"Advanced" use of virtual worlds? (Re: [MUD-Dev] MMORPGs & MUDs)

[Ola Fosheim Grøstad <olag@ifi.uio.no>]

Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt wrote:

> Do they start as 'powerplayers' and end up 'roleplayers' or are
> their style more static and unaffected by the environment.

Good question, and I try to get some info on this when chatting with
roleplayers, but well... Some powerplayers point out that they have
a need to be best, thus it is either static or physical life
related. Some roleplayers come from table-top. Some evolve into
roleplay, maybe because they come in a group where people roleplay
and thus see the fun in it and go for it.  Some try to roleplay, but
end up playing themselves with bells and whistles which is fine and
sometimes difficult to distinguish from roleplay. Some roleplayers
powerplay in order to get a character which they feel have enough
potential to be what they want their character to be. Some (many?) 
roleplayers are caught up in the hamsterwheel and only occasionally
drop into roleplay mode (i.e. when travelling from one camp to
another).

> In other words; Do the roleplayers (in theese specifc games types)
> not constitute a seignificant population because they have changed
> style over time, and the game now offers less of what they want,
> or is it because they were roleplayers to start with that didnt
> find the game enjoyable enough?

Well, difficult to say. Most players don't KNOW what roleplay
is. I.e.  in Anarchy-Online some players complain about players that
insult the enemy and think that this is to take roleplay too far! I
once met a new player playing a _female_ character on a commercial
roleplaying server not knowing what roleplay is, and when I told
him, he refused to participate because "talking like a girl is
shameful"! Then after a while he said that maybe it is ok, because
it really isn't me.

However I see some non-roleplaying players saying that they ought to
roleplay more and that roleplay is something they
miss. Unfortunately, most roleplayers depend on teaming up with
other roleplayers. If people are roleplay inclined, but also caught
in the hamsterwheel then they might have trouble realizing the
potential (i.e. they team up with people that give them xp).

Ola.
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