[MUD-Dev] Re: WIRED: Kilers have more fun

[Michael.Willey at abnamro.com]

     ____________________Reply Separator____________________
     Subject:  [MUD-Dev] Re: WIRED: Kilers have more fun
     Author:   mud-dev at kanga.nu ("S. Patrick Gallaty" <choke at sirius.com>)
     Date:          7/9/98 10:28 PM

-----Original Message-----
>From: Michael.Willey at abnamro.com <Michael.Willey at abnamro.com>
>To: mud-dev at kanga.nu <mud-dev at kanga.nu>
>Date: Thursday, 09 July 1998 13:55
>Subject: [MUD-Dev] Re: WIRED: Kilers have more fun
>
>
>>     ____________________Reply Separator____________________
>>     Subject:  [MUD-Dev] Re: WIRED: Killers have more fun
>>     Author:   mud-dev at kanga.nu ("S. Patrick Gallaty"
><choke at sirius.com>)
>>     Date:          7/9/98 7:55 PM
>>
>>
>>I will say that my game is skill-based and classless, and we
>>have very few of these kinds of problems.  I've always found
>>that our community was rather strong, but it's strength comes as
>>much from a stable and interactive administration than from a
>>group of players.
>>
>
>But is it so small that the presence of your admins is a factor?
>I am thinking about games with populations so large that the
>admin staff presence isn't a consideration.

Yes, it is a rather small game.  50 players at once would be a busy
night, and that figure is dramatically down now due to an extended
hiatus.  I don't suggest that our approach is really scaleable.  I
also think that our sense of community centers much more around the
staff than the players.  I think it's because the staff is a more
stable group than the players, both in population/membership and in
terms of having responsibility to the community.

I also see our sense of community as separate from the game.
Drawing from Dr. Bartle's suits, the community is formed mostly by
Hearts, who as a group aren't terribly interested in the game.
We have a hard-core group of Spades, both as players and staff (I
personally fall into this category).  They stick around to explore
a game written by Spades for Spades and they become attached to
the mud.  We have far fewer Diamonds than most combat muds, but we
do like to encourage them.  At least some of them stick around.
Clubs are routinely taken out back and shot.  In our view, the
staff forms an important part of the community, which is separate
from the game.  This seems radically different from the idea of a
community by players for players.

>
>>On your second point:  Anonymity is both a blessing and a curse
>>throughout the online world:  People feel free to say and do
>>things they would never do without the blanket of anonymity,
>>whether that be to speak out for a radical idea or to harass
>>people at random.  Do you take the bad with the good, or do you
>>throw the baby out with the bathwater?
>>
>
>I don't mean anonymity outside the game, yes absolutely I want
>my players real names etc. never to be revealed.  I mean that
>their in-game identity should be worth something to them.  I
>want them to *work hard* to get up from newbie to 'middling'.
>
>In other words, they should be concerned that they have a bad
>reputation...

How do you encourage that in your mud?