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

[Ben Hawes]

Brian Hook wrote:
> On Wed, 22 Sep 2004 16:38:25 +0000, Ben Hawes wrote:

>> The achievements are designed to measure player abilities. If a
>> player isn't good at playing your game, then, yes, maybe he won't
>> play it. But how is that different from any other game out there?

> The difference is that with multiplayer games your skills are
> often being compared to the best players out of a pool of hundreds
> to hundreds of thousands.  In that situation, the odds being "one
> of the best" is very low, and if that's an impediment to
> enjoyment, then eventually the vast majority of "average" players
> will be dissuaded from participating.

So minimising the number of people you are being compared to would
minimise the problem, yes? Hence the idea of different metrics for
different skill sets. Then you're not competing against hundreds of
thousands, but maybe the few thousand that choose the path of the
battlefield medic.

>> The trick is not to "equalise" the game world so everything can
>> be accomplished by players of any skill (which seems to be the
>> tactic taken by many), but to provide /different/ ways of
>> advancing.

> Equalization is one tack, another is to separate players by skill
> (leagues or handicaps, such as in competitive sports) or ignore
> advancement altogether and provide paths that don't measure
> achievement.

Yes, that too, is an answer. But without achievement and
advancement, I don't see any long-term appeal for a lot of
players. Not all, certainly, but it will limit your appeal.

--
	"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