[MUD-Dev] Richard A. Bartle talks MUD Design

[Ken Snider]

http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20041103/bartle_pfv.htm

I just read a fascinating take on MUD design, and some common
pitfalls that seem (to me, at least) to be cropping up in the newer
gen of MMOG's. To summarize his points from the article above
(direct quote):

  Point #1: Virtual worlds live or die by their ability to attract
  newbies

  Point #2: Newbies won't play a virtual world that has a major
  feature they don't like.

  Point #3: Players judge all virtual worlds as a reflection of the
  one they first got into.

  Point #4: Many players will think some poor design choices are
  good."

However, what struck me as more of a revelation than it perhaps
should have (given the utter obviousness of it now) is this: people
/are/ playing new games for shorter periods. Players /expect/ more
from a game at launch than they did - and /will/ leave if it isn't
there.

What I found interesting was to take a step back and read into what
he was truly /saying/ in his points. Anecdotal evidence suggests
he's mostly correct - many folk *do* remember their first MUD/MMOG
as their favourite - not necessarily in the sense of the /game
itself/, but in the sense that no game since has ignited in them the
same feeling of immersion, or wonder, or what-have-you that the
initial multiplayer experience tends to impart.

That leads to an interesting question, reinforced, again, by the
article above - I've seen many times of late that individuals have
suggested that treadmills, or game mechanics taken from the current
leaders (EQ/UO/whatever) can't possibly be wrong.. because so many
people play them..

..but what if the whole reason they play them is that A> for many,
these games were the first experience they had, and they have a
subsequent deep attachment to the world that may /transcend/ game
mechanics, social nets, and so on, and B> that many of the newer
games, *lacking* in the feeling of familiarity, of the close
connection one feels to their first experiences, drives players
either away from the market entirely, or *back* to their first
experiences?

I think, if nothing else, this article (rough though it may be)
really does present some interesting points, ones I think the
industry as a whole should consider, as it moves forward with future
development.

--
Ken Snider
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