[MUD-Dev] Continuous versus Discrete Functions

[Koster]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Buehler

>> One of the common struggles when giving flexibility to players is
>> "give 'em too much, and they'll min/max it into the ground"
>> vs. "give 'em too little, and you're basically not giving them
>> anything at all".
 
> Balance seems to be half (or more) of what vocal players concern
> themselves with (i.e. complain about) in these games.  Is it
> possible that a smart game designer could obviate that entire
> problem by eliminating the player-versus-player race that forms
> the absolute backbone of games of this genre?

I am not sure you can without also removing all forms of
feedback. People simply like to compare themselves to
others. "Keeping up with the Joneses."  Yes, you can minimize it by
removing many of the common design techniques, having more ladders
to climb, trying to find ways to recognize every player for whatever
special niche they occupy--but they'll find ways to compare
themselves and form a pecking order.

-Raph
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