[MUD-Dev] "On Virtual Economies" by Castronova

[Ted L. Chen]

Daniel.Harman wrote
> From: Ted L. Chen

>> So the key might be to offer globally periodic, yet very
>> incremental, improvements in existing weapons, armor,
>> etc. Obviously, there will come a time when the new stuff makes
>> tackling a MOB too easy.  So for every N increments, throw in a
>> MOB that's balanced for the last of that series.  Of course, have
>> more than one overlapped tool-use set so players can do something
>> else if using a low-level tool against a mob is too much of a
>> challenge.  Most MOG players optimize to an obsessive degree.
>> Use that desire for the current "latest and greatest" to your
>> advantage in reducing the amount of content you need to create
>> and to keep that currency moving.

> Which isn't really breaking new ground. Its what commercial MMOs
> do with their expansion packs, fairly successfully I might add.

> The most noticeable effect is that the bottom of the leveling
> treadmill gets easier and easier as better equipment filters down,
> which is no bad thing as it allows more people to experience the
> newest content.

> One point he made that I certainly agree with is that you can put
> people off my making things too hard. AO did that with its 200
> levels of treadmilling.  They'd have been so much better off if
> they'd set the number far lower at release, and then added on 20
> levels each expansion. If you dangle the carrot too far out, the
> general reaction is to go 'sod it' :)

There definately is some second-market parallels with the real
world.  However, when I suggested incremental offerings, I was
talking more about exclusive tool-use sets than what we see in your
normal MMOs, expansion packs included.  That is, almost all weapons
in MMOs can be used interchangably with any MOB.  The energy pistol
I pick up in AO works just as well as the sniper rifle (if they have
the same attack stats).  And neither care if I'm shooting a land
creature or a swimming one.  At least not appreciably.

I've never really seen a weapon that was designed for some raw-power
stat in real life.  Most weapons are designed against a specific
defense in mind.  Then the cycle continues with some adversary
coming up with a defense to that weapon.. and so on.

So in this system, MOB variants will die off but they just come back
with different armor that's impervious to current weapons.  Having
multiple concurrent MOBs on offset cycles should give players some
alternative if one becomes too hard (I agree with your assessment
with AO dangling carrot).  This is basically a thinly veiled attempt
at giving players that "improving" feeling, while at the same time,
not really adding anything to the game.  It just keeps resetting the
treadmill on a micro level and renaming it.

Planned obsolescence is a great tool for social engineering.  ;)


TLC


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