[MUD-Dev] Are gratification-based (online) societies doomed t o being immatu re?

[Koster]

From: Matt Mihaly

> I can't remember the names, but don't some of the larger Korean
> graphical MUDs have group PvP wars? I don't think it's really been
> tried to a significant extent in the large American market yet,
> but it does work on a smaller scale. I guess from my point of
> view, the "It won't work." perspective is based on fairly
> off-the-cuff speculation, and I'd prefer to believe it can be
> scaled (and maybe has. Can anyone talk knowledgeably about how the
> Korean games handle this at a larger scale? Jake? David?) and
> someone will manage to implement it at some point on a larger
> scale in the American market.

Lineage is premised almost entirely on it. The pure gameplay of
Lineage minus the PvP is a very simplistic Diablo-like mud. However,
the nifty aspect of it is that of the four classes that exist, one
of them is "prince." Princes are special because they can run
Bloodpledges. Basically, Bloodpledges can conquer castles. Whichever
Bloodpledge holds a castle gets revenue from the taxation of the
citizens, and other perks.

You never hear about the regular gameplay of Lineage. You only hear
about the castle sieges and the Bloodpledges. The sense of teamwork
and shared experience is extremely powerful. Sieges are scheduled
events, so there's ample planning and the like involved.

Aspects that I suspect "don't work" for the Western audience--the
visuals (especially the lack of customization). The gameplay outside
of Bloodpledges. The limited array of classes. And the fact that
leaders are a class, not something you achieve (though it does take
hard work to become the leader of a powerful Bloodpledge).

Overall, this is not at all dissimilar to what Shadowbane is
attempting. Key differences: arbitrary groups can build cities
anywhere; no preselected leaders.

-Raph

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