[MUD-Dev2] [Design] Where are all the amateur MMORPG devs?

[Zach Collins Siege]

On Jan 30, 2008 5:16 PM, Mike Rozak <Mike at mxac.com.au> wrote:
> Several amateur MMORPG development kits are now on the market (Multiverse, Realmcrafter, Torque), with more to
> come. Some amateur authors are using the toolkits, but despite the fact that there are around 100x as many MMORPG
> players as MUD players, there only seem to be 10x as many amateur MMORPG authors as amateur MUD authors.
> Why is this? Where are all the amateur MMORPG devs?

[snip]
> Why haven't amateur authors flocked to these tools?

My guess is that it's because MMORPGs take longer to reach a playable
state, and the number of contributors is even more limited. In almost
every MUD, the engine is designed to allow construction from within if
a given player has the right permissions. However, contributors to
MMORPGs typically need special access to construction tools in order
to create, and this access is outside of the game. You can't just walk
in and make a new bit of land or a building and plop it down in
playable space, especially not while the engine is still running. By
raising the bar for contributors, you lower the percentage of players
who are willing or able to contribute.

-- 
Zach Collins (Siege)