[MUD-Dev] Re: MUD-Dev Storytelling in MMOGs article

[Ted L. Chen]

Paul Boyle wrote

> Especially considering all the changes MMOG's bring to
> storytelling.

>   - No audience, or spectators as actors (only seen in interactive
>   theater before)

I'd be careful about that one.  Just because someone is in-game in
avatar form at a certain event doesn't mean they're active.
Anecdotally, most major MMOG events I've been have only a few active
participants while the rest are just spectators.  It probably
depends greatly on the player's personality and there can only be so
many alpha-types running at the same time.

>   - Bigger timescales (months and years, compared to TV, Movies,
>   and plays, at 30 minutes to a few hours, and books, at several
>   hours to a few dozen hours)

Just a reminder, the original author of that article did compare
MMOGs to soaps and other serials, which run upon those bigger
timescales you mention.  Heck, some soaps have run longer than any
99% of all MMOGs.  So I wouldn't be so readily willing to throw away
all previous experience from other media, just because ours looks
different.

While I admit that the original article had a lot of hand-waving, I
find the excuse of "it's a different medium" just as lacking.
Sometimes, I feel as though we really want to reinvent the wheel for
the bicycle.  Sure, the iron wagon wheels they started with weren't
that comfortable, so do we assume that all wheels must be bad for a
bicycle?  No one bothers to remold it around pneumatics and everyone
just chalk it up as "bicycles are different than wagons!"

TLC


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