[MUD-Dev] Playing catch-up with levels

[John Buehler]

Amanda Walker writes:
> On May 4, 2004, at 11:30 AM, John Buehler wrote:

>> I keep thinking about the 'innovation' of working through the
>> challenges of puzzle and card games, and how that level of
>> creative challenge can be worked into a MMORPG.

> One approach that several early MUDs/MOOs/MUSHs used was to have
> embedded minigames.  You had a virtual world that provided overall
> context, but within that world was a selection of games.  Tic tac
> toe, fizzbin, poker, whatever.  I think a nice selection of
> minigames would add quite a lot of spice to big fancy MMORPGs.
> Right now, there are usually only a few minigames: Hunt, Duel, and
> Free For All PvP.  Oh, and Item Collector and Cybersex.  All of
> these can be fun, of course, but a little more variety would be
> nice sometimes ;-).

I completely agree.  I've always assumed that each profession in the
game should be a complete "mini-game".  I call them experiences, and
refer to the resulting games as "multi-experience games".  I think
that the mini-games, or experiences, should be feathered into each
other so that they all have some kind of indirect impact on each
other.  So a spy who sees the world in "Deus Ex" terms is able to
freely interact with a town mayor who sees the world in "Caesar III"
terms.

In that way, each mini-game, or experience, is 'complicated' by the
actions of other players.  That empty lot that the spy was using to
monitor the embassy from is going to be cleared for a new building.
The spy has to deal with that complication.

At the same time, the town mayor that ordered the construction of
the building has to work within the limits of the craftsmen that are
available to him, which impacts the size and types of buildings.
Those sizes and types will play a role in the spy's tactics.  And
the tactics of the fighters who defend the town as well.

For those who picked up on the "tic tac toe" reference, I think
neither of us is talking about literally injecting card and board
games into the context of an MMORPG.

JB
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