[MUD-Dev] Cultural impact on Muds (was: Star Wars Galaxies)

[Marian Griffith]

In <URL:/archives/meow?group+local.muddev> on Wed 18 Dec,
Daniel.Harman at barclayscapital.com wrote:

>   (I don't even think half the UK population is mentally qualified
>   to drive let alone wield a weapon that requires very little
>   skill and but a moment of ill decision)

You are remarkably mild about the general population, not only of
the UK, but of every country.  Of course part of the problem here is
the enormous amount of information you have to ignore to be
basically ab- le to drive a car which means that you actually do so
on autopilot, and that it is a miracle that so few accidents happen
(considering it is virtually impossible for a human brain to work
fast enough to deal with all the events and images that flash at it
at the speed cars are working)

Of course none of this has anything to do with muds, but it did make
me think about how much of current game design is biased by the
amer- ican world view.  I know from reading this list that Lineage
actually has quite a different playing style than the typical usa
mud. I guess it is kind of difficult for an american to imagine life
outside their own country, being so little exposed to it you kind of
come to think that the whole world is exactly like the usa (and
should be where it obviously is not (which incidentally is the
mistake that Bush and his advisors are making).

Compare e.g. a typical Holywood movie (just a small scale product to
make the comparison more fair) to a typical French one, or even bet-
ter an Indian movie. They really reflect an entirely different
cultu- re. I wonder how this difference would apply to muds.  I do
know that some game genres (like e.g. adventures) that do nothing in
the usa are still quite popular in Europe.

Of course Sartre does not translate well to muds :)

Marian
--
Yes - at last - You. I Choose you. Out of all the world,
out of all the seeking, I have found you, young sister of
my heart! You are mine and I am yours - and never again
will there be loneliness ...

Rolan Choosing Talia,
Arrows of the Queen, by Mercedes Lackey


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