Top Mud Sites Forum - View Single Post - The Catch-22 of New MUDs

Fern · 12-24-2005, 01:16 PM

Good point. Not many brand new games have the luxury of a draw as strong as the IRE games... a built-in playerbase which may migrate from one to the other, and (hopefully) the funds to promote it. And, yes, it is difficult to keep admin and staff thinking positively and motivated during long dry spells. Difficult but not impossible.

I do know that if we expect everyone who creates a character to stay through the whole game, we will find ourselves in a constant state of disappointment. LoK has gone through days where we have far more people create and delete than create and play. It happens if there are five players online, or 15 players online, or 25 players online. While I will never get over the sinking feeling I get when I see the 'XXXX wishes to cease to exist,' it is a part of the growth process that we must all accept or pay the price in ulcer medication.

Our games will not please everyone. If we design with the thought of pleasing everyone, we will be missing the mark and hitting a design state that pleases nobody. But.. if one person out of fifty walks around Portsmouth and smiles at what he sees and truly enjoys the experience, or gets to the point he is comfortable flying across the continent to Waterton or New Linden or Dacona, lands and crows with delight... then it makes years of work and effort worthwhile.

Let the word of mouth from those who are overjoyed with your game bring in the next and the next and the next... and don't worry if the who list doesn't scroll for pages. Believe in your game and your design, and the people who will enjoy it the most will find you.

Peace and calm holidays, friends.

12-24-2005, 01:16 PM	#12
Fern Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 156	Good point. Not many brand new games have the luxury of a draw as strong as the IRE games... a built-in playerbase which may migrate from one to the other, and (hopefully) the funds to promote it. And, yes, it is difficult to keep admin and staff thinking positively and motivated during long dry spells. Difficult but not impossible. I do know that if we expect everyone who creates a character to stay through the whole game, we will find ourselves in a constant state of disappointment. LoK has gone through days where we have far more people create and delete than create and play. It happens if there are five players online, or 15 players online, or 25 players online. While I will never get over the sinking feeling I get when I see the 'XXXX wishes to cease to exist,' it is a part of the growth process that we must all accept or pay the price in ulcer medication. Our games will not please everyone. If we design with the thought of pleasing everyone, we will be missing the mark and hitting a design state that pleases nobody. But.. if one person out of fifty walks around Portsmouth and smiles at what he sees and truly enjoys the experience, or gets to the point he is comfortable flying across the continent to Waterton or New Linden or Dacona, lands and crows with delight... then it makes years of work and effort worthwhile. Let the word of mouth from those who are overjoyed with your game bring in the next and the next and the next... and don't worry if the who list doesn't scroll for pages. Believe in your game and your design, and the people who will enjoy it the most will find you. Peace and calm holidays, friends.