[MUD-Dev] RE:

[Sellers]

Replying to myself here:

> How many people play games without story?  No non-storied online
> game (even those online games that claim to have story elements)
> has gotten more than about 10% of the number of people who have
> played Myst.  Sure it was static and lonely, but it had a story
> that literally millions of people found to be compelling -- to say
> nothing of the tens and hundreds of millions of people who
> regularly turn to other forms of entertainment in which the sole
> common denominator is story.

Yeah, okay, I still think this is a valid argument.

But there's at least one other huge area of gaming that I wasn't
thinking about, and that has no story: sports games.  I'm not saying
that we should turn MMPs into giant football games, but I think
there are lessons we can learn there too.  These games are
compelling, exciting, invite repeat play, create loyalties, and
encompass continued goals within a larger, team-based context.

I actually think there is a deep connection with story here, but for
now it may be enough to consider that we don't have to tell stories
as we typically think of them; we mainly just need to get off the
dang treadmill and do something better, more compelling and
exciting, than we are now.

Mike Sellers
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