Top Mud Sites Forum - View Single Post - What types of games are impacted the most by permadeath?

scandum · 02-15-2010, 10:49 AM

Another theory is that MUDs with permadeath attract players that aren't overly bothered by permadeath - players that don't like permadeath leave and never come back.

As you artificially select for a certain trait you end up with a group of people that deviate from the norm, and as such you develop a particular culture. Take Holland for example where dumb and smart kids go to different schools after age 12, which results in a different highschool experience - there is nothing wrong with being a nerd when everyone in your class is nerdy.

So from that perspective AFS muds aren't all that different from Hack and Slash muds, the difference is in the people who play them, and subsequently the game's culture.

What I find interesting is that these AFS muds incorrectly market themselves as 'roleplay intensive' combined with the notable amount of fanboyism. The whole thing is borderline sociopathic (like me) so I would say permadeath selects for players that aren't fully emotionally stable, and possibly enjoy the traumatic / humiliating experience of character loss.

02-15-2010, 10:49 AM	#35
scandum Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 315	Re: What types of games are impacted the most by permadeath? Another theory is that MUDs with permadeath attract players that aren't overly bothered by permadeath - players that don't like permadeath leave and never come back. As you artificially select for a certain trait you end up with a group of people that deviate from the norm, and as such you develop a particular culture. Take Holland for example where dumb and smart kids go to different schools after age 12, which results in a different highschool experience - there is nothing wrong with being a nerd when everyone in your class is nerdy. So from that perspective AFS muds aren't all that different from Hack and Slash muds, the difference is in the people who play them, and subsequently the game's culture. What I find interesting is that these AFS muds incorrectly market themselves as 'roleplay intensive' combined with the notable amount of fanboyism. The whole thing is borderline sociopathic (like me) so I would say permadeath selects for players that aren't fully emotionally stable, and possibly enjoy the traumatic / humiliating experience of character loss.