[Molly]

We all have them; the lazy players who sit at the Fountain all day, socializing or bitching or just idling. So, what are the top 10 excuses for not playing the Game? Here is a couple, to start things off:

1. I like to explore slowly, so I always will have areas to look into.
2. I'm a jester, that's my rp!

[Caxandra]

Worse: people that join a guild just so they can talk to even MORE people.

I only joined so I could talk to them since they're never at recall.

[Wenlin]

You make socializing sound like a bad thing.

Someone's a jester on FR...supposedly, he doesn't really do much jesting though, but more than sitting around.

[Iluvatar]

I have one who just sits in a temple chatting though occasionally he does roam near the temple and kill a few fidos. He's been hanging around for about six years and I pick on him.

His excuse when I ask him is "but, I'll get killed!" Duh.

The picking on part is the funniest though, cause I've dubbed him our 'statue' and he has pigeons for friends. He plays along too which is neat. Hmm, a perma-script to create pigeons to fly around and land on his shoulders. Hmm, white blotches.

[makila]

Some people come to muds to "chat" with friends rather then to really play the game.
Just like they come to IRC to chat.

Makila.

[thelenian]

In some of the more fun RP MUDs I've played, sitting and talking (to the right people) can make you a very powerful political figure .

[Pasano]

Oh jeez, i'm tired to hell of those types.

I think the number 1 reason they dont move is that they're scared of getting their asses handed to them.

On a mud I used to play on, we had a kid who never used to leave the clanhall, like ever. I'd tell him 'You ought to get out more, get some sun'

He'd say 'It's dangerous out there'.

One day, i got tired of hearing it so I replied 'It's not much safer in here' and attacked him. Suffice to say, he got out more after that.

[Shao_Long]

eh,well, my excuses to do NOT play are such :

1. Im talking to imms about the probs I have with building.. Most usual reason, althought it takes least time

2. Im online somewhere I dont have normal client,just telnet.

Besides that,there aint too much of other reasons...

[Dre]

What about:

"I already killed a mob earlier"

*grin* I like them

[tjs102]

I never realized there was such a strong sentiment against players who opt to hang out and socialize around town square. I do it all the time with one of my characters, a bard, because, well, she's an entertainer.
So long as you're staying in character while you socialize, why would such behavior be considered "not playing the game"?
- T.

[Caxandra]

Oh if it's ROLEPLAY chatter, i'm all for it. Love that stuff to death. I just don't see how getting info on how to get answers to science homework is in character on a Wheel of Time themed mud.

If they were singing it, perhaps... <imagines terrible songs of gasseous masses>

[TheDemonMaster]

I am a mud owner? When do i have time to play?

[Wildman]

I think I agree with TheDemonMaster, yet I don't.  As the owner of an admittedly very small mud,
I still have fun with it.  You'd be amazed how surprised a player is when they finally kill that Goblin
Raiding Party, and it regroups, then comes back for round 2.     That's when it is all worthwhile.

[Brianna]

Well I have to say, I work with DemonMaster and we are still in a beta type phase where we are open to players and still getting alot kinks ironed out. The imm staff all work hard but we do try to lighten the mood so we don't go bonkers (or are we already?)

Now where did I put that pipe you love DemonMaster?

[Enzo]

What MUD?

[anathema]

"My character is a pacifist, so there is nothing for him to do."

[CSmith_Fan]

How about :

"Ive already maxxed out (level wise) 3 characters already and explored the entire MUD"

Usually I point them to here or TMC and suggest looking for something with a larger amount of rooms (forgot which one it was, but did see a MU* that boasted over 250K "orginal" rooms)

[Miyamoto]

Would I make fun of someone who asked the mud for answers to science questions?  Yes.  Does it annoy me, entemper me, or do I have any reason to restrict people from doing such with their time?    No.  If my friend and I are playing Monopoly and he wants to talk about school, I don't get ticked off and throw the money at him.

I can understand why an older player might just sit around.  I can really understand why an imm would.  When you've been somewhere a while, know the directions to every area by heart, and everyone knows (if not likes) you, all that really matters on the mud is how you interact with the other players.  And, on the muds I play, there's no rooms traveled per minute requirement to use the global channels, IC or OOC

[Santrilla]

From what I've seen, people who sit around bitching are newbies 99% of the time. THey've discovered how hard actually playing the game is, and just aren't in the mood for it. So instead they wander around the main town, buy as much alcohol as they can afford, sit drunkenly in the town square and blab on until they get silenced.

