[MUD-Dev] The Ideal Player

[Michael Tresca]

I've noticed a lot of cynical reactions to my argument that MMORPGs
are inherently flawed in their massiveness.  So perhaps a more
rigorous approach will help instead of me hopping up and down
cursing the word "credit card bad!"

I was under the assumption (albeit fleeting) that credit cards meant
a minimum level of maturity.  In fact, I think a lot of the gaming
industry believed the same thing.  Credit cards, after all, require
a minimum level of fiscal responsibility, a permanent address, and
the ability to pay bills.

In other words, adults.

And yet, we are clearly seeing evidence that people who could not
possibly possess a credit card are running amok.  They're not the
minority, they're the majority.

I suppose you could start with culpability.  We could blame the
parents for letting their children play games they shouldn't be
playing.

Or should they be playing? Are MMORPGs doing anything to discourage
these guys?  What can they do?  SHOULD they discourage them?

I'm of the opinion that they will have to.  Eventually.

Using my own experience with gamers on MUDs, I've watched young
gamers start out as twinks and then, years later, value a richer
gaming experience beyond than Buttcheex and his polearm named
Throbbing Manlance.  If this is any example of the player populace
at large, those millions of twinks are going to grow into millions
of gamers who have little tolerance for a million more twinks.

I don't think you can avoid having griefers in a massive multiplayer
universe. But then, I think the tolerance for griefers is currently
quite high.  They're an expected part of gaming these days.

Over time, I see that tolerance decreasing. And where the customer
tolerance decreases, so goeth the industry.  I don't know what the
answer is.  I've already laid out a few possibilities.  I'll list a
few more:

  - Financial penalties for griefing.  If credit cards are indeed
  tied to accounts, if you're caught griefing, you agree to a fee.
  Maybe you pay a security deposit of $15 when you first start and
  it's refunded at the end of the year if there are no complaints
  about the character tied to those accounts.

  - More than just credit card identification.  Perhaps a social
  security number or driver's license number (I don't even know if
  you can legally ask this question, actually).  If you're not over
  a certain age, you can't play.

  - A more rigorous rating system.  This is a big one.  It's just a
  matter of time before parents realize there's a more rigorous
  rating system on a form of entertainment that occupies two hours
  of a child's time as opposed to the 40+ hours a week that MMORPGs
  do.  Is YOUR game PG13?

Perhaps the biggest problem isn't in keeping the immature gamers
off, but keeping the mature gamers ON.  What then, is an ideal
player?  Who is your market base?

Who are these games really targeting anyway?

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


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