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

[Dave Scheffer]

> From: johnbue at msn.com
> cruise writes:
> > Thus spake Adam Martin...
> > > FWVLIW, I've found Oblivion has displaced a substantial chunk of my
> > > online play, simply because it was *better* in so many qualitative
> > > ways. Obviously, after a while, you get bored by the loneliness, but
> > > when it comes to pure immersion, the experience is often exceptional
> > > (and often not - the problems with O's design and presentation are
> > > legion, everything from a poor outdoors 3D engine to iffy decisions
> > > about the nature and effects of time).
> >
> > I'm becoming more convinced that the "Massive" section of MMOG's is a
> > very bad idea.
>
> I'm becoming convinced of the same thing.

I've felt that way since 1997.  It is fundamentally why I believe the
effective future of MMOGs is that they will be decentralized, a series
of communities that share the ability for players to visit between them.
 It was right at that time I read Tad Williams' "Otherland" books and
decided his view of custom communities reflects human nature.  The
engineering concerns are certainable appreciable but not obstacles of
themselves.