[MUD-Dev] Codename Blue & Facets - Nick Yee's new studies

[Scott Jennings]

Things that jumped out me on Yee's reports:

  1) The fact that Shadowbane had a very low recognition factor
  surprised me. I honestly thought they had done a better job of
  "guerilla marketing". Maybe I'm biased by being squarely in the
  target market (obsessive powergaming killer/political type).

  2) The suggestion that games with low downtime such as DAoC
  discourage relationship building. This is the reason games with
  high downtime have traditionally given for it - again, interesting
  to see it justified. As a game player mind you I don't
  particularly want to be forced into a given behavior by being
  "punished". As a student of human nature it doesn't surprise me
  that it's an effective way for this to happen.

  3) Achiever types tend towards addictive-style gameplay. Well,
  duh.

  4) It REALLY surprises me that games like UO with a high immersive
  factor score the lowest on "addiction". Again, my own personal
  experience disagrees with this (I am probably the only person I
  know that disliked Dungeon Siege solely because of its lack of
  immersion). I wonder if in Ultima Online's specific case the age
  of the game itself is a factor. I would hazard a guess that at
  this point UO has a higher proportion of "true believer" hard core
  players still playing than any other MMO on the market simply
  because it is the least "shiny" of the games.

  5) Relationship builds retention. Again, duh. These games are
  social experiences first and foremost. Everything else is really
  secondary.
 
---
Scott Jennings
Programmer
Mythic Entertainment
http://www.camelotherald.com/
 


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