[MUD-Dev] Mass customization in MM***s

[Ron Gabbard]

From: "Damion Schubert" <damion at ninjaneering.com>
> From: Ron Gabbard

>>  Are MMOGs destined to become >> 'Wal-Marts' where
>>  "level-appropriate" content is conveniently >> provided at the
>>  lowest cost possible or is there a way of >> achieving mass
>>  customization where every player can be significant >> in a game
>>  world of thousands?

> Fascinating post, Ron.  A lot to think about here, but as an
> opening thought, I think that comparing Walmart to EverQuest is
> somewhat simplifying the process.

Personal opinion, EverQuest falls more into the 'trying to cram
3,000 customers through a corner grocery store' model more than a
'WalMart'.  The EQ game experience is close to the single-player RPG
except for the Tragedy of the Commons that hits.  Anarchy Online is
probably the closest of all the MMPs I've played to what I
envisioned as the 'WalMart model'.  It may be that much of the
resulting design was driven by the initial technical problems.  It's
a game specifically developed to handle thousands of players
conveniently logging in, getting content, earning loot and
experience, and then logging out.  Convenient save spots, convenient
banks, convenient stores, convenient mission terminals, little
dependence on other players...  it's a very low-cost model in terms
of investment required from the players.

> Online games have a different promise, and what that is can vary
> from game to game.  In Ultima Online, it was 'be part of a living,
> breathing fantasy world'.  In Ultima Online 2, we were aiming for
> something closer to 'Be a part of an epic'.  We actually
> identified the problem of getting people who were used to the
> single-player tradition of 'be a hero' into a massively
> multiplayer game to be one of our top challenges in tapping the
> mass market.

I've been trying to think of real-life examples where societies were
engaged in a conflict and everyone got the opportunity to be a
'hero' in that they were significant in their contribution to 'the
cause'.  The best example I could come up with is WWII.  Eisenhower,
Bradley, and Patton were all 'heroes'.  FDR was a 'hero'.  The
soldiers and pilots were 'heroes'.  But, less obviously, the women
that went into the factories to make tanks and weapons were heroes.
The neighborhood patrolmen that conducted air raids were heroes.
The people that grew Victory Gardens were heroes.  I am expecting
that things were much the same in the UK in that almost every member
of society contributed and believed that their activities made a
difference... even if it was just buying War Bonds and abiding by
the rationing programs.  It was the Allied war 'machine' versus the
Axis war 'machine' more than warriors versus warriors.  Thus,
factories and power plants became key strategic targets and the
people that worked in those facilities, 'heroes'.  The trick is that
this type of player emotional involvement at all levels requires
'patriotism' which can't be artificially coded into the game.

The reality is that players are going to be investing different
amounts of time, energy, and skill into the game.  The 'Churchill',
'FDR', 'Patton', and 'Rommel' roles will be played by players that
spend significant time in the game.  Creating games where the core
gamers get to be heroes isn't as large of a challenge as creating a
game where the casual gamer can still be significant.  Can the
infantryperson, platoon-leader, or factory-worker role be made such
that it is significant, fun, and fulfilling in the grand scheme of
things?

> I figure you can do one of three things:

>   1) Incorporate lessons from those single-player experiences into
>   your MUD/MMP as best you can.

>   2) Conclude that MMPs are evil.  This choice does seem to be in
>   vogue nowadays.

>   3) Recognize the strengths of MMPs (communities, group dynamics,
>   etc), and work with them as best you can.

>  For those reasons, I've been focusing more on #3 - > identifying
>  and creating features that would suck if you were > playing
>  alone.

I will agree with you here that MMPs could do a better job of
leveraging the players and the amount of energy and creativity they
can contribute in terms of the areas you mentioned.  I guess it gets
back to the original question of whether the resulting game is one
where the player logs off after each session feeling that they were
significant or if the experience just didn't suck.  In other words,
if the Fates were to go to the beginning of a character's life and
cut the thread such that they never existed, would it make any
difference whatsoever in the web of the world?

Cheers,

Ron

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