[MUD-Dev] [DGN]: Ludicrous speed.

[Yaka St.Aise]

At 13:00 -0700 03/09/10, Michael Chui wrote:

> I had responded to this earlier on top-level, but it didn't get
> through the wash.

Actually, Michael, I did pay good attention to your previous post,
and went on for a couple of pages adressing the issues it raised and
the propositions in it, then eventually didn't post because I
already had posted a huge answer to Chris and didn't want to
monopolize this thread with possibly redundant points.

Now, you called for it, so here I go...  ;)

> Actually, it might be more useful as an audience net. Some people
> can't/don't want to run a graphical game, but don't mind something
> similar to telnet since it's cheap on CPU resources. Others have
> taken sides on the graphical vs. textual argument and want one or
> the other. If you pull this off correctly, you just got yourself
> the best of both worlds.

Very good point, yet it raises the concern of catering to the needs
of very separated and possibly antagonistic userbases (in the case
you run the same game in crossmode), or have two teams cannibalizing
each other for resources and HR talent (if you operate two separate
games for text and 3D mode) in the long run.

> I stand on the textual side of the graphical vs. textual
> arguemnt. In my game design, though, I'm forced to agree with my
> friends in saying that graphical is undoubtedly better in terms of
> marketting and "the future". Then again, we can't make one anyway,
> so I get my kicks anyway. Add this discussion Yaka started, it
> also means that if we begin with the idea of translation
> possibility in mind, we might be able to re-launch the game as
> graphical after some client adjustments, tons of art, a pinch of
> 3d programming, and a dash of music.

> Or this is yet another flight of fancy. :)

Having adaptation or translation in mind can prove at least a good
critical tool during pre-production and design stages.  There has
been a lot of discussion about franchises in the game designer scene
lately, and one of the biggest agreed upon pitfalls of translation
from a medium to another was the difficulty to cope with defining
elements of the franchise root medium original that don't translate
well in videogame.  Jedis in SWG in this regard is a good example,
because the wholeoriginal SWG saga revolves around a few elected
ones in a world whose only purpose is to allow the main characters
to achieve their destiny, without much concern for the inner logic
of the universe beyond what is shown on the theater screen.

Same goes for the translation from TT RPG into MMORPG, where the few
player characters are the center of the universe, a defining element
that obviously conflicts with the goal of having several thousands
simultaneous players in game.

Reverse-franchising/derivating could help a lot here: write a
novel/movie, with the defining element that it must be translatable
into a graphical MMORPG, yet stand good on its own as a novel or
movie.  Now substitute the movie/novel with a text MUD, and repeat.
You now have a franchise that is perfectly translatable into
graphical MMORPG, because it was included in the design from day
one.

Best,
	Yaka.
--
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