[MUD-Dev] The changing nature of fun

[brian hook]

The thread on "AI" (that is way, WAY off subject now) got me
thinking about a pet "problem" of mine -- the changing, variable
nature of fun.

This is something that has come up on numerous occasions, and to me
is probably one of the oldest and hardest problems.  I'm not talking
about "what makes things fun", but the much harder problem of "Why
is something not fun now and was fun before".

I'll just cite some examples where you have, quite simply, mutual
exclusions.

		      "Forced Interdependence"

To attack the Citadel of Evil Beings, you MUST have a cleric.  This
is fun because it contributes to forced socialization.  This is not
fun because if you don't want to get a cleric, you're screwed.  This
is fun for clerics because there's an encounter where they're very
much in demand.  This is not fun if you're not a cleric or a solo
player that needs to do that encounter in order to get a quest item.

What's the right solution?  There is none.  No matter what you do,
it will end up taking some of the fun out of the game.

			 "Corpse Recovery"

The bane of many a midnight EQ session.  I hate CR, it sucks.  But
there is no arguing that it CAN contribute to a great gaming
experience -- when a bunch of low levels contribute to helping out a
fellow stranger recover his corpse, that's one of the greatest
feelings you can have in an on-line game.  A wonderful sense of
community.  But the 99% of other times it sucks.

			   "Overcrowding"

People complaint when there are too many or too few other players,
but sometimes they want both.  In an overcrowded dungeon, you're
safe and can socialize.  In an empty dungeon, you're far more likely
to die, but it's all yours.  There's no "right" solution.

	      "Bad Guys Can't Interact With Good Guys"

The typical "dark elf can't buy food here" type situation.  It's fun
for many, because it's a planning/problem solving issue that some
love to fix.  They wheel, deal, negotiate with locals for the food,
etc.  They feel a sense of accomplishment by beating this problem.

Other players hate it, because it interferes with their ability to
enjoy new areas.  Both sets of players are right, of course.

			      "Travel"

The first time I traveled in EQ, it was an awe inspiring experience.
In fact, in terms of major gaming moments in my life, the first time
I entered Black Burrow and the first time I did the Qeynos to
Freeport runs are probably right up there as my most memorable.

But the luster wears off.  It goes from being magical and fun to
being tedious and a pain.  Things like SOW and wizard portals
suddenly feel like "must have" items (and JBoots, back when you
could get them).

			    "Down Time"

Healing and mana regeneration.  Boring, boring, boring.  But they're
an incredibly effective way to get people to talk to each other
because, hey, they have nothing else to do.  If you're soloing, it's
tedious.  If you're hell bent on power levelling, it's tedious.  If
you're just playing with some friends, it's wonderful.  There's
probably a magic crossover point where it goes from being "just
enough" to "tedious", but where that crossover lies is entirely
subjective.

The above are just some examples of things that are fun and not fun,
and the level of fun depends entirely on the player and the
situation.  This is important -- NOTHING IN THE GAME CHANGED, BUT
THE SUBJECTIVE ENJOYMENT ITSELF DID.  This is a major issue.

Games that naively try to "fix" the above end up losing a lot of
personality.  You get rid of CR, and suddenly there doesn't feel
like there's much risk.  But now, at the same time, you're more
willing to explore new areas that you may have not have done before.

You get rid of forced interdependence by emphasizing soloing, and
now you've given the players immense freedom but now they're no
longer interacting with others.

You get rid of down time, and players aren't impatient all the time,
but they suddenly find the game is too intensive (they don't get
their "breathers" forced on them) and they don't get to know their
adventuring partners.  Socialization breaks down.

Make travel less tedious, and suddenly the world arbitrarily
shrinks.  A world is as large as the longest time it takes to get
from Point A to Point B.  It doesn't matter if you have a 256 x 256
mile world, if you can fly fast enough or teleport, it feels like a
couple connected rooms in a MUD.  Conversely, a game that takes
place entirely in a single castle can feel huge if you have to creep
along the entire time for fear of discovery (think of Thief, where
some of the mansions felt absolutely mind blowingly huge because you
had to crawl through them).

Anyway, no real point, just curious what others thought about this.

-Hook


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