[MUD-Dev] DGN: Reasons for play [was: Emergent Behaviors spawned from...]

[Lydia Leong]

On Jul 29, 12:00pm, "Sean Howard" wrote:

> A real designer doesn't need passion or experience. Design doesn't
> have to be an MadLibs like exercise in snatch and
> grab. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of room in the game
> industry for someone like Frank Lloyd Wright.  The sheer arrogance
> of being able to make a better gas station does NOT go over
> well. We praise the wrong kind of designers, simply because
> relying on luck makes us feel more potentially successful than
> skill which we will never possess.

I disagree both on the principle and the conclusion that you draw
from it.

While Frank Lloyd Wright probably didn't have any special passion
for gas stations, he was passionate about his _work_; he had an
artistic vision for the world, which infused whatever he created,
even the most mundane of things.

Experience, too, is immensely valuable, no matter how natively
talented one might be. People tend to interact with things -- games
and otherwise -- in ways that are rather unpredictable, and good
design involves not just the grand artistic vistas but also all the
little details, and some of those details generally come from past
experience. Experience is what tends to make the little details
work, and the little details are the difference between a promising
game and a thoroughly awesome game. (In the MMO context, the devil
is certainly especially in the details.)

Broader question: What makes for a great designer? I'd say that it's
a lot more than just the raw talent to spec a great game "on paper",
given the multiple people now necessary to create games. For
instance, being a great designer also involves the ability to
clearly articulate and communicate one's vision to a team, and to
follow through design into execution.

	-- Lydia
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