[MUD-Dev] A Founding Father Forgotten

[Paul Schwanz]

Ben Hoyt wrote:
> Phin wrote:

>> OK, but why create a fantasy MMORPG that closely mimics levels,
>> hit points, armor class, etc. in the first place?  I'd sooner
>> closely mimic what I imagine to be real regarding advancing or
>> gaining power, recieving wounds, and wearing protective armor in
>> a virtual fantasy world.  In my opinion, D&D doesn't do such a
>> good job in this regard, so why would I want to mimic it?

> I think that the point is simply that only by being familiar with
> D&D can you make that assessment.  Mr. Tresca isn't saying, "go
> learn D&D so you can make an online game based on it."  He's
> saying, "go familiarize yourself with it so that you can make a
> better online game," whether that familiarity causes you to
> deliberately emulate or avoid the various D&D paradigms is
> entirely up to you.

I think it was the word "mimic" that threw me.  If I create a
virtual world that mimics anything, I'd think it would be some
slightly altered version of the real world.  Yes, I understand that
D&D, in a sense, was also designed to mimic a fantasy version of the
real world and is therefore not completely irrelevant, but my focus
when designing a virtual world is in how to immerse my players so
that the virtual world feels real to them and not how to make them
feel like they are playing D&D.  Incidentally, I don't think that
chess or poker are completely irrelevant considerations when
designing a combat system for a virtual world, but I wouldn't say
I'd set out to mimic them.

--Phin


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