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Valg · 08-10-2004, 06:21 PM

I think the key thing from a player perspective is to roleplay in such a fashion that you and the staff can complement one another. The pitfall to avoid is playing a role that requires special attention from the staff to be playable, for several reasons:

1) Players tend to outnumber administrators, and tend to vastly outnumber the administrators with the ability/authority to add custom features and events just for their role. Even on a well-staffed MUD (we have 30+ people 'behind the curtain', and still hit this constraint all the time) interaction resources can get stretched thin. If you write an elaborate plot that requires administrator intervention to move forward, you might run into the practical constraint that no one is available to pick up that end.

2) If an administator begins a quest, it is usually quite easy for a player to drop what they were doing and participate. ("Goblins are attacking Tir'Talath! I'll worry about shopping for armor later!") The reverse is not always true- a good game requires all sorts of duties besides interaction (building, coding, watching for cheating, managing and training newer staff, designing, etc.), and if a player is ready to do something, the administrator might be already busy with something else. Thus, driving a plot where most of the action comes from other players means that you're more likely to be working with people who can pay full attention if they want.

3) When you write something, you generally think it would be fun to play out. However, if you write something out and rely on someone else to run with it, you're betting that they find it interesting, which won't always be true. If you write something where you can drive the plot yourself, you'll have fun with it even if it isn't someone else's cup of tea.

Obviously, some styles of plot require the intervention of someone with broad power over world events- as a player in most games, you can't unleash an invading army against a rival city, whereas an administrator can load, equip, and take control of groups of NPCs to simulate this. However, as a player you have a lot of freedom to design what you're going to play, and you can choose from the beginning to maximize your ability to play it out.

08-10-2004, 06:21 PM	#5
Valg Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Home MUD: Carrion Fields Posts: 643	I think the key thing from a player perspective is to roleplay in such a fashion that you and the staff can complement one another. The pitfall to avoid is playing a role that requires special attention from the staff to be playable, for several reasons: 1) Players tend to outnumber administrators, and tend to vastly outnumber the administrators with the ability/authority to add custom features and events just for their role. Even on a well-staffed MUD (we have 30+ people 'behind the curtain', and still hit this constraint all the time) interaction resources can get stretched thin. If you write an elaborate plot that requires administrator intervention to move forward, you might run into the practical constraint that no one is available to pick up that end. 2) If an administator begins a quest, it is usually quite easy for a player to drop what they were doing and participate. ("Goblins are attacking Tir'Talath! I'll worry about shopping for armor later!") The reverse is not always true- a good game requires all sorts of duties besides interaction (building, coding, watching for cheating, managing and training newer staff, designing, etc.), and if a player is ready to do something, the administrator might be already busy with something else. Thus, driving a plot where most of the action comes from other players means that you're more likely to be working with people who can pay full attention if they want. 3) When you write something, you generally think it would be fun to play out. However, if you write something out and rely on someone else to run with it, you're betting that they find it interesting, which won't always be true. If you write something where you can drive the plot yourself, you'll have fun with it even if it isn't someone else's cup of tea. Obviously, some styles of plot require the intervention of someone with broad power over world events- as a player in most games, you can't unleash an invading army against a rival city, whereas an administrator can load, equip, and take control of groups of NPCs to simulate this. However, as a player you have a lot of freedom to design what you're going to play, and you can choose from the beginning to maximize your ability to play it out.