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

[Damion Schubert]

On 10/4/05, Sean Howard <squidi at squidi.net> wrote:

> We need some real, live critical review out there of something
> more substantial than art and sound, and we're not getting
> it. That's why something like Mortal Kombat can even remotely be
> considered a good game. I mean, people enjoy playing it, but when
> you can uppercut your way through the whole game, it makes Dude,
> Where's My Car? look like a deep mediation on life...

In 1989, the Grammy Awards bowed to public pressure and finally
instituted a Hard Rock/Heavy Metal award category, as that category
of music had exploded in recent years. They proceeded to then give
the first installment of that award to Jethro Tull, effectively
proving their irrelevancy to the exact market segment they were
hoping to reach.

The problem with the Philosopher King approach is that it's very
easy to claim you know better than the unenlightened masses. It's
very easy for a philosopher king to stand on the mount and proclaim
the unenlightened masses SHOULDN'T like WoW, or they SHOULD like to
roleplay, or they SHOULDN'T prefer a level-based system to a
skill-based system. It in fact appears, at least casually, that they
do, they don't, and they do, and scholars of the art need to be sure
these observations are correct, and then disassemble the reasons why
rather than disparaging the opinions of the teeming millions.  Our
opinions are all good and well, but I have to constantly remind even
my designers that our opinions are not the same as those of our
playerbase.

Also, "Dude, Where's My Car" is sublime.

--d
_______________________________________________
MUD-Dev mailing list
MUD-Dev at kanga.nu
https://kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev