[MUD-Dev] A Founding Father Forgotten

[Matt Mihaly]

On Tue, 25 Mar 2003, Michael Chui wrote:
> --- Matt Mihaly <the_logos at achaea.com> wrote:

>> Why? Pen and Paper are a completely different medium. Certainly
>> there are artifacts of design (classes, for instance) taken from
>> P&P games, but I see almost no cross-over unless the designer
>> chooses to go that route. I would tend to argue, in fact, that
>> they are so different that it's harmful to try and apply P&P
>> fundamentals to virtual worlds. Certainly all the designs I do
>> have almost nothing to do with the standard hack n' slash
>> Everquest-type mechanic found in D&D or whatnot. It's not beneath
>> me; it's just irrelevant to me.

> I'm not belittling pen and paper. I think those games are
> great. But if you want a game built on a computer, you shouldn't
> use pen and paper mechanics. Pen and paper was designed so that
> every nuance could be calculated quickly by consulting a chart or
> an arbitrary decision of the GM. The computer lets you calculate
> formulas and equations that are just too complex.

Well, that's true, but that wasn't really my point. That sort of
thing is only important in certain game designs. The reason I don't
pay any attention to pen & paper is because it's an entirely
different experience.  It's a handful of people following a
relatively scripted adventure in a world in which all the world
events are moderated by a human. Muds, on the other hand, are worlds
that communities of players live in generally with minimal human
moderation. It's just a completely different animal.

--matt


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