[MUD-Dev] Time limited worlds (Was NEWS: Why Virtual Worlds are Designed By Newbies - No, Really (By R. Bartle))

[Mike Rozak]

Hulbert, Leland wrote:

> Release a game, at $19.95 per month (or whatever the market will
> bear), and have the final goal of the game include finding a
> gateway to another world.  Make sure that the content on this
> journey takes enough time to give you a chance to develop world 2.
> At the appropriate time, allow the final quest to be finished, and
> open the new world.

I kind of agree, except for one problem...

If you require that a player completes virtual world A before
undertaking virtual world B, then virtual world B will always have
fewer players than started A because players will drop out. Even if
you keep 90% of your players from A to B, and B to C, etc., by the
time you get to virtual world Z you have only 6% of your original
players.

While you could have some series of worlds, akin to trilogies in
books, you probably couldn't go more than 3 or 4 VWs in a row, and
you couldnt require that players finished A before moving onto
B. (For example: I can read Harry Potter book #4 without having read
#1, although I don't get as much out of it.) In the case of a VW,
players that finished A could transfer their character to B. Those
that never played A would have a new character created with
appropriate levels/items, and some extra backstory thrown in so
they're not lost.

Alternatively, the "next" virtual world in the list could be a
recommendation. A player just finished a horror-VW, why not
recommend a handful of other horror VWs from the same
author/company...

Mike Rozak
http://www.mxac.com.au
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