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3572: Re: [MUD-Dev] more classes (Usability and interface and who the hell is suppo)
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From: Matt Chatterley <root@mpc.dyn.ml.org>
Newsgroups: nu.kanga.list.mud-dev
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 1997 20:50:45 +0000 (GMT)
References: [1]
Organization: Kanga.Nu
On Wed, 1 Oct 1997 clawrenc@cup.hp.com wrote:
> In <199709261450.HAA11171@pc4.zennet.com>, on 09/26/97
> at 09:44 AM, "Brandon J. Rickman" <ashes@pc4.zennet.com> said:
>
> >And why does everyone start with a weak character? In heroic science
> >fiction or fantasy characters start out with some expert skills.
>
> A couple basic reasons:
>
> It allows MUDs to more easily play off __two__ of the basic plots:
> _Man_Learns_A_Lesson_, and _The_Little_Tailor_ (man goes out, has an
> adventure, comes home and tells about it).
>
> It allows the same game to be played repetitively: Each time the
> character can advance differently.
>
> The sense of advancement provides attractive goals for players.
I agree on all the above counts, but wanted to add some additional
ponderings:
JCL mentions the sense of advancement - this is especially prominent given
that a number (fair percentage) of games base their long term goals around
character advacements in skills or other direct ways.
It is not as suitable for a game that presents itself more as a 'dynamic
story', whereby characters destinies are to some extent foretold and
expectorised in some fashion - and where the character is already a
distance along their 'life'. Myself, I assume a character to be barely
'come of age' among their people, and as yet to become adventurers.
Regards,
-Matt Chatterley
http://user.itl.net/~neddy/index.html
"Smoking is one of the leading causes of statistics." -?