[MUD-Dev] Request for ideas

[John Buehler]

Freeman, Jeff writes:
>> From: holding99 at mindspring.com [mailto:holding99 at mindspring.com]

>> One concept I would like to see challenged is that a closed
>> ecosystem cannot be created such that players will not destroy
>> said ecosystem by killing anything that moves.

> I agree, I'd like to see that, too.

>> Not that I have any ideas to help you proceed. :)

> Begin with the assumption that players will kill anything that
> moves, and work from there. :P

Try this:

  1. Make hunting inherently entertaining.  Picking up an animal
  track, such as a deer, etc, then tracking it.  Growing familiar
  with game trails by frequently using hunting skills and observing
  animals in an area.  I installed a simple demo of a hunting
  program that lets you hunt deer with a modern rifle in a
  snow-covered hilly area.  The amount of sound that you make can
  scare off deer, and you use tools to make sounds that attract
  deer, etc.  Subtlety and deception is the hunter's approach.  Not
  running around with the Sword of Death.

  2. Require skills of a character that are specific to the hunt.
  Players have to choose whether they value the ability to
  successfully hunt animals in the scheme of skill selection and
  character crafting.  In my view, flexible characters permit a
  player to experience a game in many different ways over time, but
  the player must choose what skill set they want to be using right
  now.

  3. Remove the artificial rewards that encourage frequent killing
  of animals.  No experience for killing animals that is
  interchangeable with experience from blacksmithing, hiking,
  political lobbying, sword and shield play, engineering, etc.  No
  gold, no gems.  The reward is the meat and hides, which should
  have a value that permits a character to reequip, but certainly
  not gain wealth.  Gaining of wealth should be restricted to those
  who engage in commerce.

JB

_______________________________________________
MUD-Dev mailing list
MUD-Dev at kanga.nu
https://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev