[MUD-Dev] trade skill idea

[Robert Zubek]

Koster, Raph writes about simgames and skills in rpgs:
 > If making bread was the point of the game, and there were dozens of grains,
 > many sorts of ovens, many possible bread shapes, and lots of
 > variables--sure, what the heck. It could get especially challenging if there
 > were managing multiple ovens and bakeries at once. Not that I am suggesting
 > making this game--I am just saying that if you break down the games here,
 > and examine them topologically (what is the SHAPE of the gameplay), you'll
 > find extreme similarities.

i don't think the two are exactly isomorphic. simgames are much more
than resource management, although they may involve some of it as well.  

the fascinating thing about simgames (and this is probably more true
of older maxis games than of, say, rollercoaster tycoon) is that
they're simulations of complex autonomous systems - the system being
simulated is autonomous of the user, governed by a set of coherent
but hidden laws, and exhibits complex interactions between elements of
the system. the fun in simgames is then figuring out the fundamental
laws out of the incomprehensible jumble of interactions, as well as
in experimenting how tweaks to the system influence its overall
behavior. 

but maxis games are even more than complex, autonomous simulations -
they also somehow manage to model a complex real-world system at just
the right level of abstraction. there lies the appeal of simcity - it
represented city management at the optimally interesting level. a more
detailed simcity would be tedious - a more abstract one would be
uninteresting.   

but how to find these sweet spots? i'm afraid that's a skill all by
itself. :)


rob

--
Robert Zubek 
rob at cs.northwestern.edu



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