Hiding the Numbers (was Re: [MUD-Dev] Maintaining fiction.)

[Matt Mihaly]

On Mon, 4 Jun 2001, Derek Licciardi wrote:

> Player Killers win by dominating other players, Explorers win by
> having more knowledge than other players, Socializers win by
> building the most valuable network of people they can establish,
> and Achievers win by gaining skill points or some other game
> measurement.  Of course muds are about winning.

I do not buy that explorers or socializers are necessarily in
competition with each other. For instance, even though it's highly
unlikely I'll set foot in a single place on nearby Mt. Tam that has
not had a human foot set on it before, I get full enjoyment out of
exploring it myself. It's got nothing to do with winning or
competition. MUDs aren't very good yet at creating a world worth
exploring (mainly due to the interface), but I've had similar if
lesser feelings when exploring particularly well-crafted virtual
worlds.

The assumption that socializers are competing is also significantly
flawed. I do not hang out with my friends to win or compete, and I
am not alone in that I'm sure.

--matt

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