[MUD-Dev] Innovation restrictions (was: Information sharing)

[John Buehler]

Richard A. Bartle writes:
> On 07 May 2001, John Buehler wrote:

>> Oh, I interpreted your original post as a claim that players try to
>> fit the innovation into their existing favorite game and find that
>> it wouldn't work there.

> Yes, they do, but this is part of the same thing.

> When an innovation is proposed, players tend to see it only in the
> context of the game they play. This means that the innovation is
> perceived as a criticism of their game (because any attempt to
> change the game must, by definition, be intended to "improve it",
> implying that there's something wrong with it that needs fixing).

Oh wow.  That is absolutely amazing.  I had to think about it for a
while because this is the antithesis of how I approach games, but of
course it makes sense.  The same people who become fanatical about a
sports team or a thing that they own would behave that way.  They
identify strongly with a thing the way that it is, so changing it is
an assault on them and the way that they identify with that thing.
Identifying with a specific baseball roster and then having a key
player traded can elicit very strong reactions from the fan[atic]s.

> Whether the innovation would or wouldn't work in the game is not
> really an issue for many of the people who argue against it.  They
> just don't like their world being attacked, and leap to its defence.

I'm just surprised that they identify so strongly with it that a
change is considered an attack.  Maybe we need a little less
immersion?  hinthint winkwink nudgenudge

>> I think that the same will be said of a game world someday.

> It would certainly be something to look forward to, yes, so long as
> the licensing fees were affordable.

Licensing would, of course, depend on volume.  I would assume that it
would start out at low volume.  If the owners are visionary, they
might market the system to data miners - such as the makers of
Internet and Intranet browsers, databases and the like.  Other uses
would be for pure social environments such as ICQ or chat rooms.  That
would definitely annoy worlds.com

JB

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