[MUD-Dev] DESIGN: Why do people like weather in MMORPGs?

[olag at ifi.uio.no]

John Buehler wrote:

> "But," you say, "travelers might enjoy the challenge of figuring
> out how to get to the other side of the mountain when the pass
> closes."  It depends on the type of travel experience you're
> providing to your players.  An entertainment experience can be
> anything you choose.  If travel is intended to be a challenge,
> then that would be consistent with the experience.  If travel is
> normally just a sightseeing tour for the eye-candy-inclined, then
> bumping into a closed mountain pass is going to be pure
> impediment, not variation.  The designer will know which is which
> based on their understanding of the individual who is experiencing
> the travel entertainment of the game.

What about discussing analogies that we have actually observed? In
Meridian59 (beta) there was this dangerous path down to the city of
Tos.  As a young character you would either have to be brave and run
past the nasty critters or you would have to wait for somone
stronger than you to clear the path. Some players did make it their
task to clear the path for others. The problem in M59 is of course
that the critters respawn so it gets old after a while.

There are players in your world that:

  1. want to live in your world till they die (or till their friends
  leave)

  2. enjoy making a difference

But:

  1. you cannot provide content for more than max 6 months without treadmills

  2. you cannot make a difference if you cannot do something that
  matters for others

Why deprive these wonderful inviduals (often guild leaders and what
not) from having meaningful activities? I am sure there would be
players setting up teleport portals if you allowed them to do that.

Do we have to ruin the MUD concept by forcing narratives down the
players' throats?

Do we have to ruin the source of excitement by removing all
penalties?

Why not create movies instead? Much more powerful medium and you get
full control too! Why create crappy movies in a MUD? Why not create
MUDs with depth? Maybe you will have to team up with others in order
to cross the mountain pass in the wintertime. Maybe you need to get
the right equipment. Maybe you can carry less in the wintertime. So
many design options... Just give players the tools, ok? :-)

Ola.
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