[MUD-Dev2] Specialization

[cruise]

[note: this bounced back to me on the original send, so I'm having to 
send again as a new message - apologies if this messes up any threading]

Thus spake Sean Howard...
 >> I don't like that. I think players shouldn't be locked out of content
 >> based on philosophical decisions. The solo player becomes a second class
 >> citizen. In some games, they are unable to see as much as half (or 
more!)
 >> of the game's content. I don't care for that approach at all. Perhaps
 >> people who sweat more should earn more, but I also believe that it's a
 >> game and that sweat, when it stops being fun, should not be rewarded.

It depends, it seems, on why you are making games, and who for.

I see nothing wrong with designing a game that says, right on the front,
"This game is only fun if you group with other people". People can try
and solo, but sure, it might not be fun, and they might not be able to
experience the content. So? It might not be as popular or successful as
other games, perhaps, but that's the choice I make as any designer:
focused, so successful only in a niche, or broad, and mildly interesting
to many.

That's, surely, the game designers perogative - to design the game to
focus on a certain type of gameplay.

 >> Unfortunately, the only way to absolutely ensure that all players are
 >> equal - that all players have equal access to all content - is to leave
 >> the final decisions up to the player. To have an open ended environment
 >> that is controlled completely through the actions of the community. You
 >> can not force the players to be someone they aren't and not expect to
 >> abuse players. It's not about motivation. It's about some players being
 >> more natural in tune with the demands of the designer and being rewarded
 >> handsomely for it.

Again, so? Different players like different things - what's wrong with
choosing a particular audience and focusing on that one?