[MUD-Dev] Expected value and standard deviation.

[Martin Bassie]

Matt Mihaly wrote:
> On Wed, 3 Sep 2003, Katie Lukas wrote:

>> "No way to get rid of the 'boring' way."  If I believed that, I
>> would be neither playing nor designing games - what could the
>> reason to do so possibly be?

> Well, I don't see how it affects you as a player. If you're not
> interested in the 'boring' (I have a problem with that word since
> it means something different to everybody. What's boring to you
> may be fun to me.) part of the gameplay, just don't play that part
> of it.

I realise this is mostly just verbology, but a game will always have
a "boring" way. Not just because boredom is subjective, but also
because of all the "fun" ways of advancement and playing a game you
design, one will always be the most boring. Most likely, if you have
a way of changing methods of advancement on the fly, you'll be able
to contain the boredom of players a bit better. Trying to get rid of
the 'boring' way is a good goal, but I won't let it overshadow any
of the other issues.

The most interesting dynamic I've experienced in a player community
is that this most boring (and safe) method will be used the most to
progress. At the same time, the vocal minority (those players who
actively post on the forums) will most likely try to get you to
change this method, as it's "too easy", and not fair to those
"playing the game as it should be played".

Someone compared satisfying players to herding cats and I have to
agree with him. It's a difficult, and sometimes impossible job.

-M
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