[MUD-Dev] RE:

[J Todd Coleman]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Joe Andrieu" <jandrieu at caltech.edu>

> Well said, Raph.  I think the first step is even acknowledging
> that you want to create emotionally engaging entertainment.  IMO,
> far too many of the games out there--MUD or otherwise--implicitly
> adopt the adolescent male as the target audience and follow with
> the conclusion that shallow sex and violence are required.

That's one way of looking at it.  The other way is that these areas
really ARE what the elements of entertainment that a large portion
of the "mass market" is looking for.  If you look at other mediums
(tv, film, novels, magazines) it seems to me that sex and violence
are primary drivers.  Are there exceptions to this rule?  Of course
there are.  But I hardly think that content creators across every
type of media are conspiring to only target YSCMWPUA market ("young
sex-crazed males with pent up anger") as you seem to infer -- keep
in mind, also, that romance novels are almost entirely centered
around sex, and don't hit the YSCMs at all.

> The Sims has already shown that you can be a bit more creative and
> reach a HUGE audience. I think you'll find more of this as the
> basis for interactive products as gaming moves to more mainstream
> customers. With that shift, I think we'll also see a greater focus
> on mature treatment of the fundamentals--as you say, sex &
> violence contextualized into love, yearning, jealousy, pride,
> coming of age, patriotism, whatever.

Isn't "Sims: Hot Date" soon to be released?

Don't get me wrong -- I think it's both noble and appropriate to
look for other ways to engage the audience beyond sex and
violence... I would love to see "Tony Hawk Pro Skater Arena" the
MMOG, for instance.  But at the same time, I can't go so far as to
believe that the reason so many games are based on sex and violence
is simply because of a whim on the behalf of the publishers and
developers.  Content creation companies will, over time, have a
tendency to continue doing the things that work well.  (If they
don't they go out of business.  I think of it as "evolution," where
marketing and product as your survival traits.)  You can't ignore
the fact that a very large portion of the mass market WANTS to
engage in entertainment tied to sex and violence.  I don't think
it's fair to try and put the burden entirely on the content
creators.

J Todd Coleman/Warden
Wolfpack Studios, Inc - Shadowbane



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