[MUD-Dev] Playing catch-up with levels

[John Buehler]

Sean Howard writes:

> Why not dump the whole level thing altogether? Every character is
> equal from the time they start to the time they quit. You could
> still have combat, but it would be decided by equipment and skills
> - neither of which would be aquired through the process of
> grinding but possibly through exploration. Limited inventory and
> equipment slots could force the player to make interesting
> decisions.

I agree that the level mechanism as the primary structure of a game
should be eliminated.  Advancement should be made a niche element of
gameplay for those who enjoy advancement.  It need not be the
cornerstone of a game experience.

I also agree that decision making is the real entertainment to be
found in these games.  I've mentioned before that I'd like to see
these games become ones of chess instead of high speed checkers, and
"decision making" is at the core of that.

> For instance, you could get an armor which absorbs 5 pts of damage
> or an armor which doubles HP to 40. The first you would want for
> relatively weak enemies which attack frequently (such as ranged
> attackers), and the latter for strong enemies that are not likely
> to hit you too much. A group could involve any character in the
> game, no matter how old, if they had the equipment, and a properly
> diverse set of abilities and tactics would be required to explore
> deep into the world.

I'm not a fan of juggling equipment.  It mostly means hassle.  I'd
prefer to have scenarios subtle enough to permit players to be
successful by using their own approach - by making the needed
decisions according to their equipment.  I wouldn't want to design
encounters that require players to carry equipment for the four
types of challenges present in the game.  I think we want players to
be able to be somewhat innovative - not pack mules :)

> It just seems to me that a properly balanced level system means
> that at level 20, you are doing roughly the same damage to other
> level 20 enemies as you were doing at level 10 to level 10
> enemies. All the level system really does is force you into
> agreeing that there are certain enemies which are too tough and
> certain enemies which aren't worth your time.

Right.  A side effect of that is that it paces the players as they
progress through the game content.  It extends the life of the game.
In current games, if all characters and monsters were level 50,
players would quickly visit everything in the game at a pace that
THEY found entertaining and be done with the game in a couple weeks
to a couple months.

There are other side effects of course, but pacing the players
through the game content is probably the most valuable one to the
publshers.

> I'd rather the discussions be about interesting problems to solve
> or decisions to make, not how to bypass designer implemented
> roadblocks with the quickest time and least amount of effort.

Agreed.  Strategy and tactics would be a wonderful replacement for
the level grind.  Keep accomplishment as an element of
entertainment, but don't make it universal.

JB
_______________________________________________
MUD-Dev mailing list
MUD-Dev at kanga.nu
https://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev