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Anitra · 03-24-2006, 08:44 AM

the_logos@: Mar. 24 2006,03:39

Of course nobody objected to the business model.
It was a conference for commercal Game Developers and other commercial interests, wasn't it?. How many representatives of non commercial Muds were present? My guess would be none at all, since Mud developers that run free muds, don't have the money to attend conferences (nor to advertise their games for that matter).

Naturally the Pay-for-perks business model. (which you keep calling Free-to-play), is enjoying a world-wide success among commercial Game Developers.
It is after all the most effective method known to squeeze the largest possible amount of money out of your total playerbase.

Naturally an audience like that wouldn't have any objections to the 'free-to-play' label either, since that makes it easier to get new players to try out the game, without having to reveal the snag before they get hooked.

Also it's in line with the prevailing commercial culture, where you get all sorts of 'free' offers all the time, (free cellphones - if you pay for a 1 year account, free television channels - if you buy a box to view them etc.). That's today's advertising culture, and regrettably it has totally invaded the internet too in the last years. And people are getting so used to commercialism that they forget how it was before, when you didn't have to listen to irritating commercial's every 15 minutes in a TV program. Many are even too young to ever have experienced it.

There are only a few areas that commercialism hasn't yet invaded. The truly free Text Muds are among those few, but they are fighting a losing battle, since they are having increasing problems in getting their message noticed in the flood of commercialism.

All the Mud sites that started out mainly as forums for free Muds have now been taken over by the commercial interests. This also reflects on the topics of discussion, which have changed over the years from questions about game development, to questions about commercial business ideas.

Personally I think it is sad. This site used to have a lot more interesting discussions 5 years ago. In case any of you forgot, or weren't a member back then, take a look at the Articles part of this site. There are some very interesting articles there, but most of those were written over 3 years ago.

03-24-2006, 08:44 AM	#3
Anitra Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 123	the_logos@: Mar. 24 2006,03:39 Of course nobody objected to the business model. It was a conference for commercal Game Developers and other commercial interests, wasn't it?. How many representatives of non commercial Muds were present? My guess would be none at all, since Mud developers that run free muds, don't have the money to attend conferences (nor to advertise their games for that matter). Naturally the Pay-for-perks business model. (which you keep calling Free-to-play), is enjoying a world-wide success among commercial Game Developers. It is after all the most effective method known to squeeze the largest possible amount of money out of your total playerbase. Naturally an audience like that wouldn't have any objections to the 'free-to-play' label either, since that makes it easier to get new players to try out the game, without having to reveal the snag before they get hooked. Also it's in line with the prevailing commercial culture, where you get all sorts of 'free' offers all the time, (free cellphones - if you pay for a 1 year account, free television channels - if you buy a box to view them etc.). That's today's advertising culture, and regrettably it has totally invaded the internet too in the last years. And people are getting so used to commercialism that they forget how it was before, when you didn't have to listen to irritating commercial's every 15 minutes in a TV program. Many are even too young to ever have experienced it. There are only a few areas that commercialism hasn't yet invaded. The truly free Text Muds are among those few, but they are fighting a losing battle, since they are having increasing problems in getting their message noticed in the flood of commercialism. All the Mud sites that started out mainly as forums for free Muds have now been taken over by the commercial interests. This also reflects on the topics of discussion, which have changed over the years from questions about game development, to questions about commercial business ideas. Personally I think it is sad. This site used to have a lot more interesting discussions 5 years ago. In case any of you forgot, or weren't a member back then, take a look at the Articles part of this site. There are some very interesting articles there, but most of those were written over 3 years ago.