July 2002
- It's About Time Dep... Food Anderson, David
- Player count threshholds (was: Text Muds vs Graphical Muds) Christopher Allen
- Neverwinter Nights (Was: The Future of MMOGs... what's next?) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Neverwinter Nights (Was: The Future of MMOGs... what's next?) Sasha Hart
- Neverwinter Nights (Was: The Future of MMOGs... what's next?) Valerio Santinelli
- Neverwinter Nights (Was: The Future of MMOGs... what's next?) Dave Trump
- Neverwinter Nights (Was: The Future of MMOGs... what's next?) Valerio Santinelli
- The importance of graphics Zach Collins {Siege}
- The importance of graphics brian hook
- The importance of graphics Ted L. Chen
- The importance of graphics eric
- The importance of graphics Edward Glowacki
- The importance of graphics Matthew D. Fuller
- The importance of graphics Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- The importance of graphics Damion Schubert
- The importance of graphics Kwon Ekstrom
- The importance of graphics jolon@kungfudesign.com
- The importance of graphics Matt Mihaly
- The importance of graphics Marc Bowden
- The importance of graphics Koster, Raph
- The importance of graphics VdA
- The importance of graphics Marc Bowden
- The importance of graphics jolon@kungfudesign.com
- The importance of graphics caduvall@glue.umd.edu
- The importance of graphics Matt Mihaly
- The importance of graphics Michael R. Estepp
- Completed Article Series at Skotos Shannon Appelcline
- NWN upping the ante? Or is that too much to ask? Azeraab
- NWN upping the ante? Or is that too much to ask? Matt Chatterley
- Crafting/Creation systems Paul Boyle
- Crafting/Creation systems eric
- Crafting/Creation systems cooper
- Crafting/Creation systems cheesecrow@mail.ru
- Crafting/Creation systems Matt Mihaly
- Crafting/Creation systems Aaron "the mad man" Weeks
- Crafting/Creation systems Peter Tyson
- Crafting/Creation systems Paul Boyle
- Crafting/Creation systems lynx@lynx.purrsia.com
- Crafting/Creation systems John Buehler
- Crafting/Creation systems shren
- Crafting/Creation systems Jeff Lindsey
- Crafting/Creation systems Ron Gabbard
- Crafting/Creation systems John Buehler
- Crafting/Creation systems Ron Gabbard
- Crafting/Creation systems Dave Rickey
- Crafting/Creation systems Ron Gabbard
- Crafting/Creation systems Dave Rickey
- Crafting/Creation systems Vincent Archer
- Crafting/Creation systems Matt Mihaly
- Crafting/Creation systems Ron Gabbard
- Crafting/Creation systems Brandon J. Van Every
- Crafting/Creation systems amanda@alfar.com
- Crafting/Creation systems Ron Gabbard
- Crafting/Creation systems Kwon Ekstrom
- Crafting/Creation systems John Buehler
- Crafting/Creation systems Damion Schubert
- Crafting/Creation systems John Buehler
- Crafting/Creation systems Dave Rickey
- Crafting/Creation systems Ron Gabbard
- Crafting/Creation systems John Buehler
- Crafting/Creation systems Damion Schubert
- Mass customization in MM***s Ron Gabbard
There have been a number of threads focused on the issue of
enhancing the game experience for players of MM games. Me and a
couple pots of coffee just recently finished the 'pre-packaged'
modules in NWN. It was one of the better CRPG experiences I've had
in years. But, it then hit me that the fastest way to ruin that
experience would have been to add 3,000 concurrent players. Every
encounter/area/quest was designed for the single player/group
systematically going through a achieving sequential goals. There is
just a vast difference between single-player/group CRPGs and
MMORPGs. It's kind of like the evolution of grocery stores.
Grocery stores used to be small corner markets where the owner
operated the store and knew most of their customers. "Charge"
accounts were kept in paper books and the individual business owner
would extend or deny credit based on their previous experience with
the customer. If an elderly person came to their store, they would
have someone help the person get their groceries to the car or even
deliver them free-of-charge. It was a very individualized, personal
experience between the customer and the grocery store/owner. The
person at the check out counter wore a friendly smile and had the
authority to knock a couple cents off the price if a cantaloupe was
particularly bruised.
Enter the 'supermarket'... Supermarkets carry a greater variety of
products at lower prices. They are typically less convenient to get
to than the corner grocery store as they have opted for a
centrally-located position to many residential areas versus 'walking
distance' from a specific residential area. The owner of the
grocery store probably isn't on-site and may even be comprised of
thousands of individuals in the case of publicly-traded corporate
chains. Credit is given through Visa or Mastercard and checks are
accepted based on the issuance of 'check cashing' cards once the
customer has followed standardized 'credit check' procedures. The
friendly face at the check-out counter has been replaced by a 'Hi My
name is Fred' robot whose goal it is to get you through the line as
fast as possible and will price things according to what the scanner
reads.
