday, October 04, 2000 7:48 AM

> > IMO, it's not the trade skill itself that's fun; it's what
> > you do with the product.
>
> Tell that to everyone who bought SimCity, The Sims, Rollercoaster Tycoon, or
> any of the many other similar products. These don't even HAVE a product
> marketing phase after the building phase of the game. It's ONLY about the
> building. The desire to build is what crafting satisfies. You wouldn't say
> that "building areas isn't fun, it's only what you do with the area
> afterwards" would you?

Well stated.

I find it humorous that only the result of a trade skill can be 'used'.  The
tools of a trade were made by a blacksmith, so I can 'use' them in that trade.
The bottom line is that any trade should be structured for enthusiasts of that
trade.  Blacksmithing should involve many steps and many decisions along the
way for the player.  Analagously, consider combat.  The enthusiasts want
different weapons, different opponents, varying skill levels, ranged and melee
weapons, and so on.  You want repetition?  How about EverQuest?  You do the
same thing over and over again, employing the same simple trade.  Seems like
it would be pretty boring to me, but the combat and magic enthusiasts eat it
up.  What if combat were treated the same as a trade is treated in these
games.  You would see an opponent, go near him, push a button and one of you
would fall dead.  Whee!  What fun.  It's not what a combat enthusiast wants,
yet for somebody who plays a game focusing on blacksmithing, that might be the
way that the blacksmith-minded game designers try to present combat.

Trades have not yet even begun to be explored as an entertainment option.  I'd
love to be able to challenge myself to build a building.  The challenge could
be manyfold.  First, I have to organize labor, materials, the work site and
all the corresponding logistics.  What I decide to emphasize or skimp on can
vary.  And I don't mean click off five options in a dialog.  I'm talking a
roughly realtime process of hiring players and NPCs, buying the materials and
getting them transported, and so on.  This is because this trade is being
created for the enthusiast - those who LIKE doing stuff like this.  It's a
campaign all within the confines of just one building.  The opponents are
gravity, poor or rare construction materials, unskilled workers and so on.

Working in a blacksmith shop should be more than dropping a hammer on hot
metal.  Where does the metal come from?  What quality is it?  Do I have all
the right tools for making the right bends and shapes from the metal?  Is my
apprentice up to snuff?  Do I need more room for anvils, forges and other
brickabrack?  When making an item, do I want to case harden the piece, weld
steel to iron or just make the whole thing from steel?  No single technique
should be obviously superior to others - as with combat.  Melee has some
advantages and problems, while magic should have other advantages and
problems.  Players can be involved in a trade by focusing into the task at
hand and providing more choices and decisions along the way.  The player
decisions are strategic ones, while the character itself handles the tactical
ones.

JB





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