[MUD-Dev2] Fallen Earth

[Sean Howard]

"Mike Sellers" <mike at onlinealchemy.com> wrote:

> A common mistake in core gamers: thinking the WoW audience is "the broad
> market" or "the lowest common denominator."  It's not.  It's a large
> market, certainly, but it's *far* from being anything like mass market.

It is the lowest common denominator of gamer tendencies. WoW's addiction
comes primarily from a source of quick and easy achievements made in quick
succession, with the next goal immediately on the next horizon. Beyond
that, there is a hint of competition (for some gamers, a game is online
only because it allows them to be better than someone else), some social
pressure, and a whole heap'n mess of min-maxing.

(re:min-maxing - Ron Gilbert was right when he said that gamers just want
you to point them where to go and they'll figure out the best way to get
there. Gamers don't want to figure out the answer. They don't want to face
the unknown).

These are what I would consider the more base elements of gaming. To some
extent, they are the reason why gaming exists as it does today. But at the
same time, gaming can and should reach for loftier heights. Gaming can be
about exploration, experimentation, creativity, social play, identity, and
virtue. Certainly, WoW features some of these things, though in no great
quantity. There are other games out there which revel in them, and they
are the games we should be looking to for lessons and inspiration.

Casual gamers, on the other hand, see gaming as a diversion. You can't
consider them the lowest common denominator because there is no common
denominator to judge by. They don't reliably play games. You can't predict
what they'll play. They'll play one game for ten years and never look at
another one. They play games that are pre-installed on their computer and
little else. You'd think that with fifty million people playing a casual
game, there'd be some common thread as to WHY they play it or how to
replicate its success, but it ultimately comes down to availability and
boredom and you can't aim for that, since you aren't going to convince
people to put down Peggle to play your game. You can lead a casual gamer
to a computer, but you can't make them play Bejeweled.

-- 
Sean Howard