[MUD-Dev] Usability and interface

[clawrenc at cup.hp.com]

In <342f30e9.10505055 at relay.mnsinc.com>, on 09/20/97 
   at 03:14 PM, caliban at darklock.com (Caliban Tiresias Darklock) said:

>On Fri, 19 Sep 1997 21:43:02 PST8PDT, Adam Wiggins
><nightfall at user2.inficad.com> wrote:

>From the administrative angle, if I logged onto a MUD, and some dork
>picked me up and took me off someplace and dropped me, I would be
>pretty pissed. Especially if he was able to put me into a room
>without going in himself, in which case he could toss me into a trap
>or into a vicious gang of dragons. Considering these possibilities, I
>would be very hesitant to allow people to pick up other players, and
>very wary of anyone who disliked this restriction. This comes under
>the heading of bad things happening to my character without any kind
>of consent.

At which point I note a couple of the more interesting puzzles from SX
MUD (MUD1 I guess) which were later removed for MUD2 and its slow
death under BT:

  1) There existed in the land a paper bag.  The bag internally was
comprised of two rooms.  Players of sufficient level could "pick up"
other players and put them in the bag.  They could then cart them
about in the bag, and later take them back out again.  This was a very
popular trick, initially used to show things (such as how to get
somewhere or do something) to other players without revealing any
secrets.  

The bag also has a command which allowed the carrier to peer in thru
the top of the bag to see what was going on in the two rooms of the
bag.  Thus he could observe what his wards were doing...

It didn't take long before the use of the bag as a trap was
discovered.   Players were dropped in the bag and left there to get
them out of the way, or well armed friends were dropped in after them
to kill them in a more controlled environment etc.

Shortly after that someone discovered that the White Dragon (the most
feared, aggro, and unkillable mobile in the game) could also be picked
up and dropped in the bag.  Very quickly the bag game changed to: 
Find as many players as you can and put them in the bag, then get the
dragon and drop him in too, peer in the top to watch the
slaughter/fun.


  2) It was also possible to get the mace and various other objects,
perform various perverse rituals etc, insert the mace into a hole
before the King's throne in the throne room and have the throne room
turn into a B52 Bomber (yes, the Enola Gay), with a large red button
appearing on the arm of the throne.  Pushing the button reset the game
__without__ logging the button pusher off.  This was a significant
advantage as logging into SX MUD was a aomewhat lengthy process --
during which the game-nuker could have free-reign of the game, gaining
all/many of the key objects.  

>I might provide special circumstances, like the ability to pick up a
>player *provided* he was unconscious or dead. But this still has
>potential for abuse. 

I'd note that most of the fun things in life are fettening...err,
uhh...all of the fun things in MUDs are opportunities for abuse
disguised as fun things.  I don't see that attempting to prevent abuse
on the one hand with technical systems, and ehance the fun on the
other with the same systems is profitable or needed.

>And this is just the sort of game balance idea that looks simple and
>easy until you stop to think about how it could be used. ;)

Which is where the value comes in.

Ignoring that fact that the second puzzle above is centered on a
reset-based game, I expect that you'd consider both of them "bad",
whereas I look on them as highly laudable if not almost ideal examples
of excellent puzzle and game design.  

That fact doesn't really say much in any absolute terms, just that we
prefer different games.

--
J C Lawrence                           Internet: claw at null.net
(Contractor)                           Internet: coder at ibm.net
---------------(*)               Internet: clawrenc at cup.hp.com
...Honorary Member Clan McFUD -- Teamer's Avenging Monolith...