[Meta] Re: [MUD-Dev] Future of MMOGs

[amanda at alfar.com]

"Koster, Raph" <rkoster at soe.sony.com> wrote:

> Our brains appear to be wired for language in ways they are not
> wired for 3d modeling, and we start our training in interpreting
> and scribing linguistic symbols at a very young age. There are a
> lot of people who can't grok 3d modeling. The basic interface of a
> 3d modeling tool is plain old difficult for most people. Lastly,
> to actually do it even remotely well requires a degree of talent.

Yes.  Good writing does as well, but most people can write well
enough for basic communication.  3d modelling is one of those skills
where the best performers are orders of magnitude better than the
average performer, who are in turn orders magnitude better than
novices.

One of the reasons that I think template and prefab-based content
construction is a better bet than "raw" modelling is that I'm
really, really good at 3d modelling.  One of the things I do from
time to time at work is to model metal and plastic parts for rapid
prototyping and fabrication.  I can take a sketch and turn it into a
NURBS model in Rhino as fast as I can move the mouse and check
dimensions with a caliper.  And whenever I do, I gather an audience
of coworkers watching in slack-jawed amazement.  These are highly
trained, highly visually-oriented geeks, but I can just see things
in my minds eye and translate that directly to curves and surfaces
on the screen, and they just can't.

Some of this, I am sure, is a result of having had a lot of art
training as a kid--I was actively trained from a very early age to
draw what I saw, not what I knew was there (as any artist can tell
you, this is a major key to representational art).  However, a lot
of it is just talent--what is effortless for me is complete magic to
many other people.

> To see what I mean, look at the lengths players will go to in
> order to add a grand piano to UO, which shipped without one.

Yes, exactly.  And if someone had had the tools in UO to make new
furniture prefabs...  If having new clothes, or items, or whatever
didn't depend on big monolithic updates from the publisher...

I think it would be a great improvement.


Amanda Walker

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