[MUD-Dev2] [DESIGN] Rewards

[Sean Howard]

"Jeffrey Kesselman" <jeffpk at gmail.com> wrote:

> Less face it, MMO gameplay sucks rocks.  There are lots of good
> reasons for this but at the end of the day, thats the result.

Woah, no no no no. MMO gameplay has issues - usually philosophical and
exclusionary issues - but the gameplay does not suck rocks... and I am the
biggest opponent of many of the MMO norms. I very, very much believe that
MMOGs could be really amazing, not by changing what they are, but by
softening the edges and cleaning up their act.

It's like, right now, all MMORPGs are pot smoking womanizers. They are
bullies and sadists. We enjoy their company in spite of this behavior, not
because of it. So, if they clean up their acts, they might even become
somebody you respect and admire.

> Why then are they hugely popular?  I'd argue because human beings,
> even the most socially retarded (and god we see those in any MMO) are
> inherently social beings.  And they come online for that social
> contact.

Hey, I'm socially retarded and then some. Sure, maybe deep down, I just
want to be loved, but that doesn't mean I play online games for social
contact. In fact, quite the opposite. Direct social contact isn't the only
way to be a member of a community; it's not the only way to enjoy these
games... though, by golly, designers sure make it as hard as humanly
possible.

> Elder Scrolls II had one of the nicest paper dolls systems Ive ever
> seen in a game.  And I got bored with it pretty fast cause there was
> no one to *show* my costumes to.

Please don't mistake that behavior as universal. I really encourage you to
check out stuff on the Meyers-Briggs temperment test - especially the book
Please Understand Me II which has a brilliant write up of what everything
means from several different perspectives.

Though I would never use temperment to predict behavior, or even explain
it (after reading through that stuff, it becomes really easy to say "Oh,
you're a rational, of course YOU'D say that"). However, I think there is a
fundamental lesson there that people are different. That they do things
for different reasons. What you hold to be important maybe worthless to
somebody else at a very basic, fundamental level - but there's a good,
solid reason for that. It's okay. You aren't wrong and they aren't wrong.
Only different.

I bring this up because we seem to keep getting into discussions about
majority opinions and I'd very much like minority opinions to be taken
into account. I'd like introspective people to carry as much weight as
extrospective ones. I'd like to see more people stand up against blanket
statements on human nature, and not write off the minority as unimportant
or somehow broken or diseased.

As for paper doll systems, I love them regardless of who see. I like to
see the physicality of the objects I possess. Equipping Crystal Armor
compared to Chainmail has little value to me if the difference is only a
number. Yeah, I upgrade to keep my numbers minmaxed, but I feel more
involved with the world when things have a physical presence. Having my
character look different with different equipment gives additional value
and immersion to the game for me - and it doesn't usually matter whether
it meshes with my own visual sensibilities. I don't get my self image from
it or anything. However, if it turns out to be magenta mixed with fuscia,
well, that causes physical eye pain though.

-- 
Sean Howard