[MUD-Dev] Removing the almighty experience point...

[Ben Hawes]

Vincent Archer wrote:
> According to Amanda Walker:

>> This is pitted against the fact that the rewards of levelling are
>> set up to be appealing.  "Gee, that's a cool looking robe.  All I
>> can wear at the moment is burlap.  I guess I have to go grind so
>> that I can get enough xp to be able to stop looking like a total
>> dork." (SWG has a pleasant fix for this, where making cool stuff
>> is level-dependent, but wearing it is not (except for armor)).

> That is one of the factors. Most games now enforce a "required
> level" on items, to avoid the Everquest "twink" syndrome, where a
> level 5 warrior could once be equipped with the best gear in game.

> As a result, until you are maxed or close to max, equipment is
> "the junk I use for now". It's not efficient to spend time at a
> given level to acquire cool stuff; in 5 levels, you're going to
> outgrow all that, and get access to a complete new set of cooler
> stuff.

> So, if the game itself reduces the reasons for doing something
> other than getting XP, what's surprising about the fact that
> people tend to focus on that to the exclusion of everything else.

Which is why it's been argued before that "magical" equipment should
be rare - A +1 sword might be a warriors treasured possession, kept
throughout an entire career.

One of the reasons I feel CoH has done so well is because you can
create a distinct and /unchanging/ persona in game. Your costume is
your costume and you don't look complete different every few levels,
which leads to a greater sense of attachment to your avatar. And you
can learn to recognise others on sight...

--
	"quantam sufficit"
[ cruise / casual-tempest.net / transference.org ]
_______________________________________________
MUD-Dev mailing list
MUD-Dev at kanga.nu
https://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev