[MUD-Dev] Permadeath or Not?

[Ananda Dawnsinger]

> From: "J. Eric Townsend" <jet at well.com>
> Reply-To: mud-dev at kanga.nu
> Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 11:43:24 -0800 (PST)
> To: mud-dev at kanga.nu
> Subject: Re: [MUD-Dev] Permadeath or Not?
> 
> "Jeff" == Jeff Freeman <skeptack at antisocial.com> writes:
> 
> Jeff> Here's a zone with bears and wolves wandering around in it.  You
> Jeff> want players to wander around in it hunting for bears and
> Jeff> wolves.  But you put a freakishly HARD mob (or two, or three)
> Jeff> out there in the zone wandering around with the bears and the
> Jeff> wolves. 
> 
> That's it in a nutshell.
> 
> It's not a zone of bears and wolves and maybe a couple of really
> strong bears or wolfs that you might have a chance of at least running
> away from.
> 
> I'm going to show my ignorance here (I've never designed a zone or
> level, and my pencil-and-paper days were a decade ago) and ask why on
> earth anyone would put together such a zone/dungeon/level?
> 
> If the uber-mob is generally friendly, perhaps it isn't a problem.
> But why on Earth would you have a hostile uber-MOB wandering around
> that can whack anyone without them even having a chance of running
> away?

I can think of a few reasons offhand, some more compelling than
others:

1) The inevitability of death slows down player advancement, keeping
players from reaching too high a level in too short a period of time.

2) The constant threat of inevitable death adds a sense of danger
("excitement") that might not otherwise be available from hunting
creatures at your level.

3) The threat of inevitable death leads to a sense of community as the
players in the zone band together to track and avoid the uber-mob.

4) Uber-mobs encourage high-level players to hunt in a generally
low-level area, leading to interaction between newbies and veterans.

Now, as far as I'm concerned, 1 and 2 aren't reasons in their own
right, but ways of patching up weaknesses in game design --
overly-rapid advancement in case 1, lack of challenge and intrinsic
interest in case 2.  (Not a slam on EQ -- show me a game system that's
perfectly balanced and unbreakable even under severe overpopulation
and stress, and I'll nominate the designers for a Nobel Prize.)  3 and
4 are real reasons, but I'm not sure they're worth insta-killing
characters.

I can see doing something like this on occasion, especially in areas
that are supposed to be dangerous.  But not in every freakin' zone.

--
Sharon Mock (Ananda Dawnsinger)
Worldbuilding Lead and Loremistress General,
(project to be named later)


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