[MUD-Dev] I Want to Forge Swords. [Another letter to game designers]

[Dave Rickey]

-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Schwanz - Enterprise Services <Paul.Schwanz at Sun.COM>
> Phinehas:

>> (Delerious talked about this in an essay at xrgaming.net.  I
>> believe that article is somewhere in the archives.)

> Just ironing out a brain cramp.  I think the writer's name was
> Delusion, not Delerious. :P Anyway, the article was specifically
> about making game worlds bigger.  I don't recall the name of the
> article, but I think it was hosted by LtM when he was at
> xrgaming.net.  Maybe someone else has a link.

Okay, unless I'm mistaken, what you are referring to is the "Subway
Effect", an article written by "Saturnino" during the EQ beta.
Essentially, the thrust of the article is that the effective distance
from any point in the game world to any other point is the distance
from the nearest teleport nodes.  The effect of this on the overall
psychological and social space is a negative one, by removing
geological separation you may increase the number of personal
interactions to the point where little socializing occurs.  It's a
fundamental example of how a gameplay decision can have unintended
social impact.

Near one extreme, you have DAoC, with only one form of "teleport":
from the point where you "died" back to your last bind location; near
the other you have UO: with teleports from anywhere to almost any
point previously arranged.

--Dave Rickey

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