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

[Michael Hartman]

Sean Howard wrote:

> I really hate that sort of attitude towards designers. Yes, some
> people can design like that, but it has more to do with luck than
> any sort of talent or passion. It is the very recipe for one-hit
> wonders, or people who merely recreate their old successes (you
> know who you are).

Actually, it is precisely the opposite. Most people have more than
one interest. Most gamers (and designer) have more than one type of
game they would like to play. What I am saying is that it has
EVERYTHING to do with passion, and very little to do with
luck. Creating top notch games is not a workmanlike task of
drudgery.

> Frank Lloyd Wright once created a gas station. I doubt very much
> that he'd ever thought about the problem before being presented
> with it, and yet, somehow, he managed to create a magnificent gas
> station. Likewise, when contracted to build a low cost housing
> complex, he managed to make something that was greater than the
> sum of its parts. Each building he designed was unique to the
> needs of the problem.

Gas stations and low cost housing are necessities that exist for a
real, tangible purpose rather than for something ephemeral like
entertainment. This is a terrible analogy.

> A real designer doesn't need passion or experience.

What you describe as a "real designer" sounds like the schlock
artists cranking out garbage movie licensed games or other
formulatic garbage. No thanks. I hate those both as player, and
designer.

A real designer absolutely DOES need passion and experience. Those
are two of the most important qualities in a designer if one hopes
to make an excellent game.

--
Michael Hartman, J.D. (http://www.thresholdrpg.com)
President & CEO, Threshold Virtual Environments, Inc.
University of Georgia School of Law, 1995-1998
Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, 1990-1994
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