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Old 02-09-2010, 07:55 AM   #4
silvarilon
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Join Date: Dec 2009
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Re: Engaging Players - Desgining Group Contests

Certainly. But the faster turn around leads to...

... support for more player generated content or ideas. Not every game allows players to create whatever they want, but with easier development the staff can still listen and respond to player ideas and requests.

So I guess the selling point isn't "look at what we can do and how easy it is for the staff" but instead "here's this ability to make the game specifically responsive to *you* personally"

Ironclaw goes somewhere between threshhold and a graphical game in this regard. There are no areas where players can make their own items or rooms, however players can volunteer to build items that will be introduced into the world as a whole - so if you're particularly interested in, say, cooking... you could do building for new foods, which staff would then approve (and modify if necessary) and add to the game.

So that gives a secondary advantage in that players have more ability, even in restricted games, to add new gameplay elements and items, and help shape the game into what they're after.

Potentially there are other options. Ironclaw has the concept of "loyalty points" which players get for being continual players (if they have a premium account) or they get awarded it for helping out (such as building items) - these loyalty points can be spent to get custom modifications, or to have custom items created or coded. So every player can literally have staff work on just making something special for them. There's unfortunately no way that can be offered in a graphical game.

Mmmmm, yup, or even going a step further.
Again using Ironclaw as my example, since that's what I'm familiar with, every action is done with a "verb"
So instead of:
Hi, how are you?
I'm good
Have you heard about the gladiators?

players instead get in the habit of showing their body language.
wave to bob "Hi, how are you?
nod cordially "I'm good
ask curiously "Have you heard about the gladiators?

Players become so familiar with the verbs that they use them without thinking about it (since almost every reasonable verb is available, and players can suggest any that aren't...)
Where this gets really fun is when the game code watches what verbs are used, and responds accordingly. So an NPC could judge if your character is being aggressive or passive, they can judge if you're showing strong or neutral emotions, and other general impressions - and they can do that while you're essentially just chatting to another player in the game. This means, in a very crude way, the NPCs can react to your character's conversations. If you're a thief, and in a thief den, the NPCs might pick up on the fact that you're having an argument with a visitor, and perhaps loom, or throw the visitor out. Or maybe not do anything, but remember the incident and only let the visitor back in when they are escorted by a thief.

That allows games which have many "hidden" triggers. As in your example in threshhold where the players might not know all the methods of gathering the religious influence - it leaves the players free to react appropriately for the game world, and get a reasonable reaction and reward or punishment for their actions. Which is a whole lot more interesting than what a graphical game would have to be. "Do you a) argue with the thief, or b) befriend the thief" - not nearly as interesting as actually *having* an argument, or befriending, another PC while having an actual conversation.
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