[MUD-Dev] Retention without Addiction?

[Paul Schwanz]

Matt Mihaly wrote:

> Yes, I agree, people shouldn't drink and drive, or build cars that
> explode when rear-ended. I disagree that game developers shouldn't
> make games that encourage habitual play, just as I would disagree
> that food makers shouldn't make tasty food that encourages us to
> eat more, or that ski slope operators should somehow make skiing
> less fun, so that people will not do it habitually.

OK.  But the whole point of the post which opened this thread was to
explore whether an MMORPG that is fun or entertaining must be
understood solely in terms of how well it encourages habitual or
even obsessive play.  I proposed that we may actually be able to
increase retention as well as entertainment value by offering games
that have a more flexible, episodic approach to gameplay.  I pointed
to television sitcoms and how they remain entertaining despite their
episodic nature and despite commercial interruptions.  I talked
about the fact that most of the best-sellers I've read lately have
chapter breaks, which are obvious points of exit.  I noted that
perhaps we could learn something from *good* books and
*entertaining* sitcoms and how they keep readers and viewers coming
back for more.

I'm not sure where you got the notion that I'm either in favor of
tasteless food, boring ski slopes, less entertaining sitcoms,
forgettable books, or games that are not fun.  And while I actually
find some humor in seeing someone display the sort of philosophical
flexibility that would make a contortionist wince, I'd hope we could
get past abrogation of personal responsibility long enough to
discuss whether we can make games that are more fun and more
entertaining while not relying so heavily on habitual or obsessive
feedback mechanisms.

So you don't think that you have a moral obligation to move away
from habitual gameplay.  OK, but I've seen sufficient evidence that
many others here disagree.  As I pointed out in my first post, there
may also be some financial motivation for moving away from habitual
or obsessive mechanisms.  In addition, I don't particularly find the
mechanisms in question to be all that entertaining in the first
place, so I supposed that there was enough interest in moving away
from them to spawn a discussion on possible alternatives.

If you are not personally interested in moving away from habitual
gameplay, that's OK with me, but pretending that I'm arguing in
favor of making games less fun or that this thread is an attempt to
do misses the entire point.

--Phin



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