[MUD-Dev] Boys and Girls - was (Re: MUD-Dev digest, Vol 1 #163 - 25 msgs)

[Marian Griffith]

In <URL:/archives/meow?group+local.muddev> on Wed 26 Dec, amanda at alfar.com wrote:
> "Caliban Tiresias Darklock" <caliban at darklock.com> writes:

>> I think it's rather obvious what it *is* about the game that
>> females enjoy, myself, but being male I may be missing the point
>> and just latching onto something irrelevant.

>> Boys like to win. Girls like to play.

> Chuckle.  OK, There may be something in this, although it could
> probably be argued indefinitely about whether this is inhereny or
> socially ingrained.  But yes, "winning" vs. "playing" does turn up
> a lot.  I'm always a little perplexed by players on, for example,
> AC who crow about getting the latest quest item, or how fast they
> are levelling.  I'm always tempted to ask them if they're having
> fun while they're busy winning.

In the days when I was playing hack-and-slash muds extensively I
quickly realised that I was playing quite a different game than most
of the other players I was hanging out with (all firmly in the
typical demographics for muds :) They were busy leveling and
collecting equipment.  I enjoyed trying to keep the group alive and
together, and I was looking for interesting or fashionable
equipment, often leaving friends speechless when I declined some
uber item just because I thought it was disgusting to wear some-
thing like that, or because it would clash with my green skirt.

>> Most games fail miserably in all three respects, and I can
>> personally assure you that it's not just women who like them --
>> The Sims and RCT are probably the most-played games I own, for
>> exactly the reasons I've given. People like to build things, if
>> they can build *cool* things and show them off. It's that simple.

> Yep.  That's what I liked about MOOs back when I spent time in
> MUDs, it's what I've enjoyed most about FPS games (level design,
> even though I've never put one up for public consumption), and so
> on.  It's what I've alluded to in my remarks that I'd love to
> spend time in MMORPGs doing things besides killing the
> wildlife--I'm much more interested in creating content for people
> to enjoy than in keeping score.

My husband plays Starcraft occasionally. I found that I could slog
through the single player scenarios with a fair amount of help but
was absolutely hopeless at multiplayer. However the thing that im-
mediately got my attention, and fancy, was the editor.  I did work
out an entire story to tell through different scenarios. Not that I
ever built one, mind, but it was something that was far more ap-
pealing to me than actually playing the game.  Most of the time I
just felt sorry for the little guys and could not bring myself to
send them out to die.


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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