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Valg · 03-22-2006, 01:51 PM

However, all the rules of poker are available to all players before the game starts and the player chooses to play.

On a MUD, that can be different. Let's say you sell someone a virtual sword for $10, but you also populate your game with virtually undetectable NPC thieves who really like stealing those swords. You can stack the odds such that the player is extremely likely to lose that virtual sword within a week or two of gameplay, then use the "normal gameplay" defense. You're under no obligation to tell every player where every NPC thief is, and you can change what is "fair" as far as game difficulty without the consent of the player.

Another scenario would be: Let's say a game decides to shut down while they still have a fair number of players. Maybe a lawsuit is brewing, maybe they foresee the game spiraling slowly downhill anyway, maybe it costs too much labor or money to maintain. So they make a crazy sale: All kinds of unbelievably potent virtual stuff, better than anything in the game. Their players buy it up for a month, then *poof*, the game closes down due to "unforeseen" difficulties, and everyone at the company points at the disclaimer, shortly before running off with their bag of very real cash.

All legal, all bad for business, but all possible.

03-22-2006, 01:51 PM	#17
Valg Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Home MUD: Carrion Fields Posts: 643	However, all the rules of poker are available to all players before the game starts and the player chooses to play. On a MUD, that can be different. Let's say you sell someone a virtual sword for $10, but you also populate your game with virtually undetectable NPC thieves who really like stealing those swords. You can stack the odds such that the player is extremely likely to lose that virtual sword within a week or two of gameplay, then use the "normal gameplay" defense. You're under no obligation to tell every player where every NPC thief is, and you can change what is "fair" as far as game difficulty without the consent of the player. Another scenario would be: Let's say a game decides to shut down while they still have a fair number of players. Maybe a lawsuit is brewing, maybe they foresee the game spiraling slowly downhill anyway, maybe it costs too much labor or money to maintain. So they make a crazy sale: All kinds of unbelievably potent virtual stuff, better than anything in the game. Their players buy it up for a month, then poof, the game closes down due to "unforeseen" difficulties, and everyone at the company points at the disclaimer, shortly before running off with their bag of very real cash. All legal, all bad for business, but all possible.