R: [MUD-Dev] Levels, classes and choice

[Ghilardi Filippo]

From: cruise

> An article in the April Scientific American got me thinking about
> classes and character design from a differenrt perspective.  The
> article dealt with choice, and the various levels of happiness
> produced by providing differing amounts of choice.

> Thre reasearch involved described people along a range, from
> "maximisers" to "satificers", who, respectively, must always make
> the best possible decision, to simply what is good enough.

> Maximisers will spend hours agonising over the best possible
> choice, and even when they finally decide, they worry that it
> might not be the best, and wistfully think of the benefits they
> missed out on the alternatives. The researchers found that such
> maximising tendencies coupled strongly with depresssion.

> In a nutshell, while limited choice is good, past a certain point,
> the more options available, the more anxiety results (for
> everybody, though the effect is more pronounced in
> maximisers). With too much choice, the array of options becomes
> immediately depressing.

> I'm curious as to other's thoughts on how this applies to
> character design in an RPG. Does this mean that the limited
> class-based system is actually better, because it limits choice?
> Or does the replayability mean that agony over
> "what-might-have-been" is reduced, because a player can simply try
> another character at any time?

Very interesting With that now I understand myself better too.

I'm in the "maximizer" category. Not only in games, also in
coding. I could freeze and stay idle for a lot of time while
thinking what's the best way for a problem.

Is that reason that always took me away from many single player
RPG's. Everytime there's a choice I simply get stuck as can't decide
for best action to take. In a rational way I know that almost any
path is the same and can be won. But not knowing what will be next
and what is best choice give me a bad feeling.

Instead games like UO (Ultima Online) and SWG (Star Wars Galaxies),
even giving many choices, deal with that problem in a different
way. In those games (even if RPG) you can always undo your choices
and take a different path anytime without having to start again from
scratch.

Undoing a choice isn't free, usually take time, but the idea that
you aren't tied with a choice alleviate completely this "decisional"
stress.

Also I would note that MMO's change over time. What is a good choise
today could be a bad one tomorrow. So, having a flexible skill
system is a must (at least for me).

Here I speak mostly about skills as equipment can be changed anyway
more easly in any game.

ciao ciao
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