This annoys me IMMENSELY because the whole point of having an environment where you can do so much is, well, doing so much. If you wanna sit around and be dumb, go on IRC and at least do it with other people who want to do the same. Leave the MUDs for those of us who actually MUD.

Ahh.... Writing angry forum posts gets the aggression out, doesn't it? I feel so relaxed now...

Santa

[LikitaRenn]

well... if you want one good reason to sit around and avoid playing.... it'd have to be that you just got royally whomped upon by the "rabid ferret" in RoD... my feelings being that there's no reason to rush back to get killed AGAIN (twice already for me) by a feral rodent...

-likita

[Santrilla]

Aye, the Realms aint so newbie friendly post-shattering. That ferret is a biatch, unless you're a half-orc warrior.

Even so, though, half the fun is the challenge. Otherwise they'd sell 'insta-XP' tablets in the marketplace, so people wouldn't even have to work for it. You'd end up with a MUD where people simulated floating alone in an endless void, because actually doing anything is far too much effort.

Still, newbies do give the BEST quotes. They're good for something.

[Seraphina]

This is hilarious. Lazy? Work? We are talking games no? Now the powerplayers aren't satisfied unless everyone else is too?

[Santrilla]

Yeah, it's a game, but it's supposed to be a challenging game. All I'm saying is that a lot of whiny newbies simply can't handle a little challenge and would prefer things to be easy for them. Of course, there's nothing more offputting than an over-complicated MUD, but then having a really easy MUD is just dull. It's like playing Snakes and Ladders with no snakes.

[Seraphina]

Originally Posted by Yeah, it's a game, but it's supposed to be a challenging game.

Okay, my mistake, I thought it was supposed to be a roleplaying game.

Just being a smarty-pants to make a point. What the game is "supposed" to be matters very little. Different people enjoy rp games for different reasons. I personally go through stages emphasising different aspects of the game at different times. I can go months without making any effort to advance my character, then go months doing nothing but advancing my character. The only aspect I make any effort to keep consistant is my character's personality.

Challenging is different things to different people and some people aren't at all interested in being "challenged". They just want to relax and have fun. I don't see why that should be a problem for anyone else.

[Molly]

Originally Posted by This is hilarious. Lazy? Work? We are talking games no? Now the powerplayers aren't satisfied unless everyone else is too?

Calm down, Seraphina, the entire thread is supposed to be a joke. This is the Mud Humour section, no?

[Seraphina]

Originally Posted by Calm down, Seraphina, the entire thread is supposed to be a joke. This is the Mud Humour section, no?

Umm, Molly, you didn't get the joke? <tickle> That's okay you are not alone. I didn't see anything particularly humorous about a number of posts in this thread. If you reread the thread I think you will note a number of serious criticisms and a number of serious replies.

I really do find it hilariously funny that on a board about roleplaying games so much stress is placed on powergaming. You don't see any irony there?

[KaVir]

Seraphina, this isn't a board about roleplaying games - it's a board about muds.

However as someone who also plays roleplaying games, I'd like to point out that within such games "challenge" certainly is a very important factor.  I don't think my players would enjoy the game half as much if they didn't have to think, and didn't have any chance of dying.

I would say that the same applies to most muds as well.

[Seraphina]

Originally Posted by Seraphina, this isn't a board about roleplaying games - it's a board about muds.

Good point

Originally Posted by However as someone who also plays roleplaying games, I'd like to point out that within such games "challenge" certainly is a very important factor.

To a lot of people yes, but to widely varying degrees and not to everyone. To some people "challenge" equals advancement, to others, it means knowing a ton of people, to others it is creating a complex believable character. Some people don't want challenge at all, they just want to relax and socialize.

Originally Posted by I don't think my players would enjoy the game half as much if they didn't have to think, and didn't have any chance of dying.

I agree that is the case for the majority of customers, but it is very hard to find the sweet spot between challenging enough and so challenging it becomes a bore. That sweet spot differs between people.

In any case, although the thread started out humorously, it still sends the underlying message that one isn't "playing the game right" if one just wants to sit around and chat. It further suggests that some players are bothered by those who like to just stay in one spot.

That really does tickle my funny bone. If I am off exploring or killing nasty critters how does it affect my game play that some other character is sitting around in town chatting? Even if every time I sign on, and every time I pass by that room, the same individual is just sitting there. So what? If that genuinely bothers anyone even mildly all I can do is laugh and say, get a life!