[MUD-Dev] Re: Brand Loyalty

[Rayzam]

From: "Damion Schubert" <damion at zenofdesign.com>
> From: Rayzam

>> Investment - a casual gamer enjoys the game, but doesn't care
>> about 'winning'. The casual gamer is not as personally invested
>> in the game.

> Perhaps they are not as emotionally invested in someone whose
> whole life is played online, but I know of few people who don't
> care whether or not they win.  In fact, one of the greatest
> challenges of making games aimed at the casual gamer is giving
> them a chance to win.

Point taken. You're completely right that everyone wants to win, at
least sometimes. Even solitaire lets you win sometimes.  Instead of
winning per se, what about motivation at a given instant? 
Powergamers look ahead compared to casual gamers in terms of
investment.

>> I'd suggest that powergaming is the new word for min-maxing. It's
>> not about optimizing one's play experience, it's about optimizing
>> one's ability to play the game and to win it, even open-ended,
>> 'unwinnable' games. And there is an important difference between
>> those 2.

> I'd actually suggest that 'powergaming' is more akin to 'Achiever
> gaming' - i.e. finding the optimal path up the ladder.  If this
> happens within the bounds of the game, this is quite fun for both
> the game designer as well as the player.

I think we're saying the same thing here. Optimzing the ability to
play the game to me is the same as finding the fastest way to the
cheese, or finding the optimal path up the ladder. It should be
included in the design, as it's one boundary of play. And I agree on
the fun. When players succeed, I feel like I've succeeded too.

    rayzam
    www.travellingbard.com



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