[MUD-Dev] [MUD-Dev][DGN] encouraging quick-start community for newbies

[rayzam]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Adam Martin" <amsm2 at cam.ac.uk>
To: <mud-dev at kanga.nu>
Sent: Friday, May 11, 2001 5:00 AM
Subject: [MUD-Dev] [MUD-Dev][DGN] encouraging quick-start community for
newbies
<SNIP>

> Phew....after all that backgroud :)... the idea is that when a new
> player starts the game, the last part of the generation process is
> for the server to select say 5 random other people who have recently
> started similar characters (if you have professions/initial skill
> sets/player races), and to give all 6 of them very easy means of
> intercommunication (even as far as to be totally OOC - say, a
> mini-portrait of the person, plus an arrow pointing to where they
> are, and allow global communication) until they reach a certain
> stage of advancement (perhaps until they have completed 3 beginner
> quests or something?).

> Sort of newbie-ing by team, until they at least know enough of the
> game world to be able to start asking experienced players sensible
> questions.

> Also provides them with an immediate peer group who will find each
> discovery roughly as exciting/suprising as they do themselves;
> rather than the normal geographic peer group (i.e. the people who
> happen to be standing nearby wherever you start) who probably aren't
> excited by you being the billionth person to learn the rumour that
> there's a thieves' guild.

This has inherent social problems. A random group of 6 people does not
mean they'll get along. A random group of 6 people [even with the same
backgrounds/character types], does not mean they'll be helpful. It
allows for global spamming. Grief players can keep other new players
out of the game [of course, being able to 'turn it off' or exclude
certain people would solve that]. Players would want to have this
capability for other players of their own choice, i.e., starting in
the game with friends. By forcing randomness instead of social choice,
they'll resent the system more.

And finally, I'm not sure this solves any problems. If the players are
all truly new, then they're a group of 6 lost players, who may all
enter into the Dragon's Cave together and die. Or none of whom know
what's going on. If its a matter of learning how the game works, then
maybe it's similar to one of those assembly-required items. One person
does it and muddles through. One person asks for advice from someone
with more knowledge about assembly or having assembled a bike or a
cabinet or whatnot once before. Or 6 people trying to do it together,
which in my experience, inevitably degenerates with frustration
building until it's down to one of the first 2 cases :)

    rayzam

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