[MUD-Dev] D&D vs. MMORPG "complexity"

[Matt Mihaly]

On Sat, 12 Apr 2003, Zach Collins (Siege) wrote:
> On Wed, 9 Apr 2003, Matt Mihaly wrote:

>> Fair enough. I'm not familiar with those at all. I have a lot of
>> D&D source material (granted, it's all 1st or 2nd edition AD&D)
>> though and at least judging by that I am wholly unimpressed by
>> its ability to deal with group vs. group interaction,
>> particularly competitive group vs. group interaction.

> AD&D does not appear to have been meant for group-to-group
> interaction in the first place.  However, why not try LARP rules?
> There is still the need for live GMs, but five people can run a
> game of as many as thirty players.  A few more assistant GMs, and
> games can have over a hundred people playing.  Even for smaller
> LARPs, the politics can get intense, especially for a system
> designed to encourage it.

No, AD&D wasn't designed for group vs. group interaction, which was
my point. The complexity arising from large-scale populations is
mainly missing from AD&D.

> Looking at a Living City campaign and saying that D&D has complex
> economics is a flawed viewpoint.  Rather, the setting, players,
> and data have combined to create some complex economics and
> politics which are not supported by the written rules of the game.
> This is like having a combat MUD where the players are more into
> trading and social conflict.

Well, except that some combat muds (Achaea has been called a combat
mud) provide extensive hard rule support for that kind of thing.

--matt


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