[MUD-Dev] Congratulations Horizons...

[Daniel.Harman at barclayscapital.com]

From: Paul Schwanz [mailto:pschwanz at comcast.net]
> Philip M. Hofer (Frumph) wrote:

>> I agree there should be more 'player found content release' in
>> mmorpgs of today, its unique and gives an air of accomplishment
>> .. to those few who actually open the content ... exactly, those
>> few who do it.  Not the server player base, not the nation of
>> players on the server, but the few, miniscule players that
>> accomplish the release.

> What accomplishment does anyone get at all in a new release that
> isn't discovered through player actions?  This way, at least
> *some* players get to enjoy it.  Besides, I reject your assumption
> that such quests must be designed for the enjoyment of only a few.

I think the point is that everyone can contribute in differing small
but meaningful ways. That's where the evolution lies. It can be
viewed as a paradigm shift from binary to analogue. It not just
'done' or 'not done', they've added in 'part done'. A fairly obvious
idea when you think about it, so why has it taken until now?

> Why must the entertainment only be given to a select few?  Why
> cannot all the players enjoy the new area that has now been opened
> just as easily as they could enjoy a new boxed release?  As to
> anticipation, I see no reason why the marketing department cannot
> start to spin up its operation when players get close to
> completing the quest to open a new area.  In fact, I don't see why
> they couldn't give PC Gamer writers or other game media a sneak
> peek at the new area.  A preview write-up for an expansion product
> that also included some information about how players were getting
> close to activating the release sounds even more interesting to me
> than the usual boxed release.

Traditionally with expansions, the reviews seem to arrive in
magazines sometime after it has been released to the public. I guess
with an online medium its hard to sit on a complete expansion for
the magazine lead time (a month+?) when it could be helping profits
now. Then again most expansions seem to only ever be partially
complete when they are released anyway...

Then again with smaller additions such as new races or areas, I
guess the investment is a lot smaller so perhaps it is workable.

Dan
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