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<H1>Re: [MUD-Dev] Usability and interface</H1>
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<LI><em>To</em>: <<A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#null,net">mud-dev#null,net</A>></LI>
<LI><em>Subject</em>: Re: [MUD-Dev] Usability and interface</LI>
<LI><em>From</em>: "Travis Casey" <<A HREF="mailto:efindel#polaris,net">efindel#polaris,net</A>></LI>
<LI><em>Date</em>: Sat, 27 Sep 1997 19:31:55 -0400</LI>
<LI><em>Reply-To</em>: "Travis Casey" <<A HREF="mailto:efindel#io,com">efindel#io,com</A>></LI>
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<PRE>
Caliban Tiresias Darklock <caliban#darklock,com> wrote:
>On Thu, 25 Sep 1997 20:40:41 PST8PDT, "Travis Casey"
><efindel#polaris,net> wrote:
>
>>Caliban Tiresias Darklock <caliban#darklock,com> wrote:
>>I hope you didn't mean what you said there... after all, in order to be
able
>>to play the game as long as *you* want to play it, irrespective of
anything
>>else, your character would have to only be able to die if you wanted it
to.
>>("The dragon killed me because I'm only first level? But I still want to
>>play!")
>
>I think it should be rather obvious that from my preferences, I don't
>like permanent death. Removing permanent death as a game requirement
>opens up a tremendous number of things which I consider unacceptable on
>a permadeath MUD.
Of course, it also makes the mud less like a roleplaying game and more
like a video game, which many of us don't like. Personally, I like the
idea of permanent death -- however, (1) that doesn't mean that *all* deaths
have to be permanent -- AD&D has permanent death, but characters can still
come back from the dead sometimes, and (2) if death stands a chance of being
permanent, it should also be less common than it is on most muds --
otherwise,
the players will spend too much of their time making new characters, and not
enough playing.
>>A more reasonable version might be, "I want a character that I can
continue
>>to play as long as I'm reasonably cautious."
>
>I think it's perfectly reasonable to expect that I can be completely
>reckless, and still keep playing as long as I like.
I don't -- or at least, I don't think that you should be able to be
completely
reckless and keep playing *the same character* as long as you like.
Basically, this boils down to a difference in tastes -- neither of us is
right or wrong, any more than we would be if, say, you liked chocolate ice
cream and I liked vanilla. All it means is that we won't both be happy on
the same mud.
>>Something I've thought about off and on is a fantasy mud where "dead"
>>characters go to the celestial realms to be reincarnated -- i.e., to redo
>>the character with the possibility of changing race, etc. The
reincarnated
>>characters would be better than a normal starting character, according to
>>how successful they'd been in previous lives.
>
>Like for example, you just cut a few points off major statistics and
>allow the player to reassign where they are and choose new
>race/class/skills/whatever? I like that... particularly if you can just
>hit the go button and keep all the same assignments, except for the loss
>of those few points.
Exactly. This allows some continuity of characters, and even gives a
game-world reason for it. Of course, the "reason" of reincarnation doesn't
work very well, since the new character doesn't start out as a newborn, but
that's less of a strain on believability than the traditional mud "death"
system, IMHO.
--
|\ _,,,---,,_ Travis S. Casey <efindel#io,com>
ZZzz /,`.-'`' -. ;-;;,_ No one agrees with me. Not even me.
|,4- ) )-,_..;\ ( `'-' visit the rec.games.design FAQ:
'---''(_/--' `-'\_) <A HREF="http://www.io.com/~efindel/design.html">http://www.io.com/~efindel/design.html</A>
</PRE>
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<ul><li>Thread context:
<BLOCKQUOTE><UL>
<LI><STRONG>Re: [MUD-Dev] Usability and interface</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM>
<ul compact>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01466" HREF="msg01466.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Usability and interface</A></strong>,
Travis Casey <a href="mailto:efindel#polaris,net">efindel#polaris,net</a>, Fri 26 Sep 1997, 00:10 GMT
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01483" HREF="msg01483.html">[MUD-Dev] Usability and interface</A></strong>,
Maddy <a href="mailto:maddy#fysh,org">maddy#fysh,org</a>, Fri 26 Sep 1997, 13:26 GMT
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01488" HREF="msg01488.html">[MUD-Dev] Usability and interface</A></strong>,
Maddy <a href="mailto:maddy#fysh,org">maddy#fysh,org</a>, Fri 26 Sep 1997, 14:08 GMT
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01504" HREF="msg01504.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Usability and interface</A></strong>,
Chris Gray <a href="mailto:cg#ami-cg,GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA">cg#ami-cg,GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA</a>, Sat 27 Sep 1997, 06:01 GMT
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01515" HREF="msg01515.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Usability and interface</A></strong>,
Travis Casey <a href="mailto:efindel#polaris,net">efindel#polaris,net</a>, Sat 27 Sep 1997, 23:29 GMT
</LI>
</ul>
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01323" HREF="msg01323.html">RE: [MUD-Dev] Types of game</A></strong>,
Koster, Raph <a href="mailto:rkoster#origin,ea.com">rkoster#origin,ea.com</a>, Sat 20 Sep 1997, 19:45 GMT
<UL>
<li><Possible follow-up(s)><br>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01334" HREF="msg01334.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Types of game</A></strong>,
Travis Casey <a href="mailto:efindel#polaris,net">efindel#polaris,net</a>, Sun 21 Sep 1997, 02:24 GMT
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01347" HREF="msg01347.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Types of game</A></strong>,
Travis Casey <a href="mailto:efindel#polaris,net">efindel#polaris,net</a>, Sun 21 Sep 1997, 23:52 GMT
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01316" HREF="msg01316.html">Types of game</A></strong>,
Matt Chatterley <a href="mailto:root#mpc,dyn.ml.org">root#mpc,dyn.ml.org</a>, Sat 20 Sep 1997, 14:07 GMT
</LI>
</UL></BLOCKQUOTE>
</ul>
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