[MUD-Dev] Death among Friends

[Matt Mihaly]

On Mon, 30 Jul 2001, Jon Morrow wrote:

> In real life, all of my best memories also revolve around the
> camaraderie amongst friends, meaningfully contributing to a cause,
> or harnessing the courage to fight some injustice or wrong that is
> unacceptable.
 
> Is there something we can harness as designers here?  Social
> interaction has long been a favorite topic of this list, but I've
> not seen the idea of meaningful gaming.  I'm not talking about
> teaching players the meaning of life or even stimulating them to
> think.  I just remember experiencing something powerful, and I
> was, to say the least, entertained.

Of course we can! This is the driving force in any MUD with group
vs. group action. It certainly is in Achaea. I wrote an article last
year on politics, which included pondering on the benefits of group
vs. group action:
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20000309/mihaly_01.htm


> Has anyone else given thought to creating entertainment that goes
> beyond simple advancement?  I've heard and read about similar
> touching events on other games, but I would like to find out if
> anyone has purposefully or accidentally capitalized on the
> feelings of belonging, importance, and purposeful interaction with
> game elements.

If you think fighting a bunch of NPCs is exciting, try fighting a
bunch of real people whom you've loathed for a long time.

--matt

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