FW: [MUD-Dev] Interesting EQ rant (very long quote)

[Zak Jarvis]

> From: John Buehler [johnbue at msn.com]
> Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2001 11:21 AM
 
> My approach:

> Character knowledge must be represented.  When two characters meet,
> they have to use a less-frequently used mechanism in order to
> transfer knowledge, despite the fact that they normally just use
> 'say' to talk to each other.  When the character wants to use the
> password, it uses it.  The player doesn't get involved with the
> value of the password at all.

I think perhaps the basic problem here is the assumption that
suspension = of disbelief is required for role-playing, and perhaps
more profoundly, = that it's a desirable end result.  I've given a lot
of thought to = modeling character knowledge versus player knowledge,
I've previously = come to the same conclusions you seem to have; that
player knowledge can = disrupt, that players who aren't 'in character'
bring others 'out of = character', that not being *in* the environment
is a bad thing.

I've sense tossed out all those theories. They're were all built
around = my initial honeymoon period with multiplayer games. I grew
gradually = more and more disillusioned with it until finally I felt
"Dammit! No one = takes this world seriously!".

Of course they didn't. It was a *game*. Moreover, it was a game that =
could never, ever live up to the billing of an alternate world. It's =
going to be a very long time if *ever* before we have the tools and =
power to create simulations so all encompassing that they players
cannot = pass through the field of decoherance and see the man sitting
behind the = curtain (just to mix my metaphors with a blender). Worse,
the more = compellingly real the world is, the harder and more
acrimoniously the = players who've suspended their disbelief are going
to hit that wall. The = first player to find all the parts he needs to
build a gene sequencer to = analyze his hair is going to be mightily
pissed off when he discovers = that the sequence codes for black hair
when he very clearly has red. = Especially if he already built a
telescope and found binary stars, = tested his blood type,
successfully cultured some strep bacteria and = spent good money on a
vacation to a remote desert so he could find a = myrrh tree which
smelled *just* right.

It's more desirable -- IMHO -- to build a compelling game which is =
internally consistent and fun and let the players hang their
characters = off that than it is to ensure that those characters only
know what they = should.

That said, I *do* think there's loads of room to build character =
knowledge into games, and it's a great way of making them more =
accessible. The important part of the design is that it be a fun game
= mechanic that people enjoy.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
"We are dust and a shadow - the dream of history."
"We are the hungry ghosts crying "Remember me, Remember me"."
    -Shriekback

-Zak Jarvis
 http://www.voidmonster.com

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