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<H1>[MUD-Dev] Re: WIRED: Kilers have more fun</H1>
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<LI><em>To</em>: "'<A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A>'" &lt;<A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A>&gt;</LI>
<LI><em>Subject</em>: [MUD-Dev] Re: WIRED: Kilers have more fun</LI>
<LI><em>From</em>: Marian Griffith &lt;<A HREF="mailto:gryphon#iaehv,nl">gryphon#iaehv,nl</A>&gt;</LI>
<LI><em>Date</em>: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 20:21:45 +0100 (BST)</LI>
<LI><em>Reply-To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI>
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<PRE>
On Fri 26 Jun, Koster, Raph wrote:

&gt; &gt; From:	Maddy [SMTP:maddy#fysh,org]

&gt; &gt; On Wed, 24 Jun 1998, Marian Griffith wrote:
&gt; &gt; &gt;True that you can not (entirely) force people to play nice  by
&gt; &gt; &gt;making it impossible  to be anything else.  However providing
&gt; &gt; &gt;mechanisms for other players to deal with the social misfits 'on
&gt; &gt; &gt;their own terms' plays right into their hands.  You made the game
&gt; &gt; &gt;which was intented a nice roleplay environment into something that
&gt; &gt; &gt;fits the killers. Even players who don't want to fight others are
&gt; &gt; &gt;forced to,  because  that is the only way there is for them to protect
&gt; &gt; &gt;themselves. So in a sense the killers have won.

&gt; Very nice analysis. Of course, the alternative is for the game to play
&gt; the cop, which is actually rather hard to pull off.

*blush* thank you.

&gt; &gt; Why do these mechanisms have to require the players to even lift a
&gt; &gt; sword? 

&gt; Swords (in-game real ones or metaphorical ones like character deletion,
&gt; banning, stat loss, etc etc) tend to be the only thing killers will
&gt; listen to.

Which is a very sad fact if you think about it.

&gt; Either the game wields it in code, the admins wield it, or
&gt; players wield it. And Mike is quite right that if the players wield it,
&gt; it will be other killers mostly who take up the challenge.

Well, actually it was me who wrote it, but that's ok ;)

&gt; &gt; A truely well written roleplaying game, will provide characters with
&gt; &gt; the facilities to create jobs that are needed.  Cities could hire
&gt; &gt; characters as watchmen, to catch and prevent crime.  Travellers could
&gt; &gt; hire bodyguards,
&gt; &gt; Lords could build armies to conquer the evil that exists beyond the
&gt; &gt; city walls, thus providing more land for farming and housing.

&gt; Very few players want to be watchmen, or bodyguards. Even if these
&gt; facilities exist, players will tend not to make use of them. Even if
&gt; they are made use of, the result may not be what you intend. Currently
&gt; on UO, every player has vigilante freedo to whack a criminal in town.
&gt; The result: vigilante ambush parties at key buildings leaving many
&gt; corpses around, causing spam, and destroying the sense of fictional
&gt; immersion.

I guess it is slightly better  than the thing I read  in a player's diary
of his early experiences. (I paraphrase) Ultima is ruled by an atmosphere
of fear.  People are afraid to stop and talk, for fear of being attacked.
I suppose the new system  is a step in the right direction.  I could only
wish that it weren't necessary to create vigilante players.

&gt; &gt; You basically end up with an economy with not only allows the trade of
&gt; &gt; items, but the trade of services.  You may even find that some/most of
&gt; &gt; the killers will prefer to be bodyguards, as from the original article it
&gt; &gt; looked (IMHO) like they only became killers because the alternative of
&gt; &gt; being a tailor was boring.

&gt; Some--few, however. Many are in it for the thrill of danger. Being a
&gt; cop/bodyguard is mostly tedious, fraught with danger but not excitement
&gt; on an ongoing basis (risky but not FUN), and it's underpaid--meaning,
&gt; less rewarding than adventuring and ignoring the problem. In the
&gt; player-run cities of UO, we've recapitulated many of the classic
&gt; problems: player-run cities having problems with absent guards, guards
&gt; who turn out to be in the pocket of the gangs, guards who quit, guards
&gt; who would rather go on vigilate sprees of their own...

&gt; Basically, I was all for the vision you described, Maddy, until I
&gt; actually made a game that supports it. Then I found it was mosly a
&gt; mirage. :(

This is one of the saddest facts  I have read about the possibility (and
future) of true roleplaying games. I think I am going to cry a bit.

Marian
-- 
Yes - at last - You. I Choose you. Out of all the world,
out of all the seeking, I have found you, young sister of
my heart! You are mine and I am yours - and never again
will there be loneliness ...

Rolan Choosing Talia,
Arrows of the Queen, by Mercedes Lackey



</PRE>

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<LI><STRONG><A NAME="01214" HREF="msg01214.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: WIRED: Kilers have more fun</A></STRONG>
<UL><LI><EM>From:</EM> "Koster, Raph" &lt;rkoster#origin,ea.com&gt;</LI></UL></LI>
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<ul><li>Thread context:
<BLOCKQUOTE><UL>
<LI><STRONG>[MUD-Dev] Re: WIRED: Kilers have more fun</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM>
<ul compact>
<ul compact>
<ul compact>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01261" HREF="msg01261.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: WIRED: Kilers have more fun</A></strong>, 
Richard Woolcock <a href="mailto:KaVir#dial,pipex.com">KaVir#dial,pipex.com</a>, Tue 30 Jun 1998, 02:25 GMT
</LI>
</ul>
</ul>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01213" HREF="msg01213.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: WIRED: Kilers have more fun</A></strong>, 
Maddy <a href="mailto:maddy#fysh,org">maddy#fysh,org</a>, Fri 26 Jun 1998, 10:31 GMT
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01214" HREF="msg01214.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: WIRED: Kilers have more fun</A></strong>, 
Koster, Raph <a href="mailto:rkoster#origin,ea.com">rkoster#origin,ea.com</a>, Fri 26 Jun 1998, 14:39 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01218" HREF="msg01218.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: WIRED: Kilers have more fun</A></strong>, 
s001gmu <a href="mailto:s001gmu#nova,wright.edu">s001gmu#nova,wright.edu</a>, Fri 26 Jun 1998, 18:39 GMT
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01219" HREF="msg01219.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: WIRED: Kilers have more fun</A></strong>, 
Marian Griffith <a href="mailto:gryphon#iaehv,nl">gryphon#iaehv,nl</a>, Fri 26 Jun 1998, 18:42 GMT
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01220" HREF="msg01220.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: WIRED: Kilers have more fun</A></strong>, 
Koster, Raph <a href="mailto:rkoster#origin,ea.com">rkoster#origin,ea.com</a>, Fri 26 Jun 1998, 19:02 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01223" HREF="msg01223.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: WIRED: Kilers have more fun</A></strong>, 
Dr. Cat <a href="mailto:cat#bga,com">cat#bga,com</a>, Fri 26 Jun 1998, 21:31 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01228" HREF="msg01228.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: WIRED: Kilers have more fun</A></strong>, 
Mike Sellers <a href="mailto:mike#bignetwork,com">mike#bignetwork,com</a>, Sat 27 Jun 1998, 01:10 GMT
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="01234" HREF="msg01234.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: WIRED: Kilers have more fun</A></strong>, 
Chris Gray <a href="mailto:cg#ami-cg,GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA">cg#ami-cg,GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA</a>, Sat 27 Jun 1998, 17:29 GMT
</LI>
</ul>
</LI>
</UL></BLOCKQUOTE>

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