[MUD-Dev] wherefor in-game artists?

[Matt Mihaly]

Robert Zubek wrote:

> I don't think it's the mechanics by themselves that work against
> them. Castle Marrach by Skotos, a text-based game of role-playing
> and intrigue, is my favorite example. When I played it some time
> ago, they had a surprisingly huge creative subculture (within the
> limits of the text interface, of course, which constrained the
> form to creative writing, poetry, etc). From what I understand,
> this happened because Skotos had actively nurtured artistic
> expression - from the game's very beginning they had seeded a
> number of communities and social structures in which artistic
> creation was valued, and nurtured their development with unique
> in-game rewards.

> It also seems to have helped that they highly constrained the game
> - it took place in one small building, with no access to weapons,
> money, or player stats. This effectively selected against killers,
> and the more obsessive among explorers and achievers (one could
> still explore and achieve in the social domain, of course).

The absence of killers, explorers, and achievers isn't necessary to
foster a creative community though. Just providing mechanism for
people to express themselves creatively without being unduly
harassed by other players is enough to get it started. Toss in a few
rewards and the creativity will come pouring out. We hold monthly
art and writing contests that get a lot of submissions (so much so
that at one point we nearly got rid of the writing competitions
because judging them meant reading such a volume of material) and
have a formalized theater system complete with 'special effects',
customizeable props, costumes, masks, and so on that troupes use to
put on plays. I know UO players have done similar things.

--matt
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