[MUD-Dev] D&D vs. MMORPG "complexity"

[Paul Canniff]

From: Jeff Cole [mailto:jeff.cole at mindspring.com] 

> I am not sure in what way you consider water "fungible".  The fact
> that companies can charge a significant price for bottled water is
> evidence that water is not fungible, let alone highly so.

To my taste nearly every brand of non-carbonated water is the same,
thus despite the efforts of Coke & Pepsi to create their brands
(Dasani and Aquafina, I think) I treat bottled water as highly
fungible.  If you're comparing bottled water to tap water, or to a
muddy puddle in the gutter, I agree water isn't 100% fungible.  :)

Most game "loot" seems to be VERY fungible -- you sell it for gold,
assuming it isn't a weapon/armor/item/ingredient drop for you or
your guild.  I play DAOC a lot these days and I wish more of the
stuff that dropped off monsters had some place in the economy.  Most
items are just gold, with flavor text and weight added.  Everyone
from the stable master to the poison merchant pays the same price
for wolf hides or beetle carapaces.  Thus there is no incentive to
carry anything further than you need to, which is admittedly a
benefit to those who prefer an efficient treadmill.  I wonder if
players would enjoy a system with designer-scripted location-based
demand, or simply view it as a burden.

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