Brand Loyalty (was Re: [MUD-Dev] Requirements for MM (wasComp lexities of MMOG Servers))

[Marc Fielding]

[ Koster, Raph ]

> Start looking at the friendship web in TSO. It's a sobering
> experience. The people who run the top houses have literally
> hundreds and hundreds of friends. Most people cannot compete. And
> it will grow worse as time goes on, as those people with the top
> houses solidify their leads. Without some form of catastrophic
> turnover (resets being a time-honored way of handling the problem
> in other forms of skill-based competition) there's inevitable
> results.

Is there a link to the friendship web for non-subscribers? My brief
perusal of the site came up empty.

As for the unassailable position of the Popular in TSO, implementing
"friendship link decay" would encourage players to actively work to
maintain their popularity levels, creating the social turnover you
seek.

Imagine building an incredible restaurant that generates *enormous*
buzz. New "friends" will come out of the woodwork to share in the
fun.  You'll be the toast of the town, and a new hub in the
Friendship Web.  Yet the inevitable slide into banality will provide
a reset, and the crowds will move on to the Next Big Thing.

Happens here in Los Angeles all the time. ;)

-Marc





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