<!-- MHonArc v2.4.4 --> <!--X-Subject: Re: [MUD-Dev] The impact of the web on muds --> <!--X-From-R13: [vxr Eryyref <zvxrNbayvar-nypurzl.pbz> --> <!--X-Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 16:30:13 +0000 --> <!--X-Message-Id: 3.0.32.19980121081859.00774e18@online-alchemy.com --> <!--X-Content-Type: text/plain --> <!--X-Head-End--> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <html> <head> <title>MUD-Dev message, Re: [MUD-Dev] The impact of the web on muds</title> <!-- meta name="robots" content="noindex,nofollow" --> <link rev="made" href="mailto:mike#online-alchemy,com"> </head> <body background="/backgrounds/paperback.gif" bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000" link="#0000FF" alink="#FF0000" vlink="#006000"> <font size="+4" color="#804040"> <strong><em>MUD-Dev<br>mailing list archive</em></strong> </font> <br> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] <br clear=all><hr> <!--X-Body-Begin--> <!--X-User-Header--> <!--X-User-Header-End--> <!--X-TopPNI--> Date: [ <a href="msg00269.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00271.html">Next</a> ] Thread: [ <a href="msg00273.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00272.html">Next</a> ] Index: [ <A HREF="author.html#00270">Author</A> | <A HREF="#00270">Date</A> | <A HREF="thread.html#00270">Thread</A> ] <!--X-TopPNI-End--> <!--X-MsgBody--> <!--X-Subject-Header-Begin--> <H1>Re: [MUD-Dev] The impact of the web on muds</H1> <HR> <!--X-Subject-Header-End--> <!--X-Head-of-Message--> <UL> <LI><em>To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#null,net">mud-dev#null,net</A></LI> <LI><em>Subject</em>: Re: [MUD-Dev] The impact of the web on muds</LI> <LI><em>From</em>: Mike Sellers <<A HREF="mailto:mike#online-alchemy,com">mike#online-alchemy,com</A>></LI> <LI><em>Date</em>: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 08:27:37 -0800</LI> </UL> <!--X-Head-of-Message-End--> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-Begin--> <HR> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-End--> <!--X-Body-of-Message--> <PRE> At 10:12 PM 1/20/98 PST8PDT, Brandon J. Rickman wrote: >I like to think that although there is a vocal share of the gaming >audience that demands the fanciest graphics requiring the fastest >machines, this visually oriented/impaired group is only a very small >part of the potential audience for VR and virtual environments. True. But those people are the capstone of the customer base, and to a large degree drive it. Those who do not demand the fanciest graphics nevertheless *do* demand what were the fanciest graphics of no more than 4-5 years ago. IOW, the demand is not static for the bulk of the population, and it is the early-adopter/neophiles who drive this demand. >People who demand the best (the most sophisticated) graphics are pretty >much stating that they don't want visual ambiguity or abstraction to be >part of the game. I'm not sure that's the case. That's sort of like saying that those who demand the greatest audio fidelity in their speakers want to hear only precisely performed Mozart, and not jazz or hip hop. There is a difference between a desire for better visual resolution, color usage, frame rate, lighting effects, and overall immersiveness, and not wanting visual abstraction or ambiguity. Actually, a game that involved Dali-esque or Escher-esque visual ambiguities has never been possible before, but it might be now, or soon (there are a couple of scenes from "The Labyrinth" movie that might be very interesting to reproduce in a game). >But ambiguity seems to be one of the potential >merits of text, so maybe it's not possible to please the people that >want cool graphics at the same time as the people who want compelling >environments. To me this is just a variant of calling people who like graphics functionally illiterate. I don't think that's the case at all. Look, for example, at the evolution of graphically and intellectually simple comic books into graphically and intellectually sophisticated "graphic novels." There is definitely still a lot of schlock out there in the comics world, but there are other stories, from "When the Wind Blows" to "Maus" to "Moby Dick" that make unique use of the graphical medium in a way that satisfies both eye and mind. In other words, I think the perceived split between those who want cool graphics and those who want compelling environments is a false and misleading dichotomy. >The point isn't to argue against graphic-based muds but rather to figure >out how to introduce the good qualities of text muds to a 2- or 3-D >mud. Often 3D designers use level of detail (LOD) to "simplify" >objects that may be far away from the user. It is a practical concern: >too many polygons will slow down the graphics, and since things in the >distance are so small, no one will notice or care if they have less >detail. But why "things in the distance" and not "things of no >current interest"? New, dynamic-LOD/progressive-mesh engines will to some degree do away with this arbitrary simplification. >So maybe the dragon you are fighting has a really low polygon count. >You can see that is it green, and you've fought hundreds of green dragons >before, so you don't really care to examine it any closer. The difference is that a brief text description is not equivalent with a low-poly-count monster. You could, I suppose, present a nicely rendered model using basic textures rather than special ones, if the basic ones rendered faster -- but who's to say that this is the right thing to