[MUD-Dev] A Founding Father Forgotten

[Matt Mihaly]

On Thu, 20 Mar 2003, Michael Tresca wrote:
> On Wednesday 12 March 2003 11:29, Scott Miller wrote:

>> Today I wrote a story for the website I used to run. After
>> attending the MUD-Dev dinner, I felt that this was a story that
>> needed to be told. I am sure that some of you know who Dave
>> Arneson is, yet there are far to many who do not.

>> You can find the story here:

>>   http://www.unknownplayer.com/archive/03/03/12/1453.php

> I was quite surprised myself, Scott, when I discovered just how
> many game developers don't have pen-and-paper RPG experience. Or
> worse, consider it beneath them.

Why? Pen and Paper are a completely different medium. Certainly
there are artifacts of design (classes, for instance) taken from P&P
games, but I see almost no cross-over unless the designer chooses to
go that route. I would tend to argue, in fact, that they are so
different that it's harmful to try and apply P&P fundamentals to
virtual worlds. Certainly all the designs I do have almost nothing
to do with the standard hack n' slash Everquest-type mechanic found
in D&D or whatnot. It's not beneath me; it's just irrelevant to me.

--matt


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