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

[J. Coleman]

the_logos at www.achaea.com wrote:
 
>> 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.

I don't speak up much on this list, but I think there is a very
fundamental difference of perception here I should address.

While it may very well be strange to pretend that a player doesn't
know something... you seemingly fail to take into account the fact
that ther player's *character* *doesn't* know this information. I
realize that there is considerable blending of the character's and
player's perceptions, but the quest is for the character, after all.

Why is it unreasonable to make the character learn the information,
even if the player already knows? The player *is not* the
character. This, in my opinion, is one of the most telling examples of
RP vs. GoP players available. How many CRPG characters know anything
about web boards? I'd be perfectly happy to have the character
remember the secret password *once they know it*, but the character
still must learn it in the first place.


   -Justin

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