[MUD-Dev] Retention without Addiction?

[Sage]

This topic, not to troll, smacks of arrogance to me.  We aren't that
good yet.  If every online game out there addicted, say 9 out of every
10 people that played the game couldn't stop, I think we would need to
pause and really consider what we are doing.  This is an alarmist topic
based off the alarmist media whose premise is flawed because the word
"addiction" is thrown around so easily in the modern world of blame
passing.  This is silliness at its core and concern over it from our end
is probably derived from an overblown sense of self-importance for what
we do.  

Most of "the problem" that we are concerned about is compulsive
behavior, and that derives from the player, not the game.  I will grant
that some of our games appeal to people who are compulsive.  In fact, I
might also hazard a guess and say these games tend to appeal to people
who are more likely to be compulsive.  Yes, those people are going to
take it too far.  People have been taking television, books, movies, and
any other form of entertainment you might care to mention too far for
years.  That doesn't mean we should be considering how to alter the
behavior patterns of those people through clever game mechanics.  The
priorities for these people are out of whack.  

Are we making the games as addictive as possible?  Maybe, but trying to
separate that from games seems a lot like someone asking, "How do we get
all that wetness out of water?"  It might be an interesting experiment,
but if people are thirsty, they probably just want the water without all
the cleverness.  People just want "fun."  That is our sole commitment at
this stage.

I hope "fun" is addictive at some level. If it weren't, I am pretty sure
people would call it work.  If our games replace television as the
primary source of entertainment in the world, I think that would
probably be a good thing.  One area, not from an addiction concern, but
over real concern for the player that we should address is how do we
provide better value for player investment, especially player investment
in time?  


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