[MUD-Dev] Retention without Addiction?

[Marc Fielding]

[Shren]:

>> The core audience for this genre doesn't want amusement park
>> rides. They want to feel like they are THERE.
 
> THERE is overrated.  In THERE, people are waiting in line like
> shoppers to fight an 'epic battle'.  In THERE, all the monsters
> have been killed and it's empty.  In THERE, there's someone
> lurking to kill you.
 
> THERE feels more like a tourist trap than, oh, say, a dungeon.
> I've by and large quit playing MMORPGs because I haven't seen a
> THERE worth being in for a long time.  It's not the THERE that's
> broken, but the fact that everyone else is there, too.

Well stated. A designer must select from among competing
"realities." Is it better a)to wait in line at a monster spawn or
b)to be given your own copy of a dungeon? Both are valid design
concessions. Neither is realistic because the entire premise of a
MMOG is *unreality*: a "pay-to-play" world where everyone is ready,
willing, and able to consume their weight in stimulation. The
inevitable result is player-clustering at areas of interest.

How about this straightforward hybrid: most locations aren't
replicated by default, but crowded conditions in certain areas (say,
dungeons) would result in the server spawning "dungeon copies" and
load-balancing players amongst them. Yes, it breaks the fiction, but
the only alternative is to fully distribute your encounters to
prevent player-clustering.

My motto is: the sensation of being "THERE" must be artificially
imposed it doesn't occur naturally. ;)

-Marc

*********************************
Marc Fielding
fielding at cutthisout.computer.org





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