[MUD-Dev] Re: MMO Communities

[zgj22 at drexel.edu]

Quoth Tom Hunter:

> Brad McQuaid wrote that he was trying to design the best game he
> could when he was working on Everquest.  The best game he could
> design sold really well.  Does anyone think he would have increased
> profits by building the second best game that he could?

If building the "second best game that he could" fit the user-base
better, then yes, I think he could. What if Brad's 2nd best version
(and I don't presume to know anything about it, or even if there was
one) had left out/replaced one of the things that a majority of the
people who play EQ always gripe about? Sales could go up, and so
would profit. [1]

The root of the matter is that he was designing the best game that
he could, using his knowledge of what that "best game" was (in this
case a DikuMUD). In this case, it just so happened that his best
game was a worldwide success. (Not to diminish the accomplishment of
course)

A better (but more personal) example: I consider myself to have
relatively extreme ideas of what a properly designed massive "does"
and what it "should be". In many cases, I know that what I want
would not make the game more profitable. In many cases, it could
actually make it much worse (by limiting the game to a more specific
audience).

Say I am placed in a situation where I can choose to make more money
rather than follow my ideals as a (albeit novice) game designer. Say
I choose profit over design. Would I be making a game that is worse
than the one I started with? Yes. However, is it more profitable?
Yes. Why is this so? Because limiting/changing a certain aspect of
design can make the game appeal to a larger audience, or cause
greater retention of its initial one. [2]

  [1] Remember, this is a purely hypothetical situation.

  [2] Example: Consider perm-death for characters. The general trend
  in MMPs so far is that perm-death is bad for the health of the
  game. A player can lose his/her sense of accomplishment when that
  happens, and thus presents a risk of leaving. (gross
  simplification)

--
Zachary Jensen
GPG Public Key:
http://search.keyserver.net (Key ID 0238F90D)
http://www.cs.drexel.edu/~zgj22/
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