[MUD-Dev] What I want, what players want

[Chris Jacobson]

On 5/27/00 10:10 PM, Andrew Ritchie (ritchie at pacific.net.au) stated:

>This brings me to my question. I can spend years on my Xanadu, and finish
>designing my dream. However, I believe that my dream is not similar to the
>majority of MUDders, and would only attract a very small playerbase.
>Alternatively, I can create a fun MUD which has 'player-friendly' features,
>which could attract many players.  However, there still would be something
>missing for me, because I would not have created my dream.  Which path
>should I follow?

This is a topic that I have personal experience with.

I run Aliens vs Predator, a fairly popular sci-fi PvP Mud.  My ideas of 
how the game should be run are not always acceptable to the players, yet 
I have realized that without the players, the game wouldn't be fun at 
all.  So I have to reach a compromise, offering the majority of people 
what they want, in a manner I want.

IF the players were paying to play, I would have to listen to them far 
more than I do if they aren't paying.  But I do have to listen to them, 
as the game is already established.  In the end, rather than making the 
game what I want, I make it a mix of what the players want and what I 
want.  And by doing so, and attracting a decent playerbase, any OTHER 
project I start on will have many people interested in it... this is 
essentially how many of the "free-product" net businesses start up - get 
a product of low or no cost out there that people really like, and build 
a name.  Once you have that name, you have a group of people ready to 
take interest in whatever project you take up next.  Red Hat may not make 
much money now, but what computer user doesn't know the name Red Hat?  
Napster may not make any money now, but what teenage computer user hasn't 
heard of Napster?  I may not have a for-profit RPG out yet, but I have 
several hundred people actively interested in it, even at it's early 
design phase, solely because it's "Something FearItself is working on."

- Chris Jacobson



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