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Old 08-03-2011, 02:52 PM   #15
Velleity
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Join Date: Aug 2011
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Re: Unwritten Legends: Searching for Player Testers.

So it seems as if the original recruitment purpose of the thread ended up being pretty well derailed by the responses, however relevant some of them may have been.

Erisine, your comments were really pretty constructive, and I wish I were in a position to actually address some of those issues you've pointed out. I will agree that the application does look overly serious and even intimidating -- as if this were all some incredibly solemn affair and you were likely to be deemed disgustingly unsuitable unless you made the best of all possible impressions. From what I can tell, this is not really the case, and I don't think anyone actually gets horrifically judged when they submit their application, contrary to appearances.

For my part, I don't recall being terribly bothered by the form or the process when I first signed up to play years ago. I wanted to play, but I wasn't especially antsy about it and at least I had time to read up on the lore while I waited to be accepted. I'll admit that I don't especially like it when any game tries to pin me down by making me choose a race and class up front, though I suppose ideally this would also make people at least glance over the lore before trying to leap into the game. I don't think the answer to these questions even makes that big a difference, since as far as I can tell people nowadays are nearly always allowed to play whatever race and class they like as long as they adhere to the lore for the race, class, and game world in general.

As for the "testing" designation being just a front for unreasonable rule enforcement, this doesn't seem to me to be the case. Preposterous as some may find it, Unwritten Legends *is* still considered in testing, as there's been a pretty massive overhaul of mechanics in the last couple of years. The game has been fortunate enough to have a very creative and dedicated lead coder during this time, so there really has been enormous change -- for the better, I might add! -- since those relatively long-ago days when I started playing.

I'm not going to be ridiculous and claim that UL (and in fact pretty much every other game I've ever played) hasn't had its problems and issues. Of course it has; nothing's perfect. But imperfections and all, I've stuck with this particular MUD for the last several years because I've enjoyed it above all other MUDs I've ever played, and overall have been deeply satisfied with the experience. So in the next post I will outline -- at some length, I'll admit -- what I find most compelling about the game, along with some of its strengths and weaknesses. I like knowing what I'm getting into with a new game, and obviously not every game is going to be equally appealing to everybody. But I think if people can get past the application process and the whole "in testing" thing, UL has a lot to be enjoyed.
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