[MUD-Dev] Removing the almighty experience point...

[Johan]

Ben Hawes <cruise at casual-tempest.net> wrote:
> Vincent Archer wrote:

>> That is one of the factors. Most games now enforce a "required
>> level" on items, to avoid the Everquest "twink" syndrome, where a
>> level 5 warrior could once be equipped with the best gear in
>> game.

>> As a result, until you are maxed or close to max, equipment is
>> "the junk I use for now". It's not efficient to spend time at a
>> given level to acquire cool stuff; in 5 levels, you're going to
>> outgrow all that, and get access to a complete new set of cooler
>> stuff.

>> So, if the game itself reduces the reasons for doing something
>> other than getting XP, what's surprising about the fact that
>> people tend to focus on that to the exclusion of everything else.

> Which is why it's been argued before that "magical" equipment
> should be rare - A +1 sword might be a warriors treasured
> possession, kept throughout an entire career.

> One of the reasons I feel CoH has done so well is because you can
> create a distinct and /unchanging/ persona in game. Your costume
> is your costume and you don't look complete different every few
> levels, which leads to a greater sense of attachment to your
> avatar. And you can learn to recognise others on sight...

I would never play a game where I looked the same for 3 years. New
items are the best thing there are in MMORPGs. Also changing your
look would go against the "rule" of a superhero so this decision is
understandable.

As for +1 sword's being a rare thing. They are, maybe not a +1 sword
since it's a too small a change to spend 4 hours raiding for, but
"uber" item's certainly are difficult to get, something that doesn’t
go down well with the casual player of course.

When it comes to people seeing equipment as "the junk I use for now"
I completely agree. I play like that too depending on how fast I can
level. In a game like WoW I would just power to 50 or 60 with
whatever I get my hands on since you level so fast, then I start
worrying about items. A fast levelling curve encourages you to skip
content and honestly, since when is it fun being max level? It must
be like going to the moon, sure it must have been fun planning and
building, anticipation and finally going, but once there, what the
heck is there to do?

A slow curve however ensure long-term play and makes you consume
every little bit of content there is for your current level
range. Of course, the time it takes to level must not go to extremes
but what sense of accomplishment are there when you max out after a
few weeks?

-- Johan
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