[MUD-Dev] New Skill System

[Madrona Tree]

----- Original Message -----
From: "John Buehler" <johnbue at msn.com>
To: <mud-dev at kanga.nu>
Sent: Friday, December 29, 2000 7:58 AM
Subject: RE: [MUD-Dev] New Skill System


>> Some achievement, some success, some item, some action.  What ever
>> happened to "It's not the destination that counts, but the
>> journey"?

<snip>

> I'd be very interested in hearing examples of the opportunities that
> they have been given.  In the case of EverQuest, players were given
> the opportunity to crawl through dungeons, yet the fundamental
> design of the game experience encouraged players to pull the
> monsters to a carefully-picked location for ambush - camping.

When you wrote that, above, I immediately thought of the newsgroup
post/story I wrote, in the 3rd or 4th day I played UO.  Thought you
might be interested in reading it... Let me know if it doesn't load
(I've had trouble off-and-on lately); I will attach the html page.

http://kerryjane.homepage.com/destination.html

Madrona Tree.

<EdNote: Contents of referenced page added below>

>From http://kerryjane.homepage.com/destination.html:

--<cut>--
It's Not The Destination; It's The Journey.

I have created a monster. Well, two really, but only one of them has
affected Janey's UO Experience. (the other monster is my brother,
which will be covered in the other post)

I didn't want to play alone. I didn't want to go in, not knowing
anyone, and get my little virtual butt kicked. I didn't know I'd be
able to find new people... who would want to take Janey the Newbie on
as a hunting partner. Besides, I wanted to be a newbie with other
newbies... and discover things together.

So I was Absosmurfly Thrilled when my long-time Realm-Friend Davian
brought UO home instead of Fallout 2. I had somebody to hunt
with... someone to take the blows so I could stand back and shoot
arrows untouched (teehee). Someone to run from Player Slayers with.
Someone who would lend me money when I need it... and someone who I
would lend money to when he needed it. Someone who would wait for me
while I color-coded my inventory.

I had a partner!

Being a newbie is the best part. It is a time of discovering, of
learning new things, and of meeting new people. I wanted to drag it
out and make it last, because I knew it wouldn't last forever. That's
not what my partner wanted.

The first night, we figured out the interface. The second night, we
went hunting Monsters. The third day, we macroed our lives
away. Davian had a plan. I was along for the ride.

Davian reported his stats and skills to me every so often. "My
strength is up to sixty!"  "Now it's sixty-eight!" "This bites. My
Foozle skill/stat hasn't budged in hours!" "Wow macroing Music sure
has made my dexterity shoot up like a rocket!" "Music is up to 75!
I'm an Expert Bard!" Three days after starting, he is an Expert Bard.

It began to drive me bananas.

I thought: "Oh my gosh! Davian is going to leave me in the dust, and I
won't have a partner any more!" So on the fourth day, I bought an
instrument too. My mother plays the Celtic Harp, so I bought a lap
harp at a carpentry shop (Hers sounds better than mine.  She can play
more than one tune. In fact, she can even create her own music). I
went to Lord Blackthorne's castle and shut myself into a random
room. I decided to bother him with my music. NPCs came in and told me
I sounded lovely (okay not really - but they did come in). I played
for hours.

I became an Expert Bard, too.

I couldn't put my finger on why this bothered me so much. Was I afraid
to be alone in this new world? Was I jealous of his accomplishments? 
Was I upset that I used to be the one who knew the answers, and now
*he* did? In the middle of running around like a chicken with my head
cut off, trying to keep up with Davian, it hit me like a ton of
bricks.

Davian is an Achiever. He is a bulldozer. He is Pac Man. He sees Point
B, and wants to get there - as soon as possible, please. Nothing can
stop him; he is relentless. I never realized it before. I knew that he
was about the third person to get to level 100 in 2.x Realm (quite an
accomplishment) ...but it didn't really sink in that those kinds of
things were about being an Achiever. I thought it had to do with being
a College Student.

In some way, I was competing. Competing! With Davian! My Partner! The
thought of it turned my stomach. The idea of what I was doing -
abusing macros - was turning my stomach, too. Macro use was a
suspendable (bannable?) offense in Realm.

I'm not an Achiever. I can't do it. I got sucked in, and hated it.

Don't get me wrong - I'm a survivor, and I'll do what it takes to
survive. If that means making a Last Object And Hiding macro, I'm not
above that. Even if it means getting Combat Skills to 25 by beating on
a dummy, I'm not above that either. But I can't have a title like
Expert Bard handed to me on a plate. It completely cheapens what the
*real* Expert Bards have accomplished. Not only that... but Janey's
not a Bard. She doesn't want to be a Bard. But there it was, on her
paper doll, labeling her like she was a pickle bottle: Janey, Expert
Bard.

I didn't play for a couple of days. I hated this Janey. She was a
fake, and a fraud.

The proverbial straw that broke the camel's back came when Davian
decided to make a blacksmith to repair his swords. He was going to
make a *mule.* I asked him why Davian couldn't just get the
blacksmithing. He said, "The skill limit." I told him he was an
achiever. He said, "I know this. :P" I told him he was going to
achieve himself right out of a hunting partner... because I couldn't
and didn't really want to keep up. He said that's how he played. He
needed a challenge, and tailoring shirts just didn't cut it. The next
day, Joran was born (At least he role-plays these characters while he
roll-plays them at the same time. that and his personality are his two
saving graces).

We decided that neither one of us should make either one of us change
the way they wanted to play for the other. We have agreed to disagree,
and now spend less time together.

I deleted Lake Superior Janey.

I made a new Lake Superior Janey, and promised her I wouldn't macro
anything above 25.  And I'd only macro the things I Really Needed to
25. Like Archery. And some of the combat skills, so I could have more
health.

I'm much happier with the new Janey. She's much happier, too. She
feels much more honest?  and she's having a lot more fun.
--<cut>--
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