August 2008

• [Design] Design challenge: Bed-time game Soyweiser
• [Design] Design challenge: Bed-time game Peter Harkins
• • [Design] Design challenge: Bed-time game Daniel James
  • • [Design] Design challenge: Bed-time game Nick Koranda
  • [Design] Design challenge: Bed-time game Christopher Lloyd
  • • [Design] Design challenge: Bed-time game Nabil Maynard
    • • [Design] "Why Pirate Games" Article Nick Koranda
      • • [Design] "Why Pirate Games" Article Tess Snider
        • • [Design] "Why Pirate Games" Article Sean Howard
          • [Design] "Why Pirate Games" Article Caliban Darklock
        • [Design] "Why Pirate Games" Article Michael Hartman
      • [Design] Design challenge: Bed-time game Matt Chatterley
      • [Design] Design challenge: Bed-time game Siege)
      • • [Design] Design challenge: Bed-time game Siege)
        • • [Design] Design challenge: Bed-time game Mike Rozak
          • • [Design] Design challenge: Bed-time game Siege)
            • [Design] Design challenge: Bed-time game Acius
  • [Design] Design challenge: Bed-time game Soyweiser
  • • [Design] Design challenge: Bed-time game Adam Martin
    • • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Michael Hartman
      • • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Sean Howard
        • • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Michael Hartman
          • • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Aurel
            • • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Caliban Darklock
              • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Jeffrey Kesselman
            • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Mike Sellers
            • • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Michael Hartman
            • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Sean Howard
              "Michael Hartman" <mlist@thresholdrpg.com> wrote:
              > The extremely cumbersome nature of MMORPG is what bugs me. I have no
              > idea how that horrid term came to be, and whoever invented it needs to
              > be throw in the same pit as the doofus that invented bind on pickup
              > crafted items (stupid).
              
              I think it was originally used with Ultima Online (at least that's what my
              hazy memory remembers) as a marketing term. Trying to sell the scale of
              it, I guess.
              
              Tried to look up Habitat / Club Caribe (really the first "MMORPG") and
              found some sweet promotional videos on it - first time I've seen Habitat
              in motion in twenty years.
              
              http://www.vwtimeline.org/artifacts/video/habitat-caribe-80s/index.html
              
              - they just describe it as a parallel world for the most part. Still, the
              first video is really interesting for how they try to sell the concept of
              a virtual world when there wasn't really anything like it at the time.
              
              > Someone influential needs to coin a better term and spare us from this
              > garbage MMORPG term. The term itself is unpronounceable, and the words
              > it stands for are a gobbled mess as well.
              
              I agree. I hate it when people say "ma-mor-pa-ger" (most people I know
              just call it "morp"). And the "massive" part is really a misnomer anyway.
              Outside of UO and SWG, most MMORPGs just have random strangers you never
              interact with in a world that never changes. The only way the massive part
              applies is through the auction house. WoW could be single player for all
              it really matters.
              
              I'm in favor of bring "virtual worlds" back, but "virtual" has a sort of
              80s ring to it and has fallen out of style thanks to the spectacular
              failure of virtual reality. Persistent worlds is better maybe, but like I
              said, not entirely accurate.
              
              How about "Simulated Community, Unreal But Awesome"? The acronym sounds a
              bit familiar though...
              
              --
              Sean Howard
        • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD McDonald, Stephen
        • • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Michael Hartman
          • • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD John Szeder
            • • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Jon Mayo
              • • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Crwth
              • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Siege)
              • • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Soyweiser
        • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Jeffrey Kesselman
        • • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Jon Mayo
          • • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Raph Koster
            • • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Kerry Fraser-Robinson
              • • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD John Szeder
                • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD cruise
                • • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Lachek Butalek
                  • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Michael Hartman
                  • • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Peter Keeler
                    • • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Jon Mayo
                      • • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Michael Hartman
                    • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Kerry Fraser-Robinson
                    • • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD cruise
                      • • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Adam Martin
                        • • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Acius
                  • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Morris Cox
                  • • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Jon Mayo
              • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Michael Hartman
              • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Jeffrey Kesselman
              • • Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Raph Koster
      • [Design] Design challenge: Bed-time game John Buehler
• Bad Terminology: MMO, MMORPG vs. MUD Jeffrey Kesselman