May 2004
- Thief class (was: MUD-Dev Digest, Vol 11, Issue 23) Ghilardi Filippo
- Levels, classes and choice cruise
- Levels, classes and choice Sean Howard
- R: Playing catch-up with levels Ghilardi Filippo
- R: Levels, classes and choice Ghilardi Filippo
- R: Levels, classes and choice Byron Ellacott
- What is an RPG? [Was: Playing catch-up with levels] Sean Middleditch
- What is an RPG? [Was: Playing catch-up with levels] Darksuit
- What is an RPG? [Was: Playing catch-up with levels] Sean Middleditch
- What is an RPG? Mike Rozak
- What is an RPG? Threshold RPG
- What is an RPG? Byron Ellacott
- What is an RPG? Amanda Walker
- More on levels, was What is an RPG? rick cronan
- More on levels, was What is an RPG? Mike Rozak
- More on levels, was What is an RPG? rick cronan
- More on levels, was What is an RPG? Byron Ellacott
- Playing catch-up with levels Freeman, Jeff
- SOC ANNOUNCE: Research project into Social Interactions in MMORPG field, need help PMooney@peddie.org
- Multiplayer Game Logic System sszretter
- Multiplayer Game Logic System Douglas Goodall
- Multiplayer Game Logic System Mike Rozak
- [SOC] A letter: Dear MMOG Corey Crawford
- Playing catch-up with levels Sean Howard
- Playing catch-up with levels Freeman, Jeff
- More on levels, was What is an RPG? Mike Rozak
- More on levels, was What is an RPG? Jeff Fuller
- More on levels, was What is an RPG? Mike Rozak
- Reminder: Community Work Symposium - May 21 T.L. Taylor
- DESIGN: Online adventure games Mike Rozak
- DESIGN: Online adventure games Amanda Walker
- DESIGN: Online adventure games Mike Rozak
- DESIGN: Online adventure games Alex Chacha
- DESIGN: Online adventure games Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- DESIGN: Online adventure games Mike Rozak
- DESIGN: Online adventure games Jason Downs
- DESIGN: Online adventure games Mike Rozak
- DESIGN: Online adventure games Malcolm W. Tester II
- DESIGN: Online adventure games J C Lawrence
- DESIGN: Online adventure games Malcolm W. Tester II
- DESIGN: Online adventure games Fred Snyder
- DESIGN: Online adventure games Mike Rozak
- DESIGN: Online adventure games Fred Snyder
- DESIGN: Online adventure games Steven King
- DESIGN: Online adventure games Amanda Walker
- DESIGN: Online adventure games Mike Rozak
- DESIGN: Online adventure games Alex Chacha
- DESIGN: Online adventure games Mike Rozak
- DESIGN: Online adventure games Malcolm W. Tester II
- DESIGN: Online adventure games Tracy Lee
- DESIGN: Online adventure games Mike Rozak
- DESIGN: Online adventure games J C Lawrence
- DESIGN: Online adventure games Malcolm W. Tester II
- MEDIA: Puzzle Pirates wins Webby J C Lawrence
- NEWS: Online Economies Brian Thyer
- IRC Channels for Virtual Worlds Discussion Matt Wilson
- Natural Language Generation Tiago Carita
- Natural Language Generation Eric Rhea
- Natural Language Generation Douglas Goodall
- Natural Language Generation Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- Natural Language Generation mugginsm@under-the-fridge.com
- Natural Language Generation Michael "Flury" Chui
- Natural Language Generation Sean Middleditch
- Natural Language Generation blizzard36_2002@yahoo.com
- Natural Language Generation Steven King
- Natural Language Generation Michael "Flury" Chui
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Michael Sellers
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Robert Zubek
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Michael Sellers
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Malcolm W. Tester II
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Michael Sellers
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) J C Lawrence
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Michael Sellers
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) J C Lawrence
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Amanda Walker
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Michael Sellers
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Brian 'Psychochild' Green
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Michael Sellers
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Amanda Walker
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Freeman, Jeff
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Robert Zubek
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Amanda Walker
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Amanda Walker
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Samantha LeCraft
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Amanda Walker
On May 25, 2004, at 9:14 PM, Samantha LeCraft wrote:
> One, players have come to expect NPCs to be "in character" in
> their speech and demeanor, and there's no way a company who hired
> addicted/loyal players to "act" as NPCs in-game would be able to
> effectively police their in-character-ness. Some would be more in
> character than others, and some would vary day by day.