In short, they are both grocery stores but one is designed to serve
the needs of the massively multi-shopper market while the other is
designed for a more personal experience for a couple hundred regular
customers. The supermarket just can't offer the same level of
personal experience as the owner-operated grocery store while
maintaining their economies of scale and the corner grocery store
can't profitably offer the low price, wide variety of products, nor
support as heavy of traffic as the supermarket while maintaining a
'personal' experience.
This presents an interesting dilemma for designers of MM games. The
'shopping experience' in the supermarket is a by-product of the
customer going in and buying their products. The 'gaming
experience' is the product in MM games. Thus, creating a
'supermarket experience' isn't acceptable for many players as they
want that personalized attention (feeling like they are 'the'
hero... or at least significant in the game world). Nor is trying
to cram thousands of customers through a 'corner market' acceptable
as the system just isn't designed to handle it.
The latest trend has been towards 'mass customization'. That is,
giving each customer the ability to purchase the product/service
they specifically desire while still maintaining the benefit of
economies of scale. This is true of almost every industry -- golf
clubs, computers, automobiles, supermarkets, and now MMOGs.
However, while mass customization may try to emulate the personal
experience of the 'corner market', the best it can do is to provide
the customized tangible product... not the experience. Having a
last name that is not intuitively pronounced, I get to experience
this failure first-hand almost every day as sales clerks hand me my
debit card and say "Thank you for shopping with us, Mr. <Enter
bastardized version of my last name>. Come again." The clerk
doesn't know me from Adam yet they are trying to emulate a level of
intimacy that was pretty standard in the days of the 'corner
markets'... the personalized shopping experience.
Within the context of MMOGs, this is even harder to achieve. I can
go in and buy groceries, a pair of jeans, or a new computer and come
home satisfied that I got my money's worth if I received a good
product at a fair price. As long as the store is relatively clean,
not too crowded, and the service is adequate, the actual shopping
experience is of marginal importance. (Note the other trend in the
rise of super mass-merchandising like Wal-Mart and Sam's Club.) It
may be that MMOGs are turning into 'virtual Wal-Marts' where players
now spend time to earn 'a bubble of XP', camp 'uber loot', or bump
'blacksmithing X points'. The tangible costs and benefits (XP and
loot per hour spent in-game) dominate the intangible benefits of the
personalized experience (with the 'personalized experience' in an
RPG being defined as the player being significant in the game
world).
One attempt at mass customization has been the implementation of
'mission terminals' where players can get access to content that is
specifically designed by the player in terms of difficulty, theme,
and rewards. This has helped alleviate many of the issues faced by
previous games that tried to cram thousands of players through a
'corner market' system. However, is lowering the price (in terms of
time and availability) and increasing the tangible rewards a step
towards personalizing the experience for a mass market or is it a
step towards 'Wal-Martism'? Does the player become any more
significant in the game world because they no longer have to camp
mobs for hours to get a specific weapon or no longer have to wait in
line for access to certain content or are no longer forced to group
with other players?
Having played MMOGs almost exclusively for too long, NWN was like
being parched and having a glass of water. It was fun being
'significant' again and playing a game where the tangible rewards
(loot and XP) were the by-product of achieving in-game goals versus
being the goal in itself. Are MMOGs destined to become 'Wal-Marts'
where "level-appropriate" content is conveniently provided at the
lowest cost possible or is there a way of achieving mass
customization where every player can be significant in a game world
of thousands?
