<!-- MHonArc v2.4.4 --> <!--X-Subject: [MUD-Dev] Re: Introduction --> <!--X-From-R13: X Q Znjerapr <pynjNhaqre.rate.ftv.pbz> --> <!--X-Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 21:28:56 -0800 --> <!--X-Message-Id: 199812160328.TAA05957#under,engr.sgi.com --> <!--X-Content-Type: text/plain --> <!--X-Reference: 199812090758.AAA00200#darklock,com --> <!--X-Head-End--> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <html> <head> <title>MUD-Dev message, [MUD-Dev] Re: Introduction</title> <!-- meta name="robots" content="noindex,nofollow" --> <link rev="made" href="mailto:claw#under,engr.sgi.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="msg00972.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00974.html">Next</a> ] Thread: [ <a href="msg00947.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00934.html">Next</a> ] Index: [ <A HREF="author.html#00973">Author</A> | <A HREF="#00973">Date</A> | <A HREF="thread.html#00973">Thread</A> ] <!--X-TopPNI-End--> <!--X-MsgBody--> <!--X-Subject-Header-Begin--> <H1>[MUD-Dev] Re: Introduction</H1> <HR> <!--X-Subject-Header-End--> <!--X-Head-of-Message--> <UL> <LI><em>To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI> <LI><em>Subject</em>: [MUD-Dev] Re: Introduction </LI> <LI><em>From</em>: J C Lawrence <<A HREF="mailto:claw#under,engr.sgi.com">claw#under,engr.sgi.com</A>></LI> <LI><em>Date</em>: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 19:28:44 -0800</LI> <LI><em>Reply-To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI> </UL> <!--X-Head-of-Message-End--> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-Begin--> <HR> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-End--> <!--X-Body-of-Message--> <PRE> On Tue, 08 Dec 1998 23:55:08 -0800 Caliban Tiresias Darklock<caliban#darklock,com> wrote: > If you have a choice, don't ever take on a project that's been > moldering in the corner for five years. The only saving grace to > this is that I *knew* I would have to start from scratch anyway... Were I to recommend a codebase to start from for anyone doing a from-scratch server effort, or at least a new-design server effort, I wouldn't hesitate a millisecond to recommend Stephen White's CoolMUD. Its a elegant, concise (which is quite important for from-scratch/learning efforts), has a clean moderately well documented design which shows the benefit of many of the lessons learned from MOO and the Tiny-* clan as well as faint traces of LP/LPC, and it even has the grace to work once you build it. > You might note that several MUDs have a beach, along which you may > wander aimlessly while seagulls fly overhead. While they don't > crap on you, to my recollection, I'm quite sure someone is working > on it. To quote a friend: "The highest purpose in the universe is to create an effect." Corollary: How do you *really* kill someone? Convince them that they cannot create an effect. If you have small kids, just try pretending that you can't see or hear them for a while, all the while saying that you don't know where they are etc. It will be fun for the first few minutes and they'll laugh and play hide-em games, and then, very suddenly, it won't be any fun at all. You are telling them that they can't even create the effect of being perceptable on you. True horror. We've discussed this previously regarding motivating players by setting and delivering rewards in the guise of "cool created effects" when players do things we want them to. ObThought: Keep a sin stat for your player characters, ala Island if need be (see prior threads with Keegan on this). However, add a special fillip: as the sin stat grows, increasingly gray the colour palette used for the game client display. If they become sufficiently sinful (where sin is gained by play activities the game designers would prefer not happen), then their game display would become entirely monochromatic if not a washed out pale gray with barely distinguishable features and controls. As they become increasingly "good", then start increasing the colour palette size and range. Note: This is really only effective as a penalty. There are few good comparable rewards I can think of for increasing levels of "goodness". Increased sound volume? More music? Pyrotechnic reactions to even minor acts? There's not a whole lot of scaling room there which doesn't end up drowning your signal in FX. RL tends to de-emphasise the effects we create, especially compared with games. Seagulls do shit on people, but rarely with particularly humorous accompanying descriptions or with the possibility of effectively dicing the gulls with a handy war axe (you try catching a seagull some time). Certainly driving a car on the daily commute to work is typically a lot less exciting (much lower visible effect threshold) than the spinning pedestrain splattering wipe-outs surrounded by adoring big-tit bouncing cheerleaders common in many car driving games. RL in fact tends to seem a little dull, if only by order of repetition and lower silicon enhancement quotient. A whole lot of testosterone overload is based on the joy of creating an effect. A whole lot of supposed maturation (esp in the western hemisphere) is really convincing the kid that he really can settle for creating small mundane effects and that such mediocrity is a Good Thing. Ever notice that all pulp villains are attempting to take over the world? They're never trying to pay for their kids school bills, or the ex-wife's alimony payments. No, they're out to create the grand big picture earth shaking effect: Take Over the Whole World! In a game, when confronted with a button labled, "Destroy world in spectacular fashion!", would you push it just to see what happened? If the game world did detonate in a neat manner (ie we created a neat effect), would you push it again, and again and again? If you were a mage in a MUD with a spell that could waste towns, would you try it out more than a few times? How many of you have save points in the