[MUD-Dev] Expected value and standard deviation.

[Chanur Silvarian]

Raph Koster wrote:

> I don't think you're going to succeed at rewriting the human brain
> and finding game designs that don't have a boring way to play them
> unless you design games with infinite possibility spaces. There
> aren't many games like that. Some of the ones I can think of:

>   - player vs player activities (assuming a playfield of
>   sufficient complexity. The human body makes for a nicely complex
>   playfield, for example, hence sports--simple games like tennis
>   still having big possibility spaces).

>   - media. Writing, music, and dare I say it, game design.

This idea goes to the heart of what I think is missing in almost
every multi- player game out there, massive or otherwise.  What is
missing is players being enabled to change the game's puzzles or
create their own.

Allowing players to change or create the puzzles in the game allows
for the infinite (or at least near infinite) possibility space that
Raph speaks of here.

The only one that I've seen that has come close to doing this was
UO.  There were four key factors to player enablement in UO; ability
to change the "physical" world (dropping a sword it looked like a
sword not a bag), ability place dialogue on an NPC in the world (the
bartender NPC), ability to leave text for others to read (books),
and ability to "create" a MOB spawn.

Now some of these were more limited than others, but with those five
items any player could create a new adventure in the game.  This
created an infinite possibility of puzzles in the game.  Here is an
example of an adventure that I ran myself...

  1)I got a treasure map from another player.

  2) I then wrote a book with a long text about an adventuring party
  getting lost, the book was supposedly the journal of the
  expedition leader and contained clues to where the adventurers had
  gone (ability to leave text for others to read).

  3) I told some friends that I'd gotten the journal off of an orc,
  handed out copies of the journal, and we went to look for this
  lost party of adventurers.

  4) When finally at the correct location, I produced some bones
  (ability to change the physical world) and had them dig.  Here I
  had enlisted the aid of a friend who had a treasure hunter
  character and he actually had the treasure map, but it had the
  intended effect.

  5) Produced a nice challanging monster attack for the finale with
  the aid of the treasure map (ability to create a MOB spawn).

  6) Produced a nice treasure to hand out, again with the aid of the
  treasure map.

Ok, so I had to use an item outside of its intended purpose to do
it, but my point is that most designers are failing to realize the
power of player enablement.  The thing that I have missed most in
every game I've played since UO is the ability to write in a book.
The reason that I've missed it is because it is the singular biggest
thing that can be done to allow player created content.  The second
biggest thing is being able to drop an item and have it look like
the item intended.  The third is the ability to add dialogue to an
NPC.

With those three items, player content will flow and your gamespace
becomes infinite.  Unfortunately drivel and profanity will also flow
<sigh>.  The other two biggies are changing the physical world (even
if you don't want housing in your playspace, make a sword look like
a sword regardless whether it is on the ground, in a backpack, or
equipped) and ability to create a monster spawn.

I will add one final thing on player enablement, UO did fall down
with not allowing players to have unique items and everyone else
fails to let them have unique content.  A player wants to have two
things, a unique challange (puzzle) and a unique reward for that
challange which equates to a unique gaming experience for every
player.  It is difficult to give every player a unique challange in
any multi-player game unless you let the players create that
challange themselves, but it is really easy to give them unique
rewards.

I know that this has sounded very UO-centric, but that was the only
game I've seen that even began to approach any level of player
enablement.  EQ doesn't allow for any of these enablement items that
I know of, DAoC doesn't either.  SWG allows for a few (even missions
could be used for a monster spawn) but without being able to write
or give NPC dialogue it is extremely limited in ability to allow for
player created content.

Anyway, that's my two bits on how to reach your infinite gamespace.

- Chanur Silvarian -
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