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Old 03-07-2011, 11:16 PM   #8
Newworlds
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Name: NewWorlds
Home MUD: New Worlds
Posts: 1,425
Newworlds will become famous soon enoughNewworlds will become famous soon enough
Re: The inevitability of GUIs in text-based mudding

Hey, I'm not even knowlegdeable about that, how'd you know? Spy!? I'm going to have to ban that player.
Unfortunately, I will continue to disagree with this. The leaning toward GUI clients and addons and the advent of hybrid MUD/Graphic games is a step away from the beauty that is the book and a vain attempt to become an MMORPS. Why "try" to be runescape, just "be" runescape. It reminds me of people who buy a high end digital camera and try to be a professional photographer just because they have hi res images, but they lack any images that are even close to what a professional can do.

We still limit color far more than the rainbow effect in 99% of the MUDs nowadays and the reason is simple: it clutters the roleplay feel and intensity.

I used to be a graphic game programmer. I know exactly what the reason for the images, sound, and color are for. I know also what the textual properties of roleplay are for and I still lean back toward the Book and away from the Movie. For NWA nothing has changed.

It is like cheating on the game. Yes, people can use scripts, macros, automapping, image clients, etc. Yes, you can't stop this, but it does pull away from the rp and intensity of the game and in the end these types of players end up quitting for lack of ability to roleplay.

Let me finally say that my position isn't held by and shouldn't be held by all MUDs. We are a genre that is only one niche of many in the MUD universe. If you want graphics, rainbow colors, skype, music, explosive interactive sound, and video feeds, go for it, NWA doesn't.
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