Cheers,
Ron - Mass customization in MM***s Ted L. Chen
- Mass customization in MM***s Damion Schubert
- Mass customization in MM***s Ron Gabbard
- Mass customization in MM***s John Buehler
- Mass customization in MM***s Vincent Archer
- Mass customization in MM***s John Buehler
- Mass customization in MM***s John Robert Arras
- Mass customization in MM***s John Buehler
- Mass customization in MM***s Marian Griffith
- Mass customization in MM***s Sasha Hart
- Mass customization in MM***s lynx@lynx.purrsia.com
- Mass customization in MM***s Ron Gabbard
- Mass customization in MM***s lynx@lynx.purrsia.com
- Mass customization in MM***s John Buehler
- Mass customization in MM***s Damion Schubert
- Mass customization in MM***s Matt Mihaly
- Mass customization in MM***s John Buehler
- Mass customization in MM***s Matt Mihaly
- Mass customization in MM***s John Buehler
- Mass customization in MM***s Matt Mihaly
- Mass customization in MM***s John Buehler
- Mass customization in MM***s Matt Mihaly
- Mass customization in MM***s John Buehler
- Mass customization in MM***s Matt Mihaly
- Mass customization in MM***s Matt Mihaly
- Mass customization in MM***s Zach Collins {Siege}
- Mass customization in MM***s John Buehler
- Mass customization in MM***s Matt Mihaly
- Mass customization in MM***s Marian Griffith
- Mass customization in MM***s Travis Casey
- Mass customization in MM***s Matt Mihaly
- Mass customization in MM***s Amanda Walker
- Mass customization in MM***s Matt Mihaly
- Mass customization in MM***s Marian Griffith
- Mass customization in MM***s John Buehler
- Mass customization in MM***s Damion Schubert
- Mass customization in MM***s John Robert Arras
- Mass customization in MM***s Ron Gabbard
- Mass customization in MM***s Amanda Walker
- Mass customization in MM***s John Robert Arras
- Mass customization in MM***s Matt Mihaly
- Mass customization in MM***s Sasha Hart
- Mass customization in MM***s Matt Mihaly
- Mass customization in MM***s Sasha Hart
- Mass customization in MM***s Matt Mihaly
- Mass customization in MM***s John Robert Arras
- Mass customization in MM***s Matt Mihaly
- Mass customization in MM***s Paul E. Schwanz, II
- Mass customization in MM***s John Robert Arras
- Mass customization in MM***s Damion Schubert
- Mass customization in MM***s John Robert Arras
- Mass customization in MM***s Koster, Raph
- Mass customization in MM***s Marc LaFleur
- Mass customization in MM***s Koster, Raph
- Mass customization in MM***s Madrona Tree
- Mass customization in MM***s Marc LaFleur
- Mass customization in MM***s Koster, Raph
- Mass customization in MM***s Marc LaFleur
- Mass customization in MM***s Paul Boyle
- Mass customization in MM***s Damion Schubert
- Mass customization in MM***s Michael Tresca
- Mass customization in MM***s Brandon J. Van Every
- Mass customization in MM***s P.David
- NLP tools? Robert Zubek
- Importance of graphic in different stages of gaming Edward Glowacki
- Importance of graphic in different stages of gaming Koster, Raph
- Importance of graphic in different stages of gaming Jeff Lindsey
- Importance of graphic in different stages of gaming Damion Schubert
- Game Convention Development Survey Casbaria
- Are gratification-based (online) societies doomed to being immatu re? Koster, Raph
- Are gratification-based (online) societies doomed to being immatu re? Derek Licciardi
- Are gratification-based (online) societies doomed to being immatu re? shren
- Are gratification-based (online) societies doomed to being immatu re? Matt Mihaly
- Are gratification-based (online) societies doomed to being immatu re? Marian Griffith
- Are gratification-based (online) societies doomed to being immature? Paul Schwanz
- Are gratification-based (online) societies doomed to being immatu re? Marc LaFleur
- Salon article: "Showdown in cyberspace: Star Wars vs. The Sims" Robert Zubek
- Are gratifiction-based (online) societies doomed to being immature? Jay C.
- A Question on PvP and PK Ron Gabbard
- A Question on PvP and PK Vladimir Cole
- A Question on PvP and PK szii@sziisoft.com
- A Question on PvP and PK eric
- A Question on PvP and PK Paul Boyle
- A Question on PvP and PK Matt Mihaly
- A Question on PvP and PK Vincent Archer
- A Question on PvP and PK Jeff Lindsey
- A Question on PvP and PK Matt Mihaly
- A Question on PvP and PK Damion Schubert
- A Question on PvP and PK szii@sziisoft.com
- A Question on PvP and PK Damion Schubert
- A Question on PvP and PK Koster, Raph
- A Question on PvP and PK Derek Licciardi
- A Question on PvP and PK Lars Duening
- A Question on PvP and PK Matt Mihaly
- A Question on PvP and PK shren
- A Question on PvP and PK Dave Rickey
- A Question on PvP and PK Daniel James
- A Question on PvP and PK Sean Kelly
- A Question on PvP and PK Matt Mihaly
- A Question on PvP and PK Sean Kelly
- A Question on PvP and PK Matt Mihaly
- A Question on PvP and PK Ron Gabbard
- A Question on PvP and PK Matt Mihaly
- A Question on PvP and PK szii@sziisoft.com
- A Question on PvP and PK Lars Duening
- A Question on PvP and PK Koster, Raph
- A Question on PvP and PK Matt Mihaly
- A Question on PvP and PK Zach Collins {Siege}
- A Question on PvP and PK Kwon Ekstrom
- A Question on PvP and PK Ron Gabbard
- A Question on PvP and PK Jeff Lindsey
- A Question on PvP and PK Damion Schubert
- A Question on PvP and PK John Buehler
- A Question on PvP and PK Eli Stevens
- A Question on PvP and PK Ron Gabbard
- A Question on PvP and PK Paul Schwanz
- A Question on PvP and PK Amanda Walker
- A Question on PvP and PK Jeff Lindsey
- A Question on PvP and PK Amanda Walker
- A Question on PvP and PK Sasha Hart
- A Question on PvP and PK apollyon .
