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Old 03-12-2008, 03:09 PM   #70
prof1515
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Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Illinois
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Re: Things that make you NOT play a MUD

I don't know if it's fair of me to say I will not play a MUD because of the existance or lack of any feature. I certainly will try any MUD. Whether or not I would wish to continue playing for any length of time is another story.

However, I do tend toward RPIs for long-term, in-depth commitment. That said, I suppose the things that turn me off from a MUD would be dependant upon what type of MUD it is. A difficult-to-use combat system in a H&S is far more likely to be grevious to my feelings regarding the MUD than it would be in a role-play MUD. Likewise, a poor emote system would be far more detrimental to my enjoyment of a role-play MUD than it would be on a H&S.

The thing I find myself longing for more than anything though is a well-designed world and a staff willing to admit when they've made mistakes.

A well-designed world is a long, complicated thing to produce and far too many MUDs aren't willing to invest that sort of time and effort into their world. Making it worse, some don't have the knowledge from which to create a well-designed world. Multiple problems arise when they have only a flimsy knowledge of aspects they incorporate into their game and little or no idea how those elements would interact with other elements of the world in a manner consistent with the other elements. Making things worse, when such errors creep into world design, far too many MUDs are unwilling to acknowledge this or at best, attempt to make excuses.

Responsible MUD staff goes beyond simple enforcement of policies to include being knowledgeable, reasonable, and mature. I don't expect anyone to be perfect, but denying one's errors never endear me to a person or game. That's part of the reason I presently don't play any game and last year quit a game I'd been playing non-stop for nearly eight years. The staff had compromised their own setting and policies in the hope of attracting a larger playerbase, content that they might lose some quality players who'd been around for years in exchange for a greater number of players whose dedication and abilities were unknown. Some of the changes they made to achieve a larger playerbase resulted in behavior and abuse they hadn't intended but which they had been warned might occur. However, rather than acknowledge their mistake, they denied it and continued forward, alienating dedicated, veteran players. To me, that is unacceptable behavior from an administrator. Leadership isn't merely accepting the accolades when you do things right, it's also about accepting responsibility when you do things wrong and making every effort to fix the problem. That's a characteristic that I find lacking in the staff of many a MUD and something which instantly turns my interest away when not present.

Take care,

Jason
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