[MUD-Dev] Blog about GDC implies changes to MMORPG population

[Dana V. Baldwin]

Amanda Walker wrote:

>> That might make you a merchant, not a crafter, in a game that
>> supported both...  ;-) You hire out the crafting step.

> No game except for Second Life (which is arguably not a game)
> supports "real" crafting, though.  Most MMORPG crafting has about
> as much "craft" as putting nickels into a soda machine and
> pressing the button.

Creation of an entire new thing is certainly different from creating
something for a list of availables but baking a cake from a recipie
is still crafting something. SWG as used as an example offers the
ability to tune your recipies given the materials used, thus taking
it a step towards creation though it is still bound by a master
template, which is what SL does not have.

Sl, as you state can be desribed less as a game, partly because it
does not necessarily have rules that define what can be done in the
space. SWG as well can be described more as a VW than a SW game. WoW
seems to have extremely limited crafting and is best defined by its
game aspect. Crafting as such doesn't need to be great to be a
worthwhile edition to the features mix. I think most Sl players are
attracted by the level of creativity the gamespace gives them while
SWG players were generally hoping for more SW game and less crafting
and economics to fuel their experience. WoW on the otherhand seems
to be in some sort of crafting void.

My point would be that yes, most games crafting mechanisms are
pretty limited. You need a specific audience in mind to do otherwise
as most gamers use the crafting mechanism as a way of enhancing
their gameplay through equipment, abilities, secondary exploration
or achievment or as social filler. Even in SL, most players consume
more of the unique crafting system than use it to create.
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