[MUD-Dev2] [Design] [REPOST] Food in MMOs

[Morris Cox]

On 5/14/07, Lachek Butalek <lachek at gmail.com> wrote:
> I was about to send the list some interesting links about instancing
> when I realized that most/all of my MMO commentaries preach realism as a
> way to fix a multitude of problems. After all, we have a pretty good,
> well established simulation environment of what a virtual worlds should
> act like - the real world. My theory is that as long as we aim towards
> absolute realism, our virtual worlds will not be afflicted with symptoms
> caused by artificiality. In the case of instancing, my commentary was to
> be that instancing is a cop-out - a slick cheat around the complicated
> problem of limited resources and game content - and that there are other
> ways of dealing with such problems without cheating. It appears (from
> the articles) that Vanguard will be implementing some realism-based
> solutions to alleviate the problems of not instancing. One example is
> the roaming "boss" monsters - no more camping a single spot for the boss
> monster to spawn, because the spawn point is random and the boss roams
> around the world when present in the game. This is a step in the right
> direction, IMHO.

One potential issue is that players might be concerned about getting
ambushed and one-shotted (killed in a single shot) no matter where
they are. After being one-shotted in some of EQ2's beginner zones, I'm
much more careful about my surroundings.

> So if you're looking to alleviate this problem, what do you do? How
> would you cripple player characters in a way that still enables them to
> play the game - not just sit around waiting to be eaten by the next
> major foozle to come around? Again, look towards the real world - what
> was the most prevalent problem of Dark/Middle Ages Europe, which is when
> most fantasy settings are most similar to?
>
> Food.

You forgot disease to go along with your famines. Then there's being
held in ignorance by the village priest.

> Access to an adequate amount of food was what separated the poor from
> the rich, and enabled the rich to pursue other pursuits - like
> knighthood, priesthood, or trading. In a realistic fantasy setting, a
> young adventurer who set out to the big city to sell her skill as a
> mercenary would be concerned with feeding herself. A cleric would
> concern himself with collecting the tithe from his congregation so he
> could feed himself, while ensuring his faithful still had enough for
> themselves. A powerful vassal knight would be concerned with the food
> production of his populous, because if there was a bad harvest there may
> be a revolt - and so forth. Similarly, a simple weaver or carpenter
> would perform their services in exchange for food (or coin for food),
> and a farmer could become one of the most powerful figures in a township
> if he played his cards right and had good luck.

You have good points, but are addressing just one facet of the
situation. There are other factors at work, such as influence and
intimidation.

> Food is consumed at a fantastic rate on a national scale, creating a
> perfectly realistic "sink" in the economy. Those with access to plenty
> of food will develop quicker both physically and mentally, and will be
> less likely to fall ill - a perfect complement stat to XP. If a person
> didn't have enough food, they would be crippled and unable to fulfill
> themselves in other ways. Food supply is an important factor to consider
> when travelling, as everyone who has played D&D or been on a roadtrip in
> AZ will know - a factor almost completely unutilized in MMO/MUDs, that
> nonetheless often feature extensive travelling.

I've lived in Arizona for many years and would say that water was more
important than food. The heat and lack of water will affect you long
before lack of food will.

> So, there's my RFC. How can food (supply and production) be implemented
> best in an MMO/MUD, to encourage realism and prevent all the problems
> associated with inflated stats, while still providing a fun and playable
> game? What games currently implement food, in what ways, and how
> successful are they? Are there any major problems with the whole concept
> of food in an MMO/MUD?

I've played on quite a few MUDs that required a char to intake food
and drink periodically. It was a pain. I tended to avoid MUDs that
required food and drink as it was too much of a hassle to have enough
food and drink.
-- 
Morris Cox
INTP