[MUD-Dev] A new game paradigm (was: Star Wars Galaxies)

[J C Lawrence]

On Wed, 19 Feb 2003 10:07:18 +0100 
Thomas Tomiczek <t.tomiczek at thona-consulting.com> wrote:
> Scott Miller wrote:

> ACTUALLY I think a lot of the problem, though (there is nothing wrong
> with levels as a "measurement of progress", maybe through titles etc.)
> is that this all goes back historically to D&D - and there levels ARE
> too strong.

A more core problem is that levels are attempts to satisfy multiple
conflicting requirements which is then confused by the fact that
advancement is overloaded:

  1) A way to segment players across your game world/game activities.

  2) Provides self-norming definitions of acceptable and predicted play
  patterns

The base requirements of advancement:

  a) Provide an obvious, "next action" for players.  (Answers the
  question: What should I do now?)
 
  b) Establish player investment in their normalised play that they'll
  continue it rather than meta gaming (golden handcuffs).

  c) Make the value of such player investment visible to players further
  down the curve so as to increase the attractiveness of the ladder
  (standard hustle, celebrity factor)

Which, sadly, is also the basic set of requirement definitions for a
Monty Haul.

--
J C Lawrence                
---------(*)                Satan, oscillate my metallic sonatas. 
claw at kanga.nu               He lived as a devil, eh?		  
http://www.kanga.nu/~claw/  Evil is a name of a foeman, as I live.

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