[MUD-Dev] Death among Friends

[Jon Morrow]

>-----Original Message-----
> From: Tommy Wang

> Indeed, need greater than oneself spawns cooperation. And a
> cooperative effort doubtlessly spawns comraderie (sp?)  You see
> much of the same in RL, and some of the best friendships developed
> come from being in the same class when rushing for a frat =p Given
> something to believe in (or something to defend), people will
> often rise up to challenge, and b*tch less about little things.
> Your search for something ellusive got me thinking about something
> just as ellusive.  You were a newbie, fairly new to Gemstone (at
> least, that character was).  You therefore, probably didn't have a
> strong affixation to that particular town?  Why did you rise to
> arms?  Was it the pure hype of the mob (as in, mob of people, not
> mobile)?  Did you get caught up in all the prep-talks, and cheers,
> or whatnot...?  Did it involve roleplay (roleplaying that you
> cared?)

I think you and I are thinking in the same directions, Tommy.  I had
multiple reasons for rising to arms.  The hype of the mob was
certainly part of it, and I think another big reason was a chance to
feel like a hero.  I wasn't particularly attached to the town, nor
to many of the players.  My desire was to prove that I was a player
with enough substance to fight something threatening my world.
There was also a good chance of receiving some acknowledgement.  The
simple nod of respect from a legendary character that saw me die
bravely made a big impact.

> Well, I agree with you that ultimately the goal is entertainment.
> The method, is organization.  The social part of it, comes from
> the fact that people just aren't very organized.  Social conflict,
> was only one method of attempting to stimulate organization. In
> fact, any conflict could.  (And, No.  Wanting to level up just
> isn't good 'nuff).  So, I think Jon brings out a good point: There
> are numerous ways to creative organized effort.  Social
> classes/structures (clans, guilds, whatever) can cause people to
> organize..but often neglects to mention what they organize
> for/against.  A natural disaster (well, disaster anyway) could
> also create organization, with an immediate problem/task at hand.

I'm not alone on this tangent! *cheers* To me, part of the
attraction of games is living in a world that encourages something
other than real life's moderate behavior and being able to fantasize
about being a person that would actually defend the town against
such insane odds.  The fantasy is much more appealing than the idea
of being someone that is hell-bent on destroying the world's nearly
harmless monster population.  I think appealing make-believe is an
essential and often missing element of immersion.

Regards,

Jon
www.jon.morrow.net

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