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

[Travis Casey]

On Friday 24 September 2004 01:48, Matt Mihaly wrote:

> My point is that this is an issue that MMORPGs solved well over a
> decade ago. The problem is that most players -want- a grind,
> whether they know it or not. Obviating the grind requires, in my
> opinion, adding in enough of a free-form element that the very
> players you are trying to please will be turned off. For example,
> roleplaying is a grindless activity that is far more interesting,
> in my opinion, than bashing monsters. It's got literally endless
> variety to it, it's got drama, it arouses strong, substantive
> emotions, etc. And yet, the vast majority of players, who say they
> want all the things roleplaying gives, will not roleplay beyond
> some lame "these" and "thous". Same with PvP. Most players don't
> want challenge. They want to just win 99% of the time. Thus, the
> grind.

Here's a thought...

It's the roller-coaster principle.  If you ran a roller-coaster
where, say, 1 in 100 people riding it actually died, almost no one
would want to ride it.  Roller-coaster customers don't want real
danger -- they want the illusion of danger.  They want to be scared,
to *feel* like they're in danger, but never *really* be in danger.

In the same way, the majority of MMORPG players don't want a real
challenge; they want the illusion of challenge.  They want the
feeling that they could lose... but they don't want to really lose.
Sometimes they don't even want the feeling that they can lose --
they just want to *win*, to get a feeling that they've accomplished
something.

This isn't unique to MMORPGs; you can see it in classic D&D as well.
The "Monty Haul" campaign is an expression of it -- the PCs are set
up to be able to take down even gods with massive overkill, and rack
up treasure and levels as if they're points in a video game.

Even outside if Monty Haul campaigns, GMs are often given the advice
that they should set up adventures so that the players can't
actually lose.  It should *look* like they could lose, they should
have to plan and stretch their resources to do it... but they
shouldn't actually lose.

What most players want to be is a hero, like in books, TV, and
movies -- and, of course, they believe that heroes don't lose.

(Please note that I'm not saying *all* players.  There are those who
want a *real* challenge.  And even those who want to always win will
complain about "the grind" sometimes -- because always winning can
get boring too, as many a Monty Haul D&Der has discovered.)

--
       |\      _,,,---,,_     Travis S. Casey  <efindel at earthlink.net>
 ZZzz  /,`.-'`'    -.  ;-;;,_   No one agrees with me.  Not even me.
      |,4-  ) )-,_..;\ (  `'-'
     '---''(_/--'  `-'\_)
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