[MUD-Dev] The changing nature of fun

[Arnau RossellX CastellX]

Ted L. Chen wrote:

> In regards to keeping it fun, I don't believe that overlapping
> content really helps.  It might help retain people who are
> otherwise bored until the game becomes fun for them, but fun is a
> function of what you're currently doing, not where you are going.
> Anything I can't touch in a game world is just ambiance and
> scenery to me.

Well, i think ambience and scenery are very important to the fun
factor; Just yesterday i was playing morrowind, doing what looked
like a boring fedex quest, then i arrive to the village where i had
to deliver the message and, look! all houses are giant mushrooms!,
and theres one super-giant mushroom towering over the rest of the
village! And there you have it, something boring turned something
fun only because of scenery.  Granted, that gets old very quickly,
and by the third time i'll have to deliver a packet there i won't
care about the mushrooms, but if the "ambience" are other players,
playing the same game but at a different level, the scenery is
ever-changing, and it adds a lot to inmersion and fun, both for low
level players("The other day i was hunting squirrels in the forest
and i saw 9 guys armed to the teeth chasing a wyvern by the road;
One of them had that cool flamethrowing sword, and i did see it in
action...") or the high level ones("Today i've seen like fifty
newbies combing the grass fields, killing all rats, trying to find
the one that ate the governor's diamonds. I've never seen so much
people out there. it was kinda cool").

Of course, if these gameplay level interact in some way(wyvern
dead-> low levels can hunt there)(rat killing->high levels can
obtain rat tails for whatever), it's much better, but at the basic
level a dynamic, people-rich scenery adds a lot to the game fun, and
keeps boredom out of the experience.

Arnau.



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