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

[SpY]

From: Freeman, Jeff
> From: SpY
 
> I get lumped into the "sandbox theorist" category whenever and
> whereever this debate pops-up, but I'm not really.  Or at least
> not entirely.
 
> I agree with the approach of designing game systems deliberately
> to produce emergent storytelling.  I don't see that as "the
> sandbox approach", nor do I think that having a lack of
> hand-crafted, pre-scripted stories in a game necessarily makes it
> "a sandbox".  Certainly there are some goal-oriented games out
> there with very little in the way of storytelling in them.

> Also, I don't think this approach necessitates a completely
> hands-off approach.  Rather, design systems which result in the
> genesis of a story emerging, then dive-in and "meddle" to make the
> story more interesting than it would have been otherwise.  Then
> let it resolve on its own, and follow-up as the sports-caster to
> make sure everyone knows how it turned out (and for that matter,
> to make it sound more interesting than it actually was).

I agree on the point that a complete "hands-off" approach is not
practicable at all because a MMP game of a certain complexity can
not be entirely designed on the white board and needs some
adjustment from time to time. To me the critical point is how you as
a supervisor engage to direct the game.

I see two main reasons why the way how you meddle has to be very
subtle and has to wok in a very global way: The first reason is that
a direct meddling into an ongoing player activity within a world
that promises freedom (I try to avoid the word "story") is very
likely to annoy the players. From my experience they are very
sensitive to situations where a "super-player" influences their
experience directly using his "god-tools".  The second reason is
that this diving-in can become a very time intensive job for the
live team as individual interaction is needed if you don't want to
bore the people with the same NPC monster spawning every day at the
same location to attack the same city.

Maybe we need some more sub-categories for MMP games as there is no
killer concept that solves all problems. The category I am focusing
on could be named "Alternate Reality Simulation" where stories do
solely emerge from player activity and the supervisors influence the
game only to keep the global balance. To make these influence
transparent to the people the concept could implement some sort of
government which enacts resolutions to raise the rent or to
introduce new game items.

Regards, Michael

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