[MUD-Dev] Maintaining fiction.

[Madman Across the Water]

Matt Mihaly wrote:
 
> Hypothetical: I have a MUD where _everything_ is based on what
> equipment my character has. Upon death, a character gets his name
> changed but keeps _everything_ else (because it's all based on
> equipment and in your view loss of equipment is not necessary for
> permadeath). Funnily enough though, my "new" character happens to
> have the same name as my old one (nothing odd about that. I know
> lots of people also named 'Matt.') It's not the same character
> though, because his database entry is different. Everything else
> just happens to be exactly the same. So, nothing has changed from
> the point of view of the player. yet this seems to fit your
> definition of permadeath. Pretty useless definition, no
> offence. If you quibble with the name thing, then you'd down to
> simply claiming that changing someone's name is sufficient for
> having permadeath.

I'd just argue that in your hypothetical world, what I call
permadeath is irrelevent, since the character is totally irrelevent.
I give you a counter-hypothetical: There is a MUD in which you lose
_everything_ when you die. You give you best equipment to a friend,
go off on an adventure, get killed. You make a new character and are
given your old character's stuff back. Does this MUD thus _not_ have
permadeath?

I don't think my definition is useless just because there is a
hypothetical MUD in which it doesn't apply. If permadeath has your
definition, than what Ackadia (for instance) does needs another
name; if permadeath has my definition, than what you describe needs
one. Neither is a useless concept.

Adam B

Adam B
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