November 2001
- Digimask Technology. Matt Owen
- Digimask Technology. Ian Macintosh
- Call for submissions to Game Programming Gems 3 Andrew Kirmse
- Virtual environments for education? Edward Glowacki
- Virtual environments for education? Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- Virtual environments for education? Bruce Mitchener
- Virtual environments for education? Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Virtual environments for education? Dr. Cat
- Virtual environments for education? Mats Lidstrom
- Playing NPCs Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- A Hello, and thanks... o. rchaeus
- NPCS Mr Dylan Tovey
- Story in MM*s [was ] Joe Andrieu
- player-driven content? Sasha Hart
- player-driven content? Paul Schwanz
- player-driven content? Bruce Mitchener
- (no subject) J C Lawrence
- (no subject) Koster, Raph
- (no subject) Peter Tyson
- WebRPG Travis Casey
- [TECH][SURVEY] non-mainstream languages? Bruce Mitchener
- [TECH][SURVEY] non-mainstream languages? Brian Hook
- [TECH][SURVEY] non-mainstream languages? Nathan F. Yospe
- [TECH][SURVEY] non-mainstream languages? Mats Lidstrom
- [TECH][SURVEY] non-mainstream languages? Bruce Mitchener
- "sweeping change"? Sellers, Mike
- "sweeping change"? Michael Tresca
- "sweeping change"? Sellers, Mike
- "sweeping change"? Michael Tresca
- "sweeping change"? Freeman, Jeff
- "sweeping change"? Matt Mihaly
- "sweeping change"? Sellers, Mike
- Re[4]: Expectations of in-game reality Travis Casey
- Cynical at a young age T.A.J.BARTON
- Tabletop RPGs and Inspiration (was: no subject) Brian 'Psychochild' Green
- Tabletop RPGs and Inspiration (was: no subject) John Mariotti
- Tabletop RPGs and Inspiration (was: no subject) Matt Chatterley
- Tabletop RPGs and Inspiration (was: no subject) Sean K
- Tabletop RPGs and Inspiration (was: no subject) Don Healey
- Some survey results... Andrew Wilson
- Some survey results... Matt Mihaly
- Some survey results... Jeremy Noetzelman
- Some survey results... Andrew Wilson
- Some survey results... Dr. Cat
- Some survey results... Andrew Wilson
- Some survey results... Dr. Cat
- Some survey results... Derek Snider
- Some survey results... Andrew Wilson
- Some survey results... Matt Mihaly
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Michael Tresca
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Dave Rickey
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Ryan S. Dancey
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Richard Aihoshi aka Jonric
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Leland Hulbert II
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Richard Aihoshi aka Jonric
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Matt Mihaly
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Paul Schwanz
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Dave Rickey
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Sellers, Mike
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Ryan S. Dancey
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Valerio Santinelli
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Koster, Raph
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Michael Tresca
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Brian Hook
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Lars Duening
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Phillip Lenhardt
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Lars Duening
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Matt Mihaly
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Travis Casey
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Matt Mihaly
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Travis Casey
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Don Healey
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Michael Tresca
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Matt Mihaly
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Paul Schwanz
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Travis Casey
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Phillip Lenhardt
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Don Healey
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Koster, Raph
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Ling Lo
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Ryan S. Dancey
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Paul Schwanz
- Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead Michael Tresca
- [DGN] The Human Condition Kwon Ekstrom
- Multi-protagonist stories. Paul Schwanz
- Multi-protagonist stories. Matt Mihaly
- licensing Adam Martin
- Tabletop RPGs and Inspiration (was: no subject) Sami Kosonen
- Licensing PnP RPGs was "sweeping change"? Brian Hook
- Licensing PnP RPGs was "sweeping change"? Richard Aihoshi aka Jonric
- Licensing PnP RPGs was "sweeping change"? Freeman, Jeff
- Good Writing (was: Role-Playing Games Are Not Dead) Brian 'Psychochild' Green
- New laws. (was: Player Manipulation of Environment) Marian Griffith
- New laws. (was: Player Manipulation of Environment) Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- New laws. (was: Player Manipulation of Environment) John Buehler
- New laws. (was: Player Manipulation of Environment) Bruce Mitchener
- New laws. (was: Player Manipulation of Environment) Marian Griffith
- New laws. (was: Player Manipulation of Environment) Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- New laws. (was: Player Manipulation of Environment) Bruce Mitchener
- New laws. (was: Player Manipulation of Environment) Marian Griffith
- New laws. (was: Player Manipulation of Environment) Mark Eaton
- New laws. (was: Player Manipulation of Environment) Marian Griffith
- New laws. (was: Player Manipulation of Environment) Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- New laws. (was: Player Manipulation of Environment) Travis Casey
- New laws. (was: Player Manipulation of Environment) Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- New laws. (was: Player Manipulation of Environment) Travis Casey
- New laws. (was: Player Manipulation of Environment) Andrew Hefford
- New laws. (was: Player Manipulation of Environment) Paul Schwanz
- New laws. (was: Player Manipulation of Environment) Matt Mihaly
- New laws. (was: Player Manipulation of Environment) Marian Griffith
In <URL:/archives/meow?group+local.muddev> on Mon 26 Nov, Matt Mihaly wrote:
> On Fri, 23 Nov 2001, Marian Griffith wrote:
>> 1) Muds can't be narratives for the players.
>> Players "live" in the game, they participate far more
>> directly than the reader of a book, or the viewer of a
>> movie. Techniques and strategies that work for a narrative
>> structure do not work for muds. This is a direct result from
>> the "everybody wants to be the hero of the game" law.
> I would suggest that generally speaking, it's difficult for a
> "can't" to be a proper Law.
While this is entirely up to our law collector (I would hesitate to
call him our law maker ;) Raph Koster to decide if this is a new law
and if it is properly phrased, I think that in this case it is
appropriate. Requirements for a narrative structure direct- ly
contradict requirements for a mud. Narratives require a beginning,
middle and end. Muds on the other hand can not have an end, if only
because not every player is at the same point in the
"story". Narratives require a gradual development of plot and re-
alisation, and generally have a reversal of the reader's expecta-
tions halfway through the book. In muds this is entirely imprac-
tical, and the only development is that of the ability to kill ever
more fearsome monsters (or other players). There are many more
reasons why narratives do not work for muds, but hopefully the above
clarifies my point.
> For instance, I've had people, including some from this list, tell
> me that they actually enjoyed the 100% linear narrative that
> serves as our newbie introduction. You're prompted to do things,
> and you CAN screw up, but there's only one way to do it, and most
> of it is being broadcast at you. Does that constitute the whole
> MUD? Certainly not. But it is part of Achaea, and so I feel like
> MUDs can be narratives for players.
Like you said, it is not the whole mud. However I did not mean that
you can not *use* the mud to tell a great and engaging story. That
obviously is not true, and I never meant to imply otherwise. A mud
is like a theatre that you can fill with backdrops and props, but in
the end you have no audience, only actors and the story must unfold
from *their* perspective, not that of a passive spectator.
>> 2) The game world must be large enough to absorb the player's
>> ability to affect it.
>> The more freedom the players have to affect the world the
>> bigger that world has to be, or the they will rip it apart
>> sooner or later. Probably sooner. This however requires
>> some serious change to the way games are organised, including
>> the fact that for games to be experienced as lively they need
>> to be extremely dense, which directly conflicts with their
>> need to be big. Of course currently players have no ability
>> to affect the world in any meaningful way, which lead to the
>> game feeling stale and to repetitive gameplay.
> I like this law. I'm trying to figure out the relationship between
> it and my Law of Globalization: There is a proportional
> relationship between the level of globalization of competitive
> player effort and the number of players disaffected by that
> system.
> I think, though, that you should take into account the ability to
> self-repair somehow. "Big" as you used it seems to imply (and
> maybe I'm misreading your intentions) physical space, but if the
> landscape can self-repair for whatever reason faster than it can
> be damaged, then physical space isn't particularly necessary.
Self repair does make a game world seem larger, but it is a dange-
rous approach as it can easily lead to the players experiencing a
sense of futility. The monster they kill today will be back tomor-
row in exactly the same way, with exactly the same script. You can
see it in must muds when done (poorly) on a large scale. Sure, it
can engage players but in the end they burn up and leave. However,
you could phrase it as "A game world must be robust enough to ab-
sorb the players' ability to affect it." Somehow it sounds better
to use the word larger instead :)
Marian
--
Yes - at last - You. I Choose you. Out of all the world,
out of all the seeking, I have found you, young sister of
my heart! You are mine and I am yours - and never again
will there be loneliness ...
Rolan Choosing Talia,
Arrows of the Queen, by Mercedes Lackey
- New laws. (was: Player Manipulation of Environment) Marian Griffith
- New laws. (was: Player Manipulation of Environment) Paul Schwanz
- Storied Games Paul Schwanz
- Storied Games amanda@alfar.com
- Storied Games Lee Sheldon
- Storied Games Dave Rickey
- Storied Games Travis Casey
- Storied Games Paul Schwanz
- Storied Games Marian Griffith
- Storied Games Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Storied Games Lee Sheldon
- Storied Games John W. Pierce
- Storied Games Lee Sheldon
- Storied Games jsmithn@hotmail.com
- Storied Games Matt Mihaly
- Storied Games Miroslav Silovic
- Storied Games Derek Licciardi
- Storied Games Matt Mihaly
- Storied Games amanda@alfar.com
- Storied Games Matt Mihaly
- Storied Games amanda@alfar.com
- Storied Games Matt Mihaly
- Player Manipulation of Environment/New Laws Paul Schwanz
- Player Manipulation of Environment/New Laws Bruce Mitchener
- Player Manipulation of Environment/New Laws Paul Schwanz
- Player Manipulation of Environment/New Laws Marian Griffith
- Player Manipulation of Environment Paul Schwanz
- Player Manipulation of Environment Paul Schwanz
- Player Manipulation of Environment Matt Mihaly
- Player Manipulation of Environment Andrew Hefford {Coregen}
- Player Manipulation of Environment Eli Stevens
- Player Manipulation of Environment Jasper McChesney
- Player Manipulation of Environment Paul Schwanz
- Player Manipulation of Environment Adam Martin
- Player Manipulation of Environment Jasper McChesney
- Player Manipulation of Environment Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- Player Manipulation of Environment Ling Lo
- Player Manipulation of Environment rayzam
- Player Manipulation of Environment Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- Player Manipulation of Environment Marc Hernandez
- Fw: AVATARS2001 this weekend Frank Crowell
- [NEWS] Lineage: The Blood Pledge Interview Dave Kennerly
- [NEWS] Lineage: The Blood Pledge Interview Dave Kennerly
- Storytelling and Professionals (was: ) Kathleen Foley
- Storytelling and Professionals (was: ) Lee Sheldon
- Storytelling and Professionals (was: ) Dave Rickey
- Storytelling and Professionals (was: ) Lee Sheldon
- not about telling stories Joe Andrieu
- not about telling stories Freeman, Jeff
- not about telling stories Travis Casey
- Storytelling and Professionals (was) Lee Sheldon
- A Non-Cumulative Character MMORPG? Heresy! Paul Schwanz
- Storytelling and Professionals (was) Ananda Dawnsinger
- Asheron's Call, Story and Population Density. Zak Jarvis
- Asheron's Call, Story and Population Density. Sasha Hart
- Asheron's Call, Story and Population Density. Christopher Kohnert
- Asheron's Call, Story and Population Density. Sasha Hart
- Asheron's Call, Story and Population Density. Christopher Kohnert
- Asheron's Call, Story and Population Density. Lee Sheldon
- Tech: Pathfinding with Rooms Sanxion
- Tech: Pathfinding with Rooms vognsen@post10.tele.dk
- Tech: Pathfinding with Rooms David Bennett
- Tech: Pathfinding with Rooms Sanxion
- Tech: Pathfinding with Rooms Christopher Kohnert
- Tech: Pathfinding with Rooms Per Vognsen
- Tech: Pathfinding with Rooms David Bennett
- Tech: Pathfinding with Rooms Eli Stevens
- Tech: Pathfinding with Rooms Christopher Kohnert
- Tech: Pathfinding with Rooms Nicholas E. Walker
- Tech: Pathfinding with Rooms Marcus Johansson
- Tech: Pathfinding with Rooms Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- Tech: Pathfinding with Rooms Leland Hulbert II
- [NEWS] Lineage: The Blood Pledge Interview - Richard's blunder :) Mathieu Castelli
- Subject: New laws. (was: Player Manipulation of Environment) John Robert Arras
- Meridian 59 purchased by developers Andrew Kirmse
- Meridian 59 purchased by developers James C. Nugen
- Meridian 59 purchased by developers Frank Crowell
- [STORY] Story and population size Adam Martin
- [STORY] Story and population size Derek Licciardi
- [STORY] Story and population size Christopher Kohnert
- [STORY] Story and population size Timothy Dang
- [STORY] Story and population size Derek Licciardi
- [STORY] Story and population size Vincent Archer
- [STORY] Story and population size Christopher Kohnert
- [STORY] Story and population size John Buehler
- [STORY] Story and population size Derek Licciardi
- [STORY] Story and population size John Buehler
- [STORY] Story and population size Jeff Freeman
- [STORY] Story and population size Travis Nixon
- [STORY] Story and population size Wells, Thomas
- [STORY] Story and population size Matt Mihaly
- [STORY] Story and population size John Buehler
- [STORY] Story and population size Matt Mihaly
- [STORY] Story and population size Jeff Cole
- [STORY] Story and population size John Buehler
- [STORY] Story and population size Jeff Cole
- [STORY] Story and population size John Buehler
- [STORY] Story and population size Michael Tresca
- [STORY] Story and population size Matt Mihaly
- [STORY] Story and population size Dave Rickey
- [STORY] Story and population size Jeff Cole
- [STORY] Story and population size Dave Rickey
- [STORY] Story and population size Paul Schwanz
- [STORY] Story and population size Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- [STORY] Story and population size Andrew Hefford
- [STORY] Story and population size Bryan "Cyngon" Helmkamp
- [STORY] Story and population size Bobby Martin
- [STORY] Story and population size Marian Griffith
- [STORY] Story and population size Bobby Martin
- [STORY] Story and population size Bruce Mitchener
- [STORY] Story and population size Sellers, Mike
- [STORY] Story and population size Bobby Martin
- [GENETICS] Evolving prey populations Adam Martin
- Stories, why? Ian Collyer
- Stories, why? amanda@alfar.com
- Purchase of Meridian 59 by Near Death Studios Brian 'Psychochild' Green
- Purchase of Meridian 59 by Near Death Studios Rob Ellis II
- Purchase of Meridian 59 by Near Death Studios Lee Sheldon
- Purchase of Meridian 59 by Near Death Studios Sellers, Mike
- Community Building Sanvean
- doesNotUnderstand behavior in C++ (was: Spoofs) Eli Stevens
- Importance of player roles Sasha Hart
- RTS aspects in MUDs (LONG) lhulbert@hotmail.com
- RTS aspects in MUDs (LONG) John Robert Arras
- RTS aspects in MUDs (LONG) Leland Hulbert II
- RTS aspects in MUDs (LONG) holding99@mindspring.com
- RTS aspects in MUDs (LONG) Dave Kennerly
- RTS aspects in MUDs (LONG) Takis Kalogiratos
- Agora, a Wiki for MUD topics Bruce Mitchener