[MUD-Dev2] Fallen Earth

[Tess Snider]

> Comparing automobiles from different eras is ridiculous; that's like
> comparing WoW to Habbo Hotel (or Ultima Online, if you want something
> slightly more advanced). Instead, ask how different your Prius is from
> the prior and next years' Prius in that model line. That's the point
> we've reached with MMOs. Maybe you prefer one model over another; but
> within that model line, there isn't as much variation as we'd like to
> think.

WoW IS our Model-T.  It was that wild breakout success that made all
of the previous successes look tiny.  We hit a point, eventually, when
half the cars on the road were Model-Ts.  The auto industry learned
from Ford's success, adopting similar manufacturing processes.
Somehow, they survived that period, and innovated, too, but it wasn't
because someone was freaking out and saying, "OMG, our cars are too
much like the Model-T!  Why do we have headlights?  How about five
wheels?  What happens if we remove the windshield?"  Yes, we have
occasionally had whacky concept cars, but at the end of the day, a
concept car is a car that you and I will never get to drive, and
that's no fun!

I'm not against innovation.  I'm just saying, it's not wrong to learn
from success.  We should all pick the battles that make sense for the
projects we're working on.

Tess