[MUD-Dev] Player malleable worlds (was Expected value and standard deviation)

[Crosbie Fitch]

From: David Loving

> The only way to really provide a possibility space large enough to
> satisfy the vast majority of players (or perhaps just us devs)
> long-term is to allow player-created situations. So how do we go
> about doing that? Well I sure as hell don't know yet, but knowing
> the question is the first part of finding the answer.

We're back to risk and responsibility.

If the provider is responsible for the world, ensuring it's fun and
safe, it probably costs just as much to vet player created content
as it does to originate it.

So why not allow player created content without any vetting?

  'No way!'

The solution is to abdicate responsibility for the world. Create it,
and then leave the players to it. Say "It's your world. You asked us
to build it for you. We did. Here it is. Thanks for the dosh. We'll
be off now. Don't worry. Folk that look extremely similar to
ourselves may pop up again one day offering enhancement/maintenance
services. Ta ra".

We will not see this happen until the infrastructure can be
separated from the game content and any run-time service provision
(moderation).

How can you reduce the costs of creating such a world if you were
going to recoup costs from subsequent long term subscription? Well,
rules based scenery construction is one of the solutions I've done a
bit of work on - and would love to be paid to finish off. This is
where artists can define rules that govern placement, population,
and relationships between scenery components. You can automatically
build an entire city whilst still retaining control over its
architectural style (Sim City in some ways), and have the rules work
right down to where light switches should be placed in rooms.

Sometimes it may be enough to dig a hole in the ground fill it with
sand, and let the kids create the cities with their buckets and
spades. A dog poo and sweet wrapper elimination service will cost
extra - naturally. You don't always have to spend years creating
content, if the players are easily able to do that themselves.
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