Thread: A Good Immortal
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Old 10-07-2002, 04:10 PM   #1
Sanvean
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We recently had a round of picking a couple of new staff members on our MUD, and as a result I spent some time thinking about what traists make someone a good Immortal, as opposed to a mediocre or so-so one. I thought I'd throw some of my assumptions out and see what people thought, or what they'd add.

A good immortal has time - I can have the most creative person in the world on staff and if they don't have the time to put into the game, while they're still terrific and talented, doesn't do much for me. Hopefully, they've got talent, energy and experience to back that up - but again, without time, it's just not going to work.

A good immortal plays nice with others - A MUD team's (hopefully)greater than the sum of its parts, and it's the people capable of putting aside their egos, or at least of making the attempt, who stick around and, even better, make other people want to stick around. Listening and discussion is a major part of a game's development, and prima donnas aren't usually good at either of those.

A good immortal tries to be fair, whether it's with players or other staff members. Playing favorites is crappy, and leads to people bailing.

A good immortal is genuinely interested in the game and wants to work on it because they believe they can make it better/fun/more interesting, rather than wanting the ego-boost of being on staff.

A good immortal knows their MUD - has experience with the code, the flavor, the conventions, and the history, which enables them to sort the good ideas from the bad.

A good immortal isn't reactionary - when a new idea or complaint appears, they take the time to think about it, figure out what's involved and how to addess (or not) the issue, and avoid the Arms Race or Guild Seesawing phenomena that arise from a reactionary MUD administration. They don't worry too much about how popular a solution will make them, but about whether or not it's the right solution.

What else would you add?
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