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Burr · 11-29-2004, 11:26 PM

How would Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs apply within the scope of mudding?

Maslow's Hierarchy can be summarized as follows:

1. Physiological Needs
2. Safety Needs
3. Belonging Needs
4. Esteem Needs
5. Self-Actualization Needs

Here is my attempt at analysis:

Physiological Needs

The "physiological" needs for a mudder amount to the ability to continuously perceive the act of mudding. This obviously includes the ability to stay connected to the mud. IMO, if a player connects and sees only "It is dark. You bump into something," with no immediate ability to change the situation, then you aren't adequately satisfying the mudder's need for perception.

A mudder's physiological might also include a minimum amount of available interaction with the mud environment. I don't think so; I'll discuss this more in the section about belonging needs.

Safety Needs

A mudder also needs a certain amount of security that goes beyond the ability to "survive." This may include protection from cheating or false allegations of cheating, from abusive immortals, from extremely graphic depictions of traumatic events, or even from overzealous competition.

If ever a mudder's safety needs cannot be completely and utterly filled, it is best to at least make the risks as transparent as possible. Of course, this may not be possible if the mudder's need for perception has not been adequately satisfied.

Belonging Needs

A mudder needs to feel as if they have a definite role in the community. I think this is where new players most often get turned off of the muds they try. It is typical of muds to attempt to satisfy the esteem and self-actualization needs of a player without having built any foundation by dealing with the need for belonging.

Here is where the ability to interact really matters, and the ability to interact with the community is far more fundamentally important than the ability to interact with the environment. This is why I think interaction isn't a physiological need. Interaction with people isn't necessary to merely survive as a mudder, and interaction with the environment is less fundamental than interaction with people. Hence, a mudder may merely perceive to survive, whereas a mudder who belongs requires interaction with people.

Of course, not all interaction is positive. No interaction is better than negative interaction, such as abuse, which is why fulfilling a mudder's safety needs is often of higher priority than fulfilling a mudder's need to belong. Nevertheless, a mudder with no role in the community may realize that they can continue to fulfill their physiological and safety needs on most other muds, and by moving on they may get the chance to fulfill the third need in their hierarchy.

Esteem

There's really not much here that hasn't been said elsewhere. As I said before, most muds emphasize the need for esteem. The opportunity for achievement comes in all shapes and sizes. What is important, then, is making sure those potential achievements are meaningful. This is where the ability to interact with the environment comes in. How meaningful is killing 10,000 goblins if there is a neverending supply of goblin clones? What good is becoming lord of all one sees if there no real power transferred? Why write the ballad to top all ballads if it dies wth the bard? Etc., etc., etc.

It is important to note that esteem is generally perceived relative to the other members of a community. Otherwise, how do you know that you've really achieved something significant? Not every significant interaction with the environment is a significant achievement, for that aspect of the environment might simply be volatile. A player needs peers; this goes hand in hand with the need for a role in the community and is a foundation for satisfying the player's esteem needs.

Self-Actualization

This is the final need a mud needs to worry about satisfying. That's not to say it is unimportant. Quite the opposite, how you satisfy this need goes a long way in determining just what kind of mud you are running. Once the four fundamental needs are met, this need can be explored in an infinite number of ways. It is more than the icing on the cake; it is the ultimate goal of everything a mudder does. A mudder needs to be unequivocally unique, fully realized, and utterly connected to the community and to the environment.

It is not necessary to be an immortal to fulfill everyone's need for self-actualization as a mudder. However, you will find that for many it is a requirement, and the others might often as well be called an immortal for all that they do.

On the other hand, it is important to note that a person's ability to lead as an immortal will have a lot to do with how well founded they are in the lower-level needs. An immortal with belonging and/or esteem issues could potentially become your next power abuser (not that this would always happen). An immortal with prolonged safety or physiological issues probably is going to stop working for you long, unless that immortal is you. Let's hope not.

11-29-2004, 11:26 PM	#1
Burr Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 123	How would Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs apply within the scope of mudding? Maslow's Hierarchy can be summarized as follows: 1. Physiological Needs 2. Safety Needs 3. Belonging Needs 4. Esteem Needs 5. Self-Actualization Needs Here is my attempt at analysis: Physiological Needs The "physiological" needs for a mudder amount to the ability to continuously perceive the act of mudding. This obviously includes the ability to stay connected to the mud. IMO, if a player connects and sees only "It is dark. You bump into something," with no immediate ability to change the situation, then you aren't adequately satisfying the mudder's need for perception. A mudder's physiological might also include a minimum amount of available interaction with the mud environment. I don't think so; I'll discuss this more in the section about belonging needs. Safety Needs A mudder also needs a certain amount of security that goes beyond the ability to "survive." This may include protection from cheating or false allegations of cheating, from abusive immortals, from extremely graphic depictions of traumatic events, or even from overzealous competition. If ever a mudder's safety needs cannot be completely and utterly filled, it is best to at least make the risks as transparent as possible. Of course, this may not be possible if the mudder's need for perception has not been adequately satisfied. Belonging Needs A mudder needs to feel as if they have a definite role in the community. I think this is where new players most often get turned off of the muds they try. It is typical of muds to attempt to satisfy the esteem and self-actualization needs of a player without having built any foundation by dealing with the need for belonging. Here is where the ability to interact really matters, and the ability to interact with the community is far more fundamentally important than the ability to interact with the environment. This is why I think interaction isn't a physiological need. Interaction with people isn't necessary to merely survive as a mudder, and interaction with the environment is less fundamental than interaction with people. Hence, a mudder may merely perceive to survive, whereas a mudder who belongs requires interaction with people. Of course, not all interaction is positive. No interaction is better than negative interaction, such as abuse, which is why fulfilling a mudder's safety needs is often of higher priority than fulfilling a mudder's need to belong. Nevertheless, a mudder with no role in the community may realize that they can continue to fulfill their physiological and safety needs on most other muds, and by moving on they may get the chance to fulfill the third need in their hierarchy. Esteem There's really not much here that hasn't been said elsewhere. As I said before, most muds emphasize the need for esteem. The opportunity for achievement comes in all shapes and sizes. What is important, then, is making sure those potential achievements are meaningful. This is where the ability to interact with the environment comes in. How meaningful is killing 10,000 goblins if there is a neverending supply of goblin clones? What good is becoming lord of all one sees if there no real power transferred? Why write the ballad to top all ballads if it dies wth the bard? Etc., etc., etc. It is important to note that esteem is generally perceived relative to the other members of a community. Otherwise, how do you know that you've really achieved something significant? Not every significant interaction with the environment is a significant achievement, for that aspect of the environment might simply be volatile. A player needs peers; this goes hand in hand with the need for a role in the community and is a foundation for satisfying the player's esteem needs. Self-Actualization This is the final need a mud needs to worry about satisfying. That's not to say it is unimportant. Quite the opposite, how you satisfy this need goes a long way in determining just what kind of mud you are running. Once the four fundamental needs are met, this need can be explored in an infinite number of ways. It is more than the icing on the cake; it is the ultimate goal of everything a mudder does. A mudder needs to be unequivocally unique, fully realized, and utterly connected to the community and to the environment. It is not necessary to be an immortal to fulfill everyone's need for self-actualization as a mudder. However, you will find that for many it is a requirement, and the others might often as well be called an immortal for all that they do. On the other hand, it is important to note that a person's ability to lead as an immortal will have a lot to do with how well founded they are in the lower-level needs. An immortal with belonging and/or esteem issues could potentially become your next power abuser (not that this would always happen). An immortal with prolonged safety or physiological issues probably is going to stop working for you long, unless that immortal is you. Let's hope not.