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

[John Buehler]

cruise writes:

> So why do people play these type of games?

>   a) Advancement and character power.
>   b) Strategic challenge of in-game profession (ie. combat, mostly).
>   c) Escapism.
>   d) Socialising.
>   e) Anything else I've forgotten...

> None of those are exclusive, obviously - personally I'm c,b,a,d
> (in order of importance).

> It seems the general attitude on this list, and from the various
> respective boards for each game, is that 'a' is becoming the
> dominant, if not exclusive, reason.

> Can this be down entirely to game design? It seems that xp has
> become like money - intended as a representation of something
> (ability or work done, respectively), but has become the ultimate
> goal.

Remember that these games self-select.  It is an environment limited
to those who have computers, have an inclination to spend time in a
virtual environment, and so on.  Present it differently and you get
different types of people interested in different things.  Add voice
and you attract a different group.  Create an arcade setting where
you can physically go to play with friends (e.g. internet cafe) and
you target a different group.

I believe that advancement and character power are becoming the
winners in the venue as it currently exists.  Take all people who
are content to sit in front of a computer for hours at a stretch,
typing to converse, hearing canned sound effects, watching canned
animations in fancy 3D environments and you may find that one thing
that appeals to a sizeable chunk of them is character power and
advancement.

The other types of entertainment that you describe haven't been
tackled well in MMOs.

  1. Strategy

    A simple example here is lack of real world physics.  No
    collision detection removes a whole world of strategies that are
    taken from the real world.  How can I stop a charging enemy if
    he can run right through me?  What strategy can exist when I
    cannot inventively use my character's abilities and the
    environment around it?  All strategies have been laid out by the
    game designers in advance - in an effort to ensure 'balance'.
    That throttles creativity right from the get-go.  This is why
    MMOs are mind-numbingly boring for those who have a desire for
    creativity.

  2. Escapism

    This is extraordinarily difficult to do.  I believe that
    escapism is handled by immersion, and there is far too little
    coming from these games to even get us wet, let alone immerse us
    in anything.  The best sense of immersion that I ever had was in
    the early days of my first MMO - EverQuest.  I joined a little
    group in a run from Freeport to Qeynos.  It was just one zone
    after another, rapid fire.  I had no idea what I was doing, and
    I was completely overwhelmed.  It was immersive.  When my
    character arrived at Qeynos, I wanted to kiss the walls of the
    city for the safety they afforded.  It's difficult to retain
    that sort of immersion when everything is so canned and
    repetitive.  The players quickly get on top of the game and
    begin to 'game' it.

  3. Socialization

    Lack of voice is the killer here.  MMOs MUST include voice as a
    standard feature and not leave it to TeamSpeak and other such
    products.  Beyond that is a need for physical gestures.  The
    "Buehler Socialization Test" for MMOs is to be able to
    successfully permit player one to use their character to
    indicate an object in the game and say something about it, with
    player two easily noticing and understanding.  AND player one
    knows that player two understands as a result of observing
    player two's character.  That is when socialization will be
    'implemented'.

  4. Anything else

    Novelty is one such 'else'.  This probably falls under
    exploration.  This is the reason that I played these games.
    Just for the sheer novelty of experiencing something new.  You
    might imagine how I abhor any repetition, let alone a grind.

> Do we need to perhaps think about re-educating players somehow,
> rather than forcibly removing or hiding the xp/levelling? Current
> game-fashion seems to be favouring sandbox-style games, yet might
> it be necessary in some situations to enforce certain gameplay on
> players? It's well known that players make bad game designers -
> but can we say players make bad game /players/ in that they don't
> always know what they'd enjoy when given the option?

If you sell a Ferrari, you'll attract Ferrari consumers.  If you
sell a Toyota Hybrid, you'll attract Hybrid consumers.  If you sell
an M-1 Abrams Main Battle Tank, you'll attrack Abrams customers.
The point is not to educate players, but to create a certain
experience and accept the players that are drawn to it.  If people
believe that they will experience something that they are after by
playing your game, those are the people that will become your
players.

Never try to tell customers what they should do with your game.
THEY tell YOU such things.

JB
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