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JilesDM · 08-19-2003, 08:08 AM

Actually, I consider all of our NPCs to be fairly OOC constructs--a crutch if you will.. props that take care of much of the boring stuff that might otherwise prove to be a serious impediment to playability. They don't have meaningful conversations, they don't have goals, they have no friends who mourn their death. If you want to treat them in a completely IC manner, you need to take these things into account as well. To any observant individual they would appear to be lobotomized zombies or elaborate sock puppets (some of the more detailed NPCs have finite state AI definition files that push 50k, but none would ever come close to passing the Turing test). Treating them the same as you would treat another player character is, in my opinion, a decidedly OOC act, as it requires you to conciously overlook their shortcomings for the OOC reason that they are NPCs. From a completely IC point of view, they might as well be brainless animals.

Now, our players choose not to bother with the mental gymnastics required to RP as if an NPC were a real concious being and instead focus on IC player interaction. That is, they make a distinction between props and actors, and behave accordingly. If you have a problem with this, I could recommend a handful of MUDs that would probably suit your style better.

Well, in this case, yes. NPCs were never intended to be part of the IC roleplaying atmosphere. The original intent of DM with respect to NPCs was to eliminate them entirely if feasible, but include them as crutches to handle the most boring functions if eliminating them entirely would cause undue inconvenience to players.

Even with respect to player characters, it is considered highly unusual and suspicious for a character to make a big deal about the death of a stranger. The setting of DM is an extremely harsh one, and such a character is likely to be seen as either incredibly stupid, hopelessly naive, or, most likely, trying to further some hidden agenda--in other words, someone to be shunned and/or viewed with suspicion.

Well, there are no real IC immortals per se, and half of the time it's the rather corrupt law enforcement officials that do the killing anyway.

Not quite, but close (golden rule applies.. he who has the gold makes the rules). Yup. Find out for yourself if you feel so inclined. Very carefully. They're there. They most certainly do.

Because our IC atmosphere obviously isn't like what you expected it to be? If your character is the archetypal one-in-a-million who still believes in justice in an incredibly harsh, machiavellian society, you're free to have him/her try to uphold his/her ideals, but he/she will probably just get killed.

DartMUD is one-of-a-kind, purposefully designed to cater to a small niche group with a particular style of RP. Obviously it does not suit you, which is fine. The statement that it is lacking in RP, however, is only true for narrow definitions of RP.

08-19-2003, 08:08 AM	#5
JilesDM Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 66	Actually, I consider all of our NPCs to be fairly OOC constructs--a crutch if you will.. props that take care of much of the boring stuff that might otherwise prove to be a serious impediment to playability. They don't have meaningful conversations, they don't have goals, they have no friends who mourn their death. If you want to treat them in a completely IC manner, you need to take these things into account as well. To any observant individual they would appear to be lobotomized zombies or elaborate sock puppets (some of the more detailed NPCs have finite state AI definition files that push 50k, but none would ever come close to passing the Turing test). Treating them the same as you would treat another player character is, in my opinion, a decidedly OOC act, as it requires you to conciously overlook their shortcomings for the OOC reason that they are NPCs. From a completely IC point of view, they might as well be brainless animals. Now, our players choose not to bother with the mental gymnastics required to RP as if an NPC were a real concious being and instead focus on IC player interaction. That is, they make a distinction between props and actors, and behave accordingly. If you have a problem with this, I could recommend a handful of MUDs that would probably suit your style better. Well, in this case, yes. NPCs were never intended to be part of the IC roleplaying atmosphere. The original intent of DM with respect to NPCs was to eliminate them entirely if feasible, but include them as crutches to handle the most boring functions if eliminating them entirely would cause undue inconvenience to players. Even with respect to player characters, it is considered highly unusual and suspicious for a character to make a big deal about the death of a stranger. The setting of DM is an extremely harsh one, and such a character is likely to be seen as either incredibly stupid, hopelessly naive, or, most likely, trying to further some hidden agenda--in other words, someone to be shunned and/or viewed with suspicion. Well, there are no real IC immortals per se, and half of the time it's the rather corrupt law enforcement officials that do the killing anyway. Not quite, but close (golden rule applies.. he who has the gold makes the rules). Yup. Find out for yourself if you feel so inclined. Very carefully. They're there. They most certainly do. Because our IC atmosphere obviously isn't like what you expected it to be? If your character is the archetypal one-in-a-million who still believes in justice in an incredibly harsh, machiavellian society, you're free to have him/her try to uphold his/her ideals, but he/she will probably just get killed. DartMUD is one-of-a-kind, purposefully designed to cater to a small niche group with a particular style of RP. Obviously it does not suit you, which is fine. The statement that it is lacking in RP, however, is only true for narrow definitions of RP.