Re: custom clients. Good or bad?
But how many successful games have been specifically targeted at people who don't play that type of game at all? Perhaps there are some, but I can't imagine there are many. A mud designed to appeal to people who have never played Diku, EverQuest, MUSH, WoW, etc...that's going to be a pretty hard sell.
Not really. There's nothing stopping a dedicated player from creating their own client - and if there is value in doing so, and your game is successful, then sooner or later that's exactly what will happen.
As I said before, all it does is raise the entry barrier for existing mudders.
It'll still be a type of mud, just as MMORPGs are a type of mud (indeed some of them are little more than Diku clones with a graphical client). Muds come in many different shapes and flavours, and those who play your mud will also be mudders.
You're deliberately discouraging existing players from trying your mud, and those who do play will be expected to leave after 4-6 months? If I were attempting to create a popular mud I would be doing the reverse - appeal to existing players as much as to new ones, and attempt to keep them interested for as long as possible.
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