[MUD-Dev2] [OFF-TOPIC] A rant against Vanguard reviews and rants

[Michael Sellers]

Applause, applause!  Excellent remarks, Mike.  You are, IMO, exactly correct
regarding AI, NPCs, combat, and USPs.  I haven't played Vanguard, but from
the write-ups I've seen about its "diplomacy" sub-game, it seems an awful
lot like a combat(ive) approach to social interaction.  Which really makes
me wonder if this is how the dev team goes about getting dates with girls.
:-p

> ...
> I'm sure I could ramble on further, but this is plenty. Why the reviews
> and rants didn't point out these flaws is beyond me. Maybe I'm expecting
> something that a MMORPG isn't supposed/expected to deliver.

No, I don't think you are.  I think that many MMOG devs today are stuck in a
backward-looking mode though.  We live in a post-WoW, post-Myspace world.
That's it.  DIKU and LambdaMOO are about as relevant as Whigs and arrow
collars.  The sooner we all snap out of the 1980s and realize that the
better off we'll be.

Mike Sellers