[MUD-Dev] DESIGN: Why do people like weather in MMORPGs?

[Douglas Goodall]

Mike Rozak wrote:
> Raph Koster wrote:

>> My experience is that players whinge at anything that
>> inconveniences them. :)

> I suppose I was expecting this answer, although it would be nice
> if it weren't true and that someone had some anecdotal evidence to
> the contrary.

I don't think there's a flat rejection by most players. I'd
certainly appreciate more NPC scheduling and weather effects,
etc. But only if they add options rather than preventing basic
necessities. For example, if NPCs close up shop at night, that's
immersive. If all shops close, and there's no alternate way to sell
your full inventory without waiting 3 real-life hours, that's
annoying. But these are not mutually exclusive. You can close some
shops, but leave others open, perhaps with different NPCs. If rain
changes your chance of finding mushrooms, that's fine. But if
mushrooms are only found after rain, or if every "herb spawn point"
is changed to mushrooms after rain, that's annoying. I think "less
is more" here, and I can't think of any graphical on-line game that
hasn't come down at either extreme (weather makes no difference
vs. weather is a game-breaking inconvenience).
_______________________________________________
MUD-Dev mailing list
MUD-Dev at kanga.nu
https://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev