[MUD-Dev] ghost mode

[David Cooksey]

<EdNote: Attribution fixed>

Tess Lowe wrote:
> Dan Harman wrote:

>> Which is why league tables are actually pretty depressing. At
>> least with with levels, there is a cap (even if developers do
>> move it periodically). It gives you a target, you can get to
>> level 50 and say 'I've made it', and you know you'll still be
>> level 50 the next day. League tables are treadmills, you can't
>> ever get off if you want to keep that achievement, and for me the
>> obvious futility is a huge turn off.

> It's curious isn't it, that where achiever goals are concerned, I
> want it to be open ended whereas you want there to be finite
> goalpost (even though apparently people leave once the goal is
> reached); but where content is concerned, I dont need lots of new
> content all the time, whereas apparently most achievers do. It
> seems somehow contradictory.

> You want there to be a level treadmill to rate your achievement,
> but you want it to be finite, but you'll leave when you reach the
> end of it. Not a play style I particularly understand.

I can't speak for Dan, but I know that I prefer level caps because
they signify an end point.  It's the closest correlation in many
respects to finishing a single player RPG.  I have no wish to play a
particular game forever.  Once I understand the interface and the
system, I play to 'explore', both with respects to the graphics, the
plot, and to the leveling system.  The game is 'finished' when I
reach the maximum level with the best obtainable items after
exploring all/the vast majority of the areas.  The character
strengths themselves are a large part of the reward.  My Final
Fantasy 7 characters will still be there 10 years from now if I want
to play them.  It's a permanent achievement.

Skill-based games, like Quake, chess, etc are different.  The level
of skill must be maintained, there is no finishing, no end.  The
reward is entirely in the play.  This is why imho Starcraft and
Diablo have communities of people who love the game, while Everquest
has tremendous turnover.

In brief, I guess I'd say that achievers need something to achieve
that is semi-permanent (i.e. does not require maintenance).

-David Cooksey
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