[MUD-Dev2] Players are shallow [was: The Future of Quests]

[Threshold]

Damion Schubert wrote:
> MMOs are different yet again.  Yes, you can tell good stories, and
> yes, you can have good quests, but one primary problem is that
> your stories are competing against the interest and drama that
> comes from being in a shared social space.  Nothing your NPC
> is going to say is going to be as interesting as the fact that your
> raid leader is cybering your guildmaster's girlfriend, and everyone
> knows but him.  Creating an interesting context to make the
> space sticky is great, but at the end of the day, an MMO's real
> content is other people. If it's NOT -- well, then your MMO
> probably shoulda been a single player game.  Woulda saved
> a lot of money.
>   

That is a brilliant point. Developers have to be aware of this and not 
get their "feelings hurt" when players do not really care about the 
various NPC relationships in the game. Those NPC relationships are just 
going to pale in comparison to the ones players form with other players. 
Can you imagine someone saying to an in game friend "Sorry, I can't help 
you. Glorthok the Usurper is about to murder my favorite shop keeper, 
Blimpo the gnome, and I need to save him." Among other things, the 
friend is doing to say "wtf, Blimpo will respawn 10 minutes later. Help 
me now!"


> So my hypothesis: MMOs are a unique art form and genre,
> with a unique set of rules for helping its users find fulfillment.
> The next obvious question is: what are those rules?  And are
> NPCs really necessary and/or central to that?  WoW says
> 'yes'.  Games like Eve and Tale in the Desert say 'no' - they're
> not about the quest, and much more about game mechanics
> creating interesting social dynamics.  Overall, though, I think
> we're still at the 'Bonanza' stage of this journey of self-exploration.
>   
I think the NPCs provide "filler" entertainment when players cannot find 
interesting things to do with other players. And that is a worthwhile 
role. But if you expect much more from them, I think you will be 
continually disappointed.