nu.kanga.list.mud-dev

28718: Re: [MUD-Dev] Removing access to entertainment

On Nov 26, 2003, at 2:41 AM, Matt Mihaly wrote:
> On Tue, 25 Nov 2003, Amanda Walker wrote:

>> Nonsense.  Multiplayer games are about storytelling and building
>> communities through shared experience.

> I presume you mean muds here since that is absolutely not true for
> most multiplayer games, from the single most popular
> (Counterstrike, with over 200,000 simultaneous users at peak) to
> online poker, hearts, etc.

I was taking an extreme position for effect, but I would say that
Counterstrike, Q3 Arena, UT, etc. are definitely about storytelling
and communities.  The single player games, when they are even
present, fall immediately by the wayside.  CPL, LAN parties,
rehashes over beer ("no shit, there I was, when ..."), etc. are all
about bragging rights.

Note that I'm not talking about "storytelling" in the "RPG back
story" sense, but something closer to the "sports fan" sense.

> And even in muds, they are not generally about storytelling:
> They're generally about achieving mechanics.

If so, why do people play them instead of solo RPGs?

How is SWG more fun than KOTOR?  It's not the mechanics--KOTOR's
mechanics are *much* better, viewed in isolation.

Amanda Walker
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