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

[ceo]

Matt Mihaly wrote:

> decade ago. The problem is that most players -want- a grind,
> whether they know it or not. Obviating the grind requires, in my
> opinion,

Fair enough, non-contentious....

> 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,

...BUT (and this is a biggy) RP requires tremendous amounts of
emotional and mental energy, and many of us just can't be bothered
to do that long-term - or can't be bothered to *commit* to doing it
(I love non-subs games for activities like this which I don't have
the energy for most of the time, but where I can dip in and out as
my energy allows).

> 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.

Ouch. That is very contentious. I humbly (yet with total conviction)
submit that this is not true at all. Most players *are afraid* of
challenge (unaccustomed challenge == investment of effort to
break-even == possibly wasted effort if the end-result turns out
less than expected, or if breakeven is never achieved) in a very
minor way (so much so that most don't recognise their negative
reaction as fear); most players enjoy challenge *iff* they are
captivated just long enough to hit the break-even - or at least to
become personally convinced that the break-even is coming and that
it'll be worth it.

I recently completed an alpha of an arcade game which requires
simultaneous control of direction and firing on two directional
controls (e.g. two sets of 4 keys on KB); many people gave us
feedback:

  Them: "It's too hard, people won't play it"

  Us: "Yes, but once they get into it, they'll love it..."

  Them: "Uh, OK, yeah, but no-one will stick it out that long for a
  crappy game from nobodies"

  Us: "Shrug; the main pleasure in this game is only possible with
  the difficult-yet-rich control method; we'll go ahead anyway"

To date, out of several hundred players/testers, we've had
overwhelmingly positive feedback. I don't have figures on how long
they had to play for to master the controls (note: "master",
i.e. "achieve the full potential of", rather than "overcome",
i.e. "learn how to workaround poor controls and play the game
despite the stumbling block"), although I've watched people require
as many as 5 minutes to even get going. But then it clicked, and
they loved it.

It's a slightly silly reference, but a couple of the people saying
it wouldn't hold people's attention long enough to learn where
professional game developers; they were pleasantly surprised to be
proved wrong. We didn't really have a choice in this situation, so I
can't claim some incredible foresight here - only that I think a lot
of developers (and players, myself included) have become too cynical
in terms of disbelief in the players ability and willingness to
adapt, and even to overcome quite large barriers, where the end
justifies it.

Adam
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