[MUD-Dev] RE: Value of PvP avatars (was: To Kill an Avatar)

[Paul Schwanz]

Castronova, Edward wrote:

> The best evidence that PvP is a less fun way to play, for the
> average player, is not in the price of PvP avatars but in the fact
> that PvP servers seem to have low populations relative to non-PvP
> servers in the same game.

If that's the best evidence, then I'd be much more hesitant to
conclude as you've done that PvP is a less fun way to play.  It
seems not only possible, but quite probable to me that the fun
experienced in games is much more wholistic in nature, occuring in
the grey areas where different sub-systems of the game interact, and
resisting the sort of desconstruction that would allow us to
evaluate how much fun such sub-systems are without taking into
account their relationship to the rest of the game.  In other words,
you can't simply take a game designed around PvE, plop in PvP
instead, and then make conclusions about games designed aroun PvP
based on the popularity of your hacked results.

> If Lineage offered Blue servers, I wonder how many
> people would play the game Red?

I'd conclude that the vast majority of those who are currently
playing the game Red would continue to do so unless you've got much
better evidence than what you've stated above.

--Phin
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