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15080: RE: [MUD-Dev] The Player Wimping Guidebook

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From: "Koster, Raph" <rkoster@verant.com>
Newsgroups: nu.kanga.list.mud-dev
Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 07:46:52 -0700
Organization: Kanga.Nu
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mud-dev-admin@kanga.nu 
> [mailto:mud-dev-admin@kanga.nu]On Behalf Of
> adam@treyarch.com
> Sent: Thursday, August 03, 2000 7:54 PM
> To: 'mud-dev@kanga.nu'
> Subject: RE: [MUD-Dev] The Player Wimping Guidebook
> 
> I agree, although I will play devil's advocate for just a 
> moment and suggest
> that simple number of players is not the only metric of success.
> 
> What if you make a change that causes half your playerbase to 
> depart, but
> the other half to enjoy the game twice as much?

This is an indication that you are moving towards a more hard core
playerbase.

> What if you make a change that causes 1% of your playerbase to depart,
> but the other 99% to enjoy the game twice as much?

This doesn't happen--if there's even a modicum of word of mouth, it's a
statistical blip. You'll start gaining more folks like the 99% almost
immediately.

> If you replace your mud server with a Quake server and subsequently
> double your playerbase, is this considered a good design choice?

No. It might be a good business choice if you're charging, though. :)

> Success is defined by you, the admin.  Most administrators agree that
> a larger playerbase is better, but it is not the only metric.

True. But it happens to be a metric we can actually measure, unlike "how fun
the game is to x% of the game."

-Raph



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