[MUD-Dev] Level abstractions - Realism vs Game Issues

[Nathan Yospe]

On Thu, 14 Aug 1997 clawrenc at cup.hp.com wrote:

:In <Pine.GSO.3.95q.970812162448.18291A-100000 at uhunix2>, on 08/14/97 
:   at 07:01 AM, Nathan Yospe <yospe at hawaii.edu> said:
:
:>On Sun, 10 Aug 1997, Adam Wiggins wrote:
:
:>I hope that reaction (yanking the axe and drawing the sword) was a
:>computer handled reflex... this list is populated with wimps
:>(kidding, really, c'mon guys, put down that LART, it was a joke...)
:>who don't want to offend people's senses of dominance over their mud
:>bodies by letting the bodies act instinctively or reflexively, even
:>in high stress situations.
:
:I'd suggest that human players do enough reflexive and reactive
:thinking in situations of MUD-stress to satisfy that need (I've seen
:players hurl their bodies out of their chairs when killed, faces drawn
:and white, far too close to adreniline shock for comfort).  Given
:that, wouldn't coding it into the MUD characters tend to prevent the
:case of the nerves-of-steel chap, or the fellow who is normally an
:utter wimp, but this one time knows exactly what he is getting into,
:has steeled himself, and with teeth gritted bulls his way thru as a
:temporary piece of stone?

No, to the first... nerves-of-steel is a very explicit tracked condition
of your character, and the second case would require the character to
spend a great deal of time bracing himself - something that a character
can (and should) do in such situations. And your hurling self bit reminds
me of my days, six or seven years ago, playing on a Nintendo... I'm not
trying for that effect. I want the story to play out for you, from your
character's perspective. And that means emotional and intelectual
perspective as well as physical. And I want you to have to _fight_ (and in
character, no less) to do anything that is out of character for your
character.

"You? We can't take you," said the Dean, glaring at the Librarian.
"You don't know a thing about guerilla warfare." - Reaper Man,
Nathan F. Yospe  Registered Looney                   by Terry Pratchett
yospe at hawaii.edu   http://www2.hawaii.edu/~yospe           Meow