Top Mud Sites Forum - View Single Post - Why go outside the scope of your base story

Fern · 10-09-2004, 08:37 PM

Player perception as well - those who play the game as they envision it should be (versus the way it was 'designed to be played') will encounter things they feel do not fit, and vehemently object when things they expect to encounter do not appear. Eventually folks start voting with their feet or resign themselves to ignoring that particular set of anachronistic electrons. Either way, the game loses core credibility.. a result no designer or imp wishes.

I'm against arming orcs with AK-47s alongside medieval citizens wielding pikes and maces. If I encounter a 30-lb longsword, I cringe and retreat to the closing credits.

If a player chooses a game based on a published standard, tied in concept to a book or series, their level of expectation is established by what they know of that book or series. If they don't find a crucial character or environment, or at least hints that said element exists, they find their suspension of disbelief and, ultimately, their immersion diminished.

Quite a few years ago, we ditched the Midgaard Mentality in favor of our own original theme and story. Doing so has freed our builders from the need to retain someone else's pre-established expectations. As a result, our areas must justify themselves in terms of our original storyline, but they do not have to stand in concert with the limitations of someone else's copyright. Players who explore the areas and wilderness encounter layers of depth which we would not be able to instill into a game based on someone else's publication without displacing that suspension of disbelief.

As far as being willing to spend time developing.. well, we're into our fifth year of development and, while quite playable, we're still developing. We're classless but not levelless.. but there is no level limit. We are still working on a clean way to address levelless while maintaining the quantification so many players seem to wish. Much as I would love to host a huge playerbase, and perhaps someday will do so, I'd almost rather host a small playerbase of highly immersed individuals than a massive playerbase of bored ones whose main source of entertainment comes from yelping about orcs with AK-47s or dwarves with lightsabers.

10-09-2004, 08:37 PM	#7
Fern Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 156	Player perception as well - those who play the game as they envision it should be (versus the way it was 'designed to be played') will encounter things they feel do not fit, and vehemently object when things they expect to encounter do not appear. Eventually folks start voting with their feet or resign themselves to ignoring that particular set of anachronistic electrons. Either way, the game loses core credibility.. a result no designer or imp wishes. I'm against arming orcs with AK-47s alongside medieval citizens wielding pikes and maces. If I encounter a 30-lb longsword, I cringe and retreat to the closing credits. If a player chooses a game based on a published standard, tied in concept to a book or series, their level of expectation is established by what they know of that book or series. If they don't find a crucial character or environment, or at least hints that said element exists, they find their suspension of disbelief and, ultimately, their immersion diminished. Quite a few years ago, we ditched the Midgaard Mentality in favor of our own original theme and story. Doing so has freed our builders from the need to retain someone else's pre-established expectations. As a result, our areas must justify themselves in terms of our original storyline, but they do not have to stand in concert with the limitations of someone else's copyright. Players who explore the areas and wilderness encounter layers of depth which we would not be able to instill into a game based on someone else's publication without displacing that suspension of disbelief. As far as being willing to spend time developing.. well, we're into our fifth year of development and, while quite playable, we're still developing. We're classless but not levelless.. but there is no level limit. We are still working on a clean way to address levelless while maintaining the quantification so many players seem to wish. Much as I would love to host a huge playerbase, and perhaps someday will do so, I'd almost rather host a small playerbase of highly immersed individuals than a massive playerbase of bored ones whose main source of entertainment comes from yelping about orcs with AK-47s or dwarves with lightsabers.