various games you play just prior to some particularly neat effect (eg the BigBoss level)? As game designers we can use such effects to both attract and distract attention from salient points in our games. You want to de-emphasize killing and violence, but are unwilling to remove the actual fact of combat? > l Bubba is here. > kill bubba You strangle Bubba. Bubba is dead. You are severely scratched and bruised about the face and neck and need immediate medical attention. > ... Hardly exciting or rewarding, tho surprisingly close to the use of the gun in the original Habitats (knoecked the target player onto their arse, killed after three shots, and caused them to drop all carried objects). There of course the value was in the upset created and the ability to steal their EQ. > l Bubba is here. > kill bubba You strangle Bubba. Bubba is dead. You are severely scratched and bruised about the face and neck and need immediate medical attention. > l Bubba's corpse is here. > l at bubba He has puked over his clothes and stinks to high heaven -- or perhaps that's because he also shit his britches when he died? > search bubba You carefully pick thru the vomit covered clothing and find a few urine soaked small bills and a feaces covered watch on a chain. > get all You take the yellow-dripping money and the smelly watch. Your hands are now covered with puke and shit. ... I'll leave the rest to your imaginations. Handling the social impacts and values is of course a whole different matter. There's a lot of value in hearing the victims scream, and a whole lot more value in hearing them bitch afterwards. ObThought: Kill a player and you have a percentage chance (perhaps goverened by sin stat) of being cursed by the deity or a reflection from the killed player such that the killer can no longer see or hear the ex-victim, and in general can't create any further effects on that player... <<Arrgh, time to go home, and I've wandered far enough away from my original point that I've no chance of rescueing it now>> -- J C Lawrence Internet: claw#kanga,nu (Contractor) Internet: coder#kanga,nu ---------(*) Internet: claw#under,engr.sgi.com ...Honorary Member of Clan McFud -- Teamer's Avenging Monolith... </PRE> <!--X-Body-of-Message-End--> <!--X-MsgBody-End--> <!--X-Follow-Ups--> <HR> <!--X-Follow-Ups-End--> <!--X-References--> <UL><LI><STRONG>References</STRONG>: <UL> <LI><STRONG><A NAME="00947" HREF="msg00947.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Introduction</A></STRONG> <UL><LI><EM>From:</EM> Caliban Tiresias Darklock <caliban#darklock,com></LI></UL></LI> </UL></LI></UL> <!--X-References-End--> <!--X-BotPNI--> <UL> <LI>Prev by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00972.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: AFAP: As fast as possible, non linear...</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00974.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: AFAP: As fast as possible, non linear...</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Prev by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00947.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Introduction</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00934.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Introduction</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Index(es): <UL> <LI><A HREF="index.html#00973"><STRONG>Date</STRONG></A></LI> <LI><A HREF="thread.html#00973"><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>[MUD-Dev] Re: Introduction</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM> <ul compact> <LI><strong><A NAME="00929" HREF="msg00929.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Introduction</A></strong>, Mik Clarke <a href="mailto:mikclrk#ibm,net">mikclrk#ibm,net</a>, Mon 07 Dec 1998, 21:14 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00931" HREF="msg00931.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Introduction</A></strong>, Caliban Tiresias Darklock <a href="mailto:caliban#darklock,com">caliban#darklock,com</a>, Mon 07 Dec 1998, 22:03 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00943" HREF="msg00943.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Introduction</A></strong>, Mik Clarke <a href="mailto:mikclrk#ibm,net">mikclrk#ibm,net</a>, Wed 09 Dec 1998, 07:15 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00947" HREF="msg00947.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Introduction</A></strong>, Caliban Tiresias Darklock <a href="mailto:caliban#darklock,com">caliban#darklock,com</a>, Wed 09 Dec 1998, 07:59 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00973" HREF="msg00973.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Introduction</A></strong>, J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw#under,engr.sgi.com">claw#under,engr.sgi.com</a>, Wed 16 Dec 1998, 05:28 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00934" HREF="msg00934.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Introduction</A></strong>, ApplePiMan <a href="mailto:ApplePiMan#aol,com">ApplePiMan#aol,com</a>, Tue 08 Dec 1998, 01:37 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00945" HREF="msg00945.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Introduction</A></strong>, Mik Clarke <a href="mailto:mikclrk#ibm,net">mikclrk#ibm,net</a>, Wed 09 Dec 1998, 07:15 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </ul> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00909" HREF="msg00909.html">[MUD-Dev] Stack-Based NPC AI</A></strong>, Eli Stevens (KiZurich) <a href="mailto:c718157#showme,missouri.edu">c718157#showme,missouri.edu</a>, Sun 06 Dec 1998, 22:38 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00910" HREF="msg00910.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Stack-Based NPC AI</A></strong>, Richard Woolcock <a href="mailto:KaVir#dial,pipex.com">KaVir#dial,pipex.com</a>, Mon 07 Dec 1998, 00:00 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>