Sure. But they are no longer NPCs, they are PCs with jobs. Part of
the realism is provided by that very variability. Now, this isn't
to say that there's no place for vending machines as well, but I
don't see too much need to disguise them as NPCs.
> Two, giving someone you haven't worked with, who you don't know,
> and whose only qualification is that they like to play the game a
> lot that much authority is just asking for trouble.
This is true for any job, though. So you do the same kind of risk
mitigation you do when hiring anyone: you interview them, check for
related types of experience, ask for references, give them a
probationary period before giving them the keys to the warehouse,
etc. And if it's a real job, paying real money, that should
mitigate the "it's just a game" excuse for grief play. And as with
any employees, you'd need to structure things so that they felt
involved and invested in the success of the product.
I'm not talking about privileged players, here--I'm talking about
actual employees. My suggestion is that for playing everyday
people, you don't necessarily need to pay Hollywood salaries.
> The NPC-actor would be seen as representatives of the company who
> owns the MMO.
The actor would, in fact, be such a representative.
> This could lead to players badgering the NPC-actor for information
> on upcoming changes to the game, whether the NPC-actor has that
> information or not.
Quite probably. And "heck if I know, I'm just an inkeeper" is a
perfectly good answer for them to give. You could also use them as
an official information (or disinformation) conduit--I, personally,
having having to go check some clunky web-based discussion forum
just to find out what's upcoming. For that matter, one possible
in-game job would be be a news/gossip clearinghouse.
> Or to players saying they were treated unfairly by the NPC-actor
> and complaining to the company that owns the MMO.
Certainly. And if an employee gets too many complaints, it's time
to have a talk with that employee.
> Or to actual abuse of power on the part of the NPC-actor. If
> they're a avid and loyal player of the MMO, then they have
> undoubtedly formed friendships with some players and come to hate
> other players or guilds. Should they be allowed to give their
> friends lower prices on whatever item or service they're there
> for? Should they be allowed to refuse service to someone they met
> as a player and don't like?
If they can still break even, sure, why not? Or if their service is
only open on weekends, fine.
> The counter argument to this point is probably going to be that
> all of that could be handled by hiring professional actors instead
> of devoted players.
No. I am saying that such jobs may *not* require professional
actors. I am saying it should be possible to treat them as real
jobs, not just game roles--that basic workplace experience, plus
some related background (bartending for a bartender, retail
experience for a shopkeeper, tour or river guide for an adventuring
mentor, etc.) might be sufficient.
For some roles, such as "heros", you might want acting experience
(note that there are plenty of actors looking for work--some could
even do double duty as waiters ;-)). But if the goal is to populate
a world with regular people who do something to keep the world
rolling along, i don't think that expensive "talent" should be
required.
> Three, once people figure out that there are real people behind
> the NPCs -- people who can't fight back, who can't call you nasty
> names, who can't run away, and who can't log out to get away from
> you --
I think you are making some assumptions about what these people can
and can't do. Maybe the bartender has as shotgun under the bar.
Maybe there's an "armorer's guild", and if you are annoying customer
you find that nobody wants to sell you armor any more. Maybe they
can eject you from the building, or call a bouncer (also a real
person) to escort you away. All of these are problems whose
solution could also lend realism and immersion to the game.
Sure, it's a lot of work, and less predictable than vending machines
and fedex quests. It's also extemporaneous content. In SWG, Sony
is having to lure people back into the "main" cities because
player-built cities have become a lot more interesting.
> I've done face to face customer service, telephone customer
> service, and in-game customer service; the things people will say
> to you on the phone are much more rude than what they'll say to
> your face, and they are exponentially ruder in-game than over the
> phone.
No argument. Having customer service experience would be a big plus
on the resume, I would think.
> Its something about the anonymity, I think.
Do players have to be anonymous to official game employees?
> Four, the sheer number of people it would take to accomplish this
> in any given MMO is staggering.
