January 2009

• [Design] on the game mechanics of open questing Siege)
• • RANT: The Future of Quests Mike Rozak
  • • RANT: The Future of Quests Amanda Walker
    • • Players are shallow [was: The Future of Quests] cruise
      • • Players are shallow [was: The Future of Quests] Amanda Walker
        • Players are shallow [was: The Future of Quests] Mike Sellers
        • Players are shallow [was: The Future of Quests] John Buehler
        • • Players are shallow [was: The Future of Quests] cruise
          • • Players are shallow [was: The Future of Quests] John Buehler
          • Wikia MUD project Raph Koster
          • • Wikia MUD project Nabil Maynard
            • • Wikia MUD project Raph Koster
            • Wikia MUD project Peter Harkins
        • Players are shallow [was: The Future of Quests] Mike Oxford
        • • Players are shallow [was: The Future of Quests] cruise
          • • Players are shallow [was: The Future of Quests] Damion Schubert
            • • Players are shallow [was: The Future of Quests] Threshold
              • Players are shallow [was: The Future of Quests] John Buehler
                Damion Schubert writes:
                
                
                > So my hypothesis: MMOs are a unique art form and genre,
                > with a unique set of rules for helping its users find fulfillment.
                
                Clearly.
                
                > 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.
                
                NPCs are facilitators of player interaction. More specifically, they are
                proactive facilitators. Swords, spaceships and spells all facilitate player
                interactions as well, but they do it passively. Both passive and active
                types are part of a toolkit that MMO developers can use to get their players
                interacting as strongly or as weakly as they care to.
                
                Note that quest NPCs are passive. That's why they're likened to vending
                machines. Monsters are active. They demand reactions from players. If
                they demand reactions from multiple players then they are doing their job in
                an MMO.
                
                The classic example is the monster assault on a village. A bunch of
                monsters take it upon themselves to attack a village populated by a bunch of
                players. The players are obligated to react over a shared problem. That's
                good use of NPCs in an MMO. From there, we get into levels of
                sophistication such as why the monsters are attacking and whether the world
                state will change depending on what happens. Monster motivations are only
                interesting because they make them more interesting as proactive
                facilitators.
                
                So my rule of MMO design is that players interact. The interactions range
                from shallow to deep, incidental to purposed, but the goal of MMO
                entertainment is to be involved around and with other players. NPCs are
                just one way to facilitate those interactions.
                
                JB
              • • Players are shallow [was: The Future of Quests] Mike Sellers
    • RANT: The Future of Quests Mike Sellers
    • • RANT: The Future of Quests Damion Schubert
      • • RANT: The Future of Quests Mike Rozak
• [DESIGN] How big is enough? Ian Hess
• • [DESIGN] How big is enough? Mike Rozak
  • • [DESIGN] How big is enough? Mike Oxford
    • • [DESIGN] How big is enough? Vincent Archer
      • • [DESIGN] How big is enough? szii@sziisoft.com
  • [DESIGN] How big is enough? Siege)
  • [DESIGN] How big is enough? Threshold
  • [DESIGN] How big is enough? David Johansson
  • [DESIGN] How big is enough? Roger Durañona Vargas
• Persisting a MUD state with plain binary serialization Tiago
• • Persisting a MUD state with plain binary serialization Jon Mayo
  • Persisting a MUD state with plain binary serialization Jeffrey Kesselman
  • Persisting a MUD state with plain binary serialization Chris White
  • Persisting a MUD state with plain binary serialization Mike Oxford
  • • Persisting a MUD state with plain binary serialization Tiago
    • • Persisting a MUD state with plain binary serialization Jeffrey Kesselman
      • • Persisting a MUD state with plain binary serialization Mike Oxford
        • • Persisting a MUD state with plain binary serialization Tiago
        • Persisting a MUD state with plain binary serialization Tiago.matias@gmail.com
• [DESIGN] Clojure? Matt Cruikshank
• • [DESIGN] Clojure? Richard Tew
  • • [DESIGN] Clojure? Matt Cruikshank