September 2006

• Amusement park gaming (was: [REPOST] Value) Siege)
• Risk vs Reward [was: Value] Mike Rozak
• • Risk vs Reward [was: Value] Matt Chatterley
  • • Risk vs Reward [was: Value] cruise
      Thus spake Matt Chatterley...
      > Other than that, an interesting thought occurs.
      >
      > Most (if not all) choices in "The Sims" are weak. Yet the game enjoys
      > immense popularity (as does it's sequel), and many people will admit to
      > having misplaced many hours of their lives playing this sort of game - even
      > though the only more-or-less irreversable decisions are those which are
      > dangerous or dumb. Or are they?
      >
      > Some choices (e.g. should I buy that better TV, or spend the money on a new
      > cooker) can have significant consequences which we may not even remember -
      > having played and made those decisions. Wasted time particularly is used by
      > this game as a harsh punishment for a poor choice - sure - the TV is great,
      > but the cooker caught fire, and now everybody isn't getting enough to
      > eat.....
      
      In "Rules of Play" Salen and Zimmerman use the term "meaningful choices"
      - which is much more descriptive to my mind. It's a choice where the
      effect of the outcomes is obvious to the player at the time they make
      the choice, and they care about those effects.
      
      Chosing the layout of your house, or the colour of the walls is actual a
      meaningful choice to that player. It matters a great deal to them how
      their house looks and what the decor is like. My wife isn't interested
      in playing CoH in the slightest, but she'll spend hours with the
      standalone character creator.
      
      Some choices are given meaning by the context of the game, and others by
      the player themselves. The balance between those two defines how
      "sandboxy" the game feels, and also controls what risk and rewards will
      be effective.
    • • Risk vs Reward [was: Value] Sean Howard
      • • Risk vs Reward [was: Value] cruise
        • • Risk vs Reward [was: Value] Mike Rozak
          • • Risk vs Reward [was: Value] Sean Howard
            • • Risk vs Reward [was: Value] cruise
              • Risk vs Reward [was: Value] Mike Rozak
              • • Risk vs Reward [was: Value] Sean Howard
                • • Risk vs Reward [was: Value] Mike Rozak
      • Risk vs Reward [was: Value] Matt Chatterley
  • Risk vs Reward [was: Value] Michael Hartman
• [DESIGN] *Starting* Real Currency Based Worlds Nick Koranda
• • [DESIGN] *Starting* Real Currency Based Worlds ghovs@plex.nl
  • • [DESIGN] *Starting* Real Currency Based Worlds Lachek Butalek
  • [DESIGN] *Starting* Real Currency Based Worlds William Leader
  • • [DESIGN] *Starting* Real Currency Based Worlds Nick Koranda
    • • [DESIGN] *Starting* Real Currency Based Worlds Johnicholas Hines
      • [DESIGN] *Starting* Real Currency Based Worlds ghovs@plex.nl
      • • [DESIGN] *Starting* Real Currency Based Worlds William Leader
        • • [DESIGN] *Starting* Real Currency Based Worlds Michael Hartman
  • [DESIGN] *Starting* Real Currency Based Worlds Lachek Butalek
  • [DESIGN] *Starting* Real Currency Based Worlds Johnicholas Hines
  • [DESIGN] *Starting* Real Currency Based Worlds cruise
• [DESIGN] MMO's are for Newbies Nicholas Koranda
• • [DESIGN] MMO's are for Newbies Nicholas Koranda
  • [DESIGN] MMO's are for Newbies Richard A. Bartle
  • [DESIGN] MMO's are for Newbies John Buehler
  • • [DESIGN] MMO's are for Newbies Richard A. Bartle
    • • [DESIGN] MMO's are for Newbies John Buehler
      • • [DESIGN] MMO's are for Newbies Richard A. Bartle
        • • [DESIGN] MMO's are for Newbies Sean Howard
          • • [DESIGN] MMO's are for Newbies Richard A. Bartle
• [ANNOUNCE] LPmuds.net forums open! Cratylus