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

[Travis Casey]

Friday, January 25, 2002, 2:49:13 AM, Jeff Freeman wrote:
> From: Ola Fosheim Grøstad <olag at ifi.uio.no>
>> "Koster, Raph" wrote:

>>> The word "advanced" says again to me that you are applying
>>> particular biases. They're just a KIND of gamer, not an advanced
>>> level of it.

>> I keep wondering why commercial designers keep saying stuff like
>> that.  Follows the line of statements we get to see like "we are
>> not going to have a RP server, because there is no common
>> definition of RP", "regular players RP too in their own way",
>> etc... RPers are quite obviously often more advanced in the way
>> they use the game, because they use the game on multiple levels
>> and in ways which has not been designed for and provide
>> significant enjoyment (or the opposite) for other players as
>> well. Now, the commercial designers treat them as "just a kind of
>> gamer" because they dont constitute a significant population...

> Actually, from my own perspective, I started out roleplaying in
> the MMO environment and "advanced" beyond it.  In fact, I've never
> met anyone that started out Not roleplaying and then eventually
> "advanced into it".  It's always been the other way around.

> From my perspective, RPers in an MMO are newbies.  They'll grow
> out of it (or they'll quit, and go play a tabletop game).

> But that's just my personal experience there.

> Roleplaying in an MMO means denying yourself a great wealth of
> interaction with other people.

How do you get this?  Contrary to what some zealots think, one does
not have to give up OOC interaction in order to roleplay.

Now, I agree that roleplayers are not "more advanced" -- they're
just playing the game in a different way.  However, I don't see how
roleplaying, in and of itself, denies someone any interaction with
other people.

--
Travis Casey
efindel at earthlink.net

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