[MUD-Dev] Interesting EQ rant (very long quote)

[the_logos at www.achaea.com]

On Fri, 23 Feb 2001, Jeff Freeman wrote:

> From: <the_logos at www.achaea.com>
 
>> That's not quite what I meant actually. I meant that there's
>> nothing at all unreasonable or 'cheaty' about going to a spoiler
>> site to learn how to do a quest. I just find it silly to bitch
>> about players enlisting the aid of other players in a multiplayer
>> game.
 
> Ah, I think the perceived problem there is that they go to the
> spoiler site to learn how *not* to do the quest (but to get the
> quest reward anyway).  Maybe it has more to do with the manner in
> which the quest is designed.

> For example the quest might be:
> 
>   Talk to Bob and learn a secret password to tell Bill.
> 
>   Tell Bill the secret password and he'll let you into a room to see
>   Jane.
> 
>   Talk to Jane and she'll tell you where to find the key to a special
>   dungeon room.
> 
>   Visit the dungeon room and read the graffitii on the wall which
>   tells you somesuch mob has a magic widget.
> 
>   Go camp the mob and kill it over and over until it finally drops the
>   magic widget.
> 
>   Give the magic widget to Joe and he'll cough up a magic sword.

See, to me, the only necessary parts of that quest are killing the mob
for the widget (assuming there isn't another way to get it) and giving
it to Joe. The rest is just optional and there's no reason to force a
player to do it.

By way of analogy, the quest in Monty Python's The Holy Grail was to
find the Grail. All the rigamarole of finding where the grail was etc
was not a necessary part of the quest. If it was common knowledge
where the grail was, then it'd be mighty silly of them to run about
searching for clues as to where it was.

In your example above, if I already know the secret password because
it is not, in fact, a secret (ie half the world knows it), I see no
reason why I should be expected to go learn the secret password that I
already know.


> A spolier site completely derails that type of quest.  You look up
> the sword, see where to get it, never learn why it's there or
> anything about it, etc.  Your not "doing the quest" at all, which
> was the previous point, too, I think: Why even bother to have
> quests?  Instead of getting a magic widget by camping a mob (and
> never knowing why that mob has the magic widget), then giving it Joe
> for a magic sword (without ever knowing why Joe wanted the magic
> widget in the first place), why not just stick the sword on the mob
> and save all the fluff?

Because there is a difference to players between sticking the sword on
the mob and getting it via a quest. I'm not going to argue about
whether there is a difference because if the vast majority of players
think there is, then I'm willing to work on that assumption. It's just
simple variety really. I just think it's strange to try and pretend
that a player doesn't know something when he does.

--matt

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