[MUD-Dev] Re: MUD-Dev digest, Vol 1 #285 - 32 msgs

[Jeff Freeman]

At 05:27 PM 1/21/01 -0600, Dr. Cat wrote:

> Didn't this whole discussion get started when somebody mentioned
> that a MUD was bringing in $2.75 million a month over there?  Isn't
> Lineage a MUD?  Sounds like a not-terrible-market for MUDs to me.

Only just barely.  Honestly.

> You're the one that seems to be strongly assuming the people that
> play the game at the cybercafes are spending a lot of time
> interacting with other players of the same game while they're in the
> cafe.

Yes, yes, I'm making gross assumptions, to be sure - most glaring of
which is that social-oriented games are not popular in Korea, when for
all I know they are popular there, too.

Still, as you said, this started with someone pointing out that
Lineage was hugely popular in Korea.  If *Lineage* is popular in
Korea, then that makes me think Korea is a terrible market for MUDs.
Or a great market for terrible MUDs.  Or something.  Either way, I
cringe at the thought of working on something for that market.

> But my interest in doing business over there isn't that strong, and
> I suspect everyone else on the list has far less interest than I do,
> so perhaps it's best to just let this subject drop.  No sense us
> speculating or arguing about what that market is or isn't like if
> nobody's going to act on any conclusions drawn anyway.

Well, I'm happy to drop that aspect of the conversation, of course.
No point both guessing what life is like in Korea.  But I'm still
interested in hearing opinions re: multiplayer games designed to be
played in cybercafe's and the like, versus multiplayer games designed
to be played by folks sitting home alone.

Your conclusion that the game should be more social-oriented rather
than less is exact opposite what I would have guessed.  Now this has
nothing to do with Korea any more, but I would like to hear if anyone
else has any experience - maybe someone on the list from some part of
the world where cybercafe's are popular.  They certainly aren't here,
so I just don't know.

Also, I really like the idea of a game *designed* to bring people
together in offline get-togethers.  I know UO players had an awful lot
of "player luncheons" all over the place, but UO wasn't designed with
that in mind and it didn't do anything to encourage it.  Which brings
up the question, What can you do to encourage it?

> I think it's time to let this topic die a graceful death.

Just the pointless parts of it, I hope.

--
  http://home.swbell.net/skeptack/

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