- A Question on PvP and PK Sasha Hart
- A Question on PvP and PK ghovs
- A Question on PvP and PK Dave Trump
- A Question on PvP and PK Paul Boyle
- A Question on PvP and PK Damion Schubert
- A Question on PvP and PK Moonvine
- Réf. : Mass customization in MM*** s Yannick.Jean@csst.qc.ca
- Réf. : Mass cus tomization in MM*** s Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Réf. : Mass customization in MM*** s John Buehler
- Réf. : Mass cus tomization in MM*** s Jeff Lindsey
- Réf. : Mass customization in MM*** s John Buehler
- Réf. : Mass customization in MM*** s Damion Schubert
- Réf. : Mass cus tomization in MM*** s Jeff Lindsey
- Boring Combat (was:Mass customization in MM***s) shren
- Boring Combat (was:Mass customization in MM***s) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Boring Combat (was:Mass customization in MM***s) shren
- Boring Combat (was:Mass customization in MM***s) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Boring Combat (was:Mass customization in MM***s) Acius
- Gamasutra plans to feature MMOGs Lars Duening
- About Fencing (was: mass customisation) Marian Griffith
- About Fencing (was: mass customisation) Greg Titus
- About Fencing (was: mass customisation) Sean Kelly
- About Fencing (was: mass customisation) Greg Titus
- About Fencing (was: mass customisation) shren
- About Fencing (was: mass customisation) Dave Shepherd
- About Fencing (was: mass customisation) John Buehler
- About Fencing (was: mass customisation) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- About Fencing (was: mass customisation) Travis Casey
- About Fencing (was: mass customisation) Jessica Mulligan
- About Fencing (was: mass customisation) Damion Schubert
- About Fencing (was: mass customisation) Koster, Raph
- About Fencing (was: mass customisation) Christopher Allen
- About Fencing (was: mass customisation) John Bertoglio
- Crafting Systems - preventing recipe decomposition? Adam
- Crafting Systems - preventing recipe decomposition? Sie Ming
- Crafting Systems - preventing recipe decomposition? Jeff Cole
- Crafting Systems - preventing recipe decomposition? Damion Schubert
- Crafting Systems - preventing recipe decomposit ion? Anderson, David
- Gratification-based MUDs luke@rocketship.com
- Rif. : Mass customization in MM*** s Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- EQ in mainstream news again... Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- TECH: Britt A. Green
- Preventing recipe decomposition (why?) Sean Kelly
- Preventing recipe decomposition (why?) Anderson, David
- Preventing recipe decomposition (why?) John Buehler
- Preventing recipe decomposition (why?) Sie Ming
- Preventing recipe decomposition (why?) Derek Licciardi
- Gossip, fiction and tactical lore Damion Schubert
- Gossip, fiction and tactical lore Sara Jensen
- Gossip, fiction and tactical lore John Buehler
- Gossip, fiction and tactical lore Matt Mihaly
- Gossip, fiction and tactical lore John Buehler
- Gossip, fiction and tactical lore Sasha Hart
- Gossip, fiction and tactical lore John Buehler
- java clients Matt Mihaly
- java clients Valerio Santinelli
- java clients Jo Dillon
- java clients Zach Collins {Siege}
- java clients Kwon Ekstrom
- java clients Daniel James
- java clients Jo Dillon
- java clients Colin Coghill
- java clients Brandon J. Van Every
- java clients Matt Mihaly
- java clients Brandon J. Van Every
- java clients Philippe Lalande
- java clients justice@softhome.net
- java clients Matt Mihaly
- java clients Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- java clients Jo Dillon
- java clients David Love
- java clients Jon A. Lambert
- java clients fred@clift.org
- java clients Lars Duening
- java clients Jon A. Lambert
- java clients justice@softhome.net
- java clients David Love
- java clients Travis Casey
- java clients bruce@cubik.org