do? You've fought a hundred green dragons before, but always marvelled at the way their scales sparkled in the sunlight as the last of the life shuddered out of them. You don't get that with low-poly count/basic texture/brief description monsters. > >What this seems to be leading to: "looking" is an action. For the most >part, you can look for free in text muds, and you can hardly avoid it in >2/3D muds. Looking in detail is sometimes not a free action, but the >current 2/3D philosophy is that looking is always free. Not necessarily. The equivalent of an "examine" command is a good idea, I think: it takes time and focus, but might show you something you'd otherwise miss. The nifty thing about a graphical world is that you can show the user the more detailed version of the object, but you don't have to actually *tell* them about it. So are those parts of the design on the chest really teeth, or am I imagining things? Is that a pin with a glob of poison on it, or just a trick of the light? Sometimes such ambiguities are easier to bring off with graphics than with plain text. -- Mike Sellers Chief Alchemist -- Online Alchemy mike#online-alchemy,com "One of the most difficult tasks men can perform, however much others may despise it, is the invention of good games. And it cannot be done by men out of touch with their instinctive values." - Carl Jung </PRE> <!--X-Body-of-Message-End--> <!--X-MsgBody-End--> <!--X-Follow-Ups--> <HR> <ul compact><li><strong>Follow-Ups</strong>: <ul> <li><strong><A NAME="00272" HREF="msg00272.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] The impact of the web on muds</A></strong> <ul compact><li><em>From:</em> Marian Griffith <gryphon#iaehv,nl></li></ul> </UL></LI></UL> <!--X-Follow-Ups-End--> <!--X-References--> <!--X-References-End--> <!--X-BotPNI--> <UL> <LI>Prev by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00269.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] The impact of the web on muds</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00271.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] The impact of the web on muds</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Prev by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00273.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] The impact of the web on muds</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00272.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] The impact of the web on muds</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Index(es): <UL> <LI><A HREF="index.html#00270"><STRONG>Date</STRONG></A></LI> <LI><A HREF="thread.html#00270"><STRONG>Thread</STRONG></A></LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> <!--X-BotPNI-End--> <!--X-User-Footer--> <!--X-User-Footer-End--> <ul><li>Thread context: <BLOCKQUOTE><UL> <LI><STRONG>Re: [MUD-Dev] The impact of the web on muds</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM> <ul compact> <ul compact> <LI><strong><A NAME="00269" HREF="msg00269.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] The impact of the web on muds</A></strong>, Ling <a href="mailto:K.L.Lo-94#student,lboro.ac.uk">K.L.Lo-94#student,lboro.ac.uk</a>, Wed 21 Jan 1998, 10:33 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00283" HREF="msg00283.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] The impact of the web on muds</A></strong>, Michael Hohensee <a href="mailto:michael#mainstream,net">michael#mainstream,net</a>, Thu 22 Jan 1998, 17:01 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00284" HREF="msg00284.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] The impact of the web on muds</A></strong>, Michael Hohensee <a href="mailto:michael#sparta,mainstream.net">michael#sparta,mainstream.net</a>, Thu 22 Jan 1998, 17:17 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00273" HREF="msg00273.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] The impact of the web on muds</A></strong>, Marian Griffith <a href="mailto:gryphon#iaehv,nl">gryphon#iaehv,nl</a>, Wed 21 Jan 1998, 20:50 GMT </LI> </ul> <LI><strong><A NAME="00270" HREF="msg00270.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] The impact of the web on muds</A></strong>, Mike Sellers <a href="mailto:mike#online-alchemy,com">mike#online-alchemy,com</a>, Wed 21 Jan 1998, 16:30 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00272" HREF="msg00272.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] The impact of the web on muds</A></strong>, Marian Griffith <a href="mailto:gryphon#iaehv,nl">gryphon#iaehv,nl</a>, Wed 21 Jan 1998, 20:59 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00274" HREF="msg00274.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] The impact of the web on muds</A></strong>, Brandon Cline <a href="mailto:brandon#sedona,net">brandon#sedona,net</a>, Thu 22 Jan 1998, 00:32 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00271" HREF="msg00271.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] The impact of the web on muds</A></strong>, Mike Sellers <a href="mailto:mike#online-alchemy,com">mike#online-alchemy,com</a>, Wed 21 Jan 1998, 16:30 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00277" HREF="msg00277.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] The impact of the web on muds</A></strong>, Brandon J. Rickman <a href="mailto:ashes#pc4,zennet.com">ashes#pc4,zennet.com</a>, Thu 22 Jan 1998, 07:30 GMT </LI> </ul> </LI> </UL></BLOCKQUOTE> </ul> <hr> <center> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] </center> <hr> </body> </html>