[MUD-Dev] MMORPGs & MUDs

[Michael Tresca]

Matt Mihaly posted on Thursday, December 13, 2001 12:17 AM

> The jerks are customers too though, remember, and often some jerks
> provide a useful focus for other players hatred. Letting them
> completely overrun the game is a mistake, I agree, but given the
> size of the playerbases in graphical MUDs, managing the fallout
> from banning droves of players (all of whom have friends there)
> could be more trouble than the jerks are causing.

<snip>

> I'd have to disagree here, unfortunately. Pandering to the lowest
> common denominator brings in the most money in almost every case,
> from movies to games to hotels to restaurants.

AAAAAAGH!

You are right, of course.  But isn't this a horrible statement about
the industry?

I don't view this as "nature of the beast."  I view this as a broken
process.  People were managed all the time in large groups -- long
before MMORPGs came along.  Companies, organizations, have had to
manage people forever.  They did not all become overrun by jerks
(okay, some did).  There are solutions.  Nothing is perfect.  But
it's better than the current state of things.

No wonder players are screaming and yelling about art vs. fun.  If
this is indeed the thinking, fun ain't got nuttin' to do with it.
Bland, generic appeal is really what it's all about.  By not doing
something to filter out the guy who paid to get onto the game, we're
fundamentally LEGITIMIZING their griefing activities.

I shudder to think of all the hard work going into these beautiful
games.  It's like letting a herd of bulls loose in a china shop --
for every respectful bull that will not tip over teapot, there's
thirty more that will smash it to bits, light the store on fire, pee
on the fire to put it out, and then say "This store sucks, I was
able to set it on fire!"

Mike "Talien" Tresca
RetroMUD Administrator
http://www.retromud.org/talien

_______________________________________________
MUD-Dev mailing list
MUD-Dev at kanga.nu
https://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev