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Old 04-29-2010, 06:42 PM   #7
silvarilon
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Join Date: Dec 2009
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Re: RP Intensive mud with no need for description

Oh, wow. I totally didn't understand that's what was being asked.

I assumed that requiring a lengthy description or history of your character was the exception, not the rule.

(I was thinking he wanted a MUD without either hand-written OR generated descriptions. I was imagining someone who didn't speak English well and wanted minimal reading, or someone blind using a screen reader, or something...)

Certainly!
Or they may contribute to the game in other ways, such as reliably roleplaying a craftsman, and providing an in-game service to the other characters, even if the roleplay of ordering an item from them isn't always edge-of-your-seat gripping.

That's what I run. Ironclaw Online -
You have to get through a few pages of choices when making a character, but it's all selected from drop-down lists, and only takes a few minutes. And then you're thrown into the game.

It's RP required, we expect the players to maintain a high standard - but don't have any sort of approval or writing requirements beforehand. For the most part the expectation of the other players is that there will be a high standard of roleplay, and almost everyone who plays either learns by example or decides the game isn't for them.

It is pay-to-play after the first month. But feel free to sign up for a trial account and play for a month. I wouldn't expect anyone to pay a cent if they aren't certain that it's value for money. If that turns you off, I also totally understand. (I find having a cost to playing helps us avoid problem players. It means all the ongoing players have an investment in the game.) (And no, I don't see a cent of the money. I build the game because I enjoy it...)

You're right, all text gets routine.
I think the idea of "generated descriptions gets routine" is in the sense that, imagine there is a forest path. If it's hand-written, presumably every room has a different hand-written description that I can read if I walk down the path. I might notice something unusual in one while reading it. I will probably only read each room description once, so it doesn't "get routine" even though it's not changing.
If it's generated (and not generated in an interesting way) then maybe each room looks like it has the same description. Sure, sentences like "You are surrounded by three trees" might say "eight trees" in the next room, but it's not really giving me something new to read. In that case, I'd probably just scan the descriptions looking for something unusual that I can make use of, rather than reading them to get a sense of place and setting.

Of course, that makes the assumption that the generated descriptions won't be interesting to read. As Kavir points out, bad writing is bad writing, whether generated or not.
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