True. It's an interesting HR challenge. However, so is rolling out
a Starbucks on every block, staffing up a government contract, or
starting any new venture.
I don't have all the answers, I'm just speculating that the "movie /
actor" analogy may not be the only one that could be used. After
all, having a few dozen people try to entertain tens of thousands of
people (the current MMO business model) isn't exactly a recipe for
success either.
> There would need to be at least some NPCs available 24/7,
> requiring that some people work the midnight to 8am shift.
Presuming they're all in the same time zone. Again, though, this is
not a problem unique to gaming.
> I think it's do-able, but you have to be willing to have a service
> team of roughly the same size and same caliber as that of Disney
> World. Nothing less will suffice.
Well, if you're aiming at a game that's as engaging as Disney World,
yes. On the other hand, people really like going to Disney World,
even thought the "content" doesn't change very fast. But I suspect
there's some middle ground.
It is a very different model: it's a lot more staffing-intensive
than current MMO management models. But it certainly does make for
some interesting thought experiments.
Amanda Walker - believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Douglas Goodall
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Hulbert, Leland
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Samantha LeCraft
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Amanda Walker
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Paolo Piselli
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Matt Mihaly
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Amanda Walker
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Michael Sellers
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Amanda Walker
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) J C Lawrence
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Amanda Walker
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Byron Ellacott
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Amanda Walker
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) John Buehler
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) J C Lawrence
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) John Buehler
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Michael Sellers
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Eli Stevens {WG.c}
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Amanda Walker
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Sam Mason
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) John Arras
- DGN: Rooms, Directions, etc. - any alternatives? Skane2004@aol.com
- DGN: Rooms, Directions, etc. - any alternatives? Malcolm W. Tester II
- DGN: Rooms, Directions, etc. - any alternatives? Otis Viles
- DGN: Rooms, Directions, etc. - any alternatives? Sarah J. Blake
- DGN: Rooms, Directions, etc. - any alternatives? Kwon J. Ekstrom
- DGN: Rooms, Directions, etc. - any alternatives? Fred Snyder
- DGN: Rooms, Directions, etc. - any alternatives? Zach Collins {Siege}
- DGN: Rooms, Directions, etc. - any alternatives? Sean Middleditch
- MEDIA: Virtual Dopers Crave High Scores J C Lawrence
- MEDIA: Virtual Dopers Crave High Scores David Kennerly
- MEDIA: Virtual Dopers Crave High Scores David Heyman
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Matt Mihaly
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Malcolm W. Tester II
- DESIGN: Crime and Punishment Matt Mihaly
- DESIGN: Crime and Punishment J C Lawrence
- DESIGN: Crime and Punishment Ghilardi Filippo
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Freeman, Jeff
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Amanda Walker
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Douglas Goodall
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Amanda Walker
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) John Buehler
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Freeman, Jeff
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Amanda Walker
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Freeman, Jeff
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Matt Mihaly
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Michael Sellers
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Tracy Lee
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Matt Mihaly
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Michael Sellers
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Amanda Walker
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Matt Mihaly
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Amanda Walker
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Freeman, Jeff
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Mathieu Castelli
- believable NPCs (was Natural Language Generation) Mathieu Castelli
- China practically bans online gaming? Sulka Haro
- China practically bans online gaming Sulka Haro
- SOCIAL MEDIA: California Law Review: The Laws of Virtual Worlds J C Lawrence
- playing the mob (was: believable NPCs) ceo
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? Yumiko
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? Matt Mihaly
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? John Buehler
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? vlad cole
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? Brandon J. Van Every
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? Matt Mihaly
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? Matt Mihaly
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? Brandon J. Van Every
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? Tess Lowe
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? Kwon J. Ekstrom
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? Tess Snider
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? Kwon J. Ekstrom
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? Matt Mihaly
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? Peter Keeler
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? Matt Mihaly
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? John Arras
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? Kwon J. Ekstrom
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? Matt Mihaly
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? Tess Lowe
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? Matthew Mihaly
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? Kwon J. Ekstrom
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? Malcolm W. Tester II
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? Matthew Mihaly
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? Malcolm W. Tester II
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? ghovs
- BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash? ren@aldermangroup.com