[MUD-Dev] ghost mode

[ceo]

Daniel.Harman at barclayscapital.com wrote:

> Getting back on topic, I absolutely want MORE MMO games that
> depend on player skill and not simply psyche damaging amounts of
> time logged. We've had this discussion on the list before, and I
> believe Raph said he didn't think it was particularly easy as it
> would allienate the suprising majority of less skilled
> players. Screw em I say.

And I still feel somewhat overwhelmed by that statement from
Raph...I'm not sure how to interpret it. Are we in a situation where
the market for computer games has shrunk so much (or the costs of
MMOG's risen so high, that the market has effectively shrunk -
accordingly to Relativity ;)) that developers can no longer remain
profitable on the back of a million sales? FPS sales and communities
certainly demonstrate that there are more than a million players
worldwide who either already were, or quickly *learnt* to be, highly
skilled (in dexterity, geography, navigation, strategy...)...

Actaully, this was the bit that worried my most (and sorry for not
replying to Raph directly earlier - I had to think about it for a
long time :)): he seemed to assume that not only were most players
stupid, but they were lazy, and incapable of learning too. None of
the three are believable statements - I've heard similar before from
many teachers, and all it shows is that when someone hasn't yet
learnt something, they appear stupid (ignorant) often lazy
(unmotivated - they can't understand what they are supposed to be
doing or why) and incapable of learning (they have so much to learn
that progress - initially - is glacially slow).

IMHO, it's not so much a case of "Screw em" (as you so succinctly
put it, Dan ;)), but of "Give them a chance, and most of them will
get a lot better...probably at a mild exponential rate (i.e. very
slow at first, accelerating rapidly)".

For me, that's a large component of what computer games are about -
learning, improving, adapting. Like Bartle's four types, it's not
"the only reason" I play, but it's always present in some amount
whenever I play any game.

> Anyway I think the concern betrays an alarming lack of faith in
> the average players ability to learn. Even if people lack natural
> appitude, its amazing what practise will do. The real sticking
> point imho is in making sure that the entry curve to the game is
> well judged so that players have a chance to develop the skills
> without being overwhelmed.

[included just to make it clear I'm agreeing with Dan here :)]

Adam M
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