[MUD-Dev] SW:G

[Amanda Walker]

On Tuesday, September 9, 2003, at 03:30 AM, Matt Mihaly wrote:
> Amanda Walker writes:

>> Luckily, I like to talk, so I set up macros to do the boring part
>> and spent 6 weeks of casual but regular gameplay running those
>> and otherwise treating the game as a chat room.  Would I have
>> taken a less predictable path if it were available?  You bet.
>> Unfortunately, this particular reward (in-game performance
>> options) are given solely based on odometer reading.  If there's
>> a desirable goal with only one path to it, that path is going to
>> become very well trodden by people interested in that goal.  On
>> the flip side, of course, is that if there are alternate paths,
>> the achievers will figure out (and post web walkthroughs of) the
>> least-effort path.

> So here's a question then: Why are you playing SW:G at all? You
> can get a chat room elsewhere, in a myriad of forms, for free. I
> don't know what the range of things you're interested in is but
> all you mentioned was liking the music stuff.

As I noted, I enjoy socializing and novelty.  SWG is so far one of
the most engaging virtual environments yet, to a large degree
because it's not all about hacking up the local wildlife.  It has
rich visual environments, good communication features (including
offline email-style communication), very extensive avatar
customization features, etc.  It has made headway in areas where
other MMOs fall short.

> At the same time, you said you found the music stuff so boring
> that you triggered it and just chatted.

You just missed my point.  I find the music stuff great fun.  What I
found boring is that additional capabilities which add to that fun
are unlocked by "skill level", and in this particular case skill
level is awarded based on time spent.  If you want to play the jazz
tune (which is rather nice), the game requires X hours of
repetition.  Nothing else contributes to that in-game reward.  So,
given a reward, and only one path to it, I made that path as
interesting as possible given the constraints.  And I succeeded--by
automating the repetition (using a quite nice game-supplied
automation tool, I should add), I avoided carpal tunnel syndrome and
spent 6 weeks getting to know people and the overall virtual
environment.

> Why not just go to a free medium like a text mud or even an IRC
> channel if you want to chat?

Often I do.  For example, I subscribe to mud-dev :-).

> There MUST be something about SW:G that is making you continue to
> fork over $15/month. Are you just a huge fan of the Star Wars
> license or are there other game systems you didn't mention that
> you are into?

I am a mild fan of the Star Wars license.  I am highly and
professionally interested in how MMO virtual environments succeed
and fail.  There's no way to get a good understanding of this
without participating, since much of the knowledge to be gained is
dispositional, not propositional.  Years ago, it was LambdaMOO and
tinymud.  These days, it's EQ, AC, AC2, AO, E&B, There, Shadowbane,
Second Life, and SWG.  In some of them, I learned all I could from
them in a couple months and dropped them.  Others provided
entertainment value for a while, so I paid the subscription fee.
Right now, SWG and Second Life are getting my money, and I give
There a spin whenever they do a new release.

Back to the level grind for the moment.

All current games except Second Life (and There, although it's sort
of in its own class) unlock game content based on level.  If you
want to see more than your starter village, you have to kill stuff
to get xp and loot to increase your skills, get better weapons and
armor, etc.  The games reward advancement, even for people who don't
view advancement as at all interesting in its own right.  So, if
you're an explorer and want to see as much as possible, you have to
advance in order to not get stepped on by the Monsters Of Unusual
Size who are standing in between you and what you want to see.  I
mean, I find MMORPG to be staggeringly boring.  It has essentially
no correlation with skill, usually in the name of "game balance".
Yet, if I want to enjoy the aspects of entertainment provided by the
game that I do enjoy (visiting virtual planets, oohing and ahhing
over the nicely done virtual architecture or character modelling,
etc.), I have to unlock the ability to do so by doing the boring
stuff.  Since it's boring already, I might as well find the most
efficient way to get it over with.

Speaking personally, I'd love a game with a "ghost" mode.  In ghost
mode, forget the advancement ladder, just fly around sightseeing.
Mobs can't affect me, I can't affect them, but I can spectate at
will (maybe I'm even invisible--call it "dream mode" or something).
Make the game interesting as a virtual environment, not just a
virtual barnyard brawl.

This, by the way, is one of the things I think There and Second Life
are doing very well.


Amanda Walker
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