[MUD-Dev] MMORPG: where to start for making and running a game

[Lee Sheldon]

Oliver Smith:

> As the launch and flounder of SWG shows, you can't simply cobble
> together a bunch of single-player game-developers and make an MMO
> - even if you have a little MMO experience behind it.

This statement has already sparked a couple of replies. It sure
sounds like it is simply re-stating acknowledged fact, but there is
no evidence of that.  I too would be curious to know real figures,
but it won't be easy to get them. The only thing players have to go
on is anecdotal, messages on the boards like "Everybody on my
friends list is offline" and "All my guild left and went back to EQ"
or the fact that servers that were once marked before the character
creation screen as "heavy" are now "medium" or "light."

I'm also curious about "...you can't simply cobble together a bunch
of single-player game-developers and make an MMO..." My perception
is that quite a few of those on the development team are MMO
veterans (as much as you can be a veteran in this type of game),
many from UO. Several are members of this list. I know we're not
going to get any real figures about the number of people playing,
but I'd love to hear from somebody if this statement of
single-player predominance is accurate.

Why? Because it suggests a prejudice. Does single-player experience
= low quality MMO? Are MUDs or tabletop the only possible training
grounds for developers of MMOs?

Lee
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