[MUD-Dev] Mudding and impact on academic grades

[Michael Tresca]

Fred Clift posted on Thursday, June 13, 2002 12:14 PM

> I realize that you use the term "addictive", with quotes, somewhat
> innocently, but I'd like t point out that this is not really true.
> This is a semantics argument and not a "what I do with my games"
> argument.  I try to make fun games that people will want to play
> again.  In fact, if I see a flaw in the game that I think makes is
> unfun, I try and fix it.  This is far far different from addiction
> - addiction suggests that a person has behaviors he or she cannot
> control.  I personally absoultely DO NOT want my game to addict
> people - I want them to have fun, and to come back and play more,
> but that is different from addiction.

I agree. There's a fine line between social responsibility and
culpability.  Beware of going down the path of culpability and
finding a lawsuit on your hands when a player kills himself because
he was a schizophrenic who stopped talking to the real world.  Sound
crazy?  It is crazy -- and it really happened, see the former thread
about the guy who's mother is suing (or trying to sue) the maker's
of EverQuest.  At least I think it was EverQuest.

Anyway, I've had a friend who failed college because of his MUDding
addiction.  The MUD was by no means at fault -- in fact, he played a
series of MUDs when his GPA plummeted to 0.9.  Putting in tools to
"deal with addiction" implies you are somehow tied it in someway.  A
standard disclaimer should suffice.  Anything more than that and
you're dangerously taking on responsibility for the MUD outside your
game -- the real world.

Mike "Talien" Tresca
RetroMUD Administrator
http://www.retromud.org/talien


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