- java clients Fred Clift
- java clients Jo Dillon
- java clients Karl Bastiman
- java clients David Yazel
- java clients Christopher Kohnert
- java clients ceo
- java clients Christopher Kohnert
- java clients ceo
- java clients Christopher Kohnert
- java clients Daniel James
- java clients ceo
- java clients Matt Mihaly
- java clients ceo
- Alternative Hit Point Systems? Jack Britt
- Alternative Hit Point Systems? Ammon Lauritzen
- Alternative Hit Point Systems? Sasha Hart
- Alternative Hit Point Systems? Trickey, Rob
- Alternative Hit Point Systems? Travis Casey
- Alternative Hit Point Systems? Anderson, David
- Alternative Hit Point Systems? Zach Collins {Siege}
- Alternative Hit Point Systems? shren
- Alternative Hit Point Systems? Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Alternative Hit Point Systems? Mathieu Castelli
- Alternative Hit Point Systems? Travis Casey
- Alternative Hit Point Systems? Peter Harkins
- Alternative Hit Point Systems? Jack Britt
- Alternative Hit Point Systems? Sasha Hart
- Alternative Hit Point Systems? Jo Dillon
- Alternative Hit Point Systems? Bruce Mitchener
- Alternative Hit Point Systems? Sie Ming
- Alternative Hit Point Systems? Michelle Elbert
- Alternative Hit Point Systems? Paul E. Schwanz, II
- Alternative Hit Point Systems? Sean Kelly
- Alternative Hit Point Systems? Christopher Allen
- Alternative Hit Point Systems? Travis Casey
- Alternative Hit Point Systems? Sage
- Alternative Hit Point Systems? Travis Casey
- Alternative Hit Point Systems? Michael Tresca
- Creative guy seeking a MUD Brandon J. Van Every
- Creative guy seeking a MUD Frank Crowell
- Creative guy seeking a MUD Sasha Hart
- Creative guy seeking a MUD c_andreev@fmi.uni-sofia.bg
- Creative guy seeking a MUD Brandon J. Van Every
- "The Artisan's Hands" - Storytelling tools Koster, Raph
- "The Artisan's Hands" - Storytelling tools Matt Mihaly
- "The Artisan's Hands" - Storytelling tools Brandon J. Van Every
- "The Artisan's Hands" - Storytelling tools Matt Mihaly
- "The Artisan's Hands" - Storytelling tools Brandon J. Van Every
- "The Artisan's Hands" - Storytelling tools Matt Mihaly
- "The Artisan's Hands" - Storytelling tools Michael Tresca
- "The Artisan's Hands" - Storytelling tools Brandon J. Van Every
- "The Artisan's Hands" - Storytelling Tools Ron Gabbard
- "The Artisan's Hands" - Storytelling Tools Matt Mihaly
- "The Artisan's Hands" - Storytelling tools Michael Tresca
- "The Artisan's Hands" - Storytelling tools Miroslav Silovic
- "The Artisan's Hands" - Storytelling tools Matt Mihaly
- "The Artisan's Hands" - Storytelling tools Michael Tresca
- Hangul (was Réf. : Mass customization in MM***s) Travis Casey
- remote 56K editing, especially for lpmud? Brandon J. Van Every
- remote 56K editing, especially for lpmud? Lars Duening
- remote 56K editing, especially for lpmud? Marc Bowden
- remote 56K editing, especially for lpmud? Valerio Santinelli
- A question of PvP and PK Adam
- web-based MUD editing tools? Brandon J. Van Every
- web-based MUD editing tools? Kwon Ekstrom
- web-based MUD editing tools? Christopher Allen
- web-based MUD editing tools? Sanvean
- web-based MUD editing tools? John Bertoglio
- web-based MUD editing tools? zifnab@islandsofmyth.org
- Hangul (was Réf. : Mass customization in MM***s) Sean Kelly
- ADMIN: List configuration changes J C Lawrence
- Hangul (was Ref. : Mass customization in MM***s) Jake Song
- Hangul (was Réf. : Mass customization in MM***s) David Kennerly
- Phonetic and Ideographic languages (was Hangul) Nathan F. Yospe
- portable ftpd daemon for lpmud? Brandon J. Van Every
- portable ftpd daemon for lpmud? Lars Duening
- portable ftpd daemon for lpmud? Malcolm Tester
- portable ftpd daemon for lpmud? Brandon J. Van Every
- current portable lpmud code libraries? Brandon J. Van Every
- current portable lpmud code libraries? David Bennett