MUDs and Player Types

Players Who Suit MUDs

MUD: Multi User Dimension

MUDs need a system which is a (text-based) multi-user virtual world.

Most players agree on 4 methods of getting fun out of their games:

Achievement (Achievers)

- Wanting to achieve game related goals.

- Achievers are proud of their formal status in the game's built-in level hierarchy, and of how short a time they took to reach it.

Exploration (Explorers)

- Explore the world and its physics.

- Explorers are proud of their knowledge of the game's finer points, especially if new players treat them as founts of all knowledge.

Socializing (Socialisers)

- Using communication.
- Socialisers are proud of their friendships, their contacts and their influence.

Imposition (Killers)

- Having an impact on others.
- Killers are proud of their reputation and of their oft-practiced fighting skills.

The writer argues that most people fit mostly into one of the 4 types, and mainly uses the other types only if needed or if it helps with their preferred type.

I would have to strongly disagree here as I do a bit of everything, not because I need to but because I want to, however it is true that I do focus more on some rather than others.

Player Interests

           Acting
Player     +     World
        Interacting

Player vs World & Acting vs Interacting

Player: Social elements. (Small world enhances this)
World: Exploration. (Large world enhances this)

Acting: Free action.
Interacting: Actions are limited to what options are given.

Player focus is all about communication, but "when all sense of elsewhere-presence is lost, you no longer have a MUD."

According to the writer, the following are the methods that can be used to increase or reduce the desired player types:

To increase the number of achievers:

• reduce the number of killers, but not by too much.
• if killer numbers are high, increase the number of
  explorers.

To decrease the number of achievers:

• increase the number of killers.
• if killer numbers are low, reduce the number of
  explorers.

To increase the number of explorers:

• increase the number of explorers.

To decrease the number of explorers:

• massively increase the number of killers.

To increase the number of socialisers:

• slightly decrease the number of killers.
• increase the number of socialisers.

To decrease the number of socialisers:

• slightly increase the number of killers.
• massively increase the number of achievers.
• massively decrease the number of achievers.
• decrease the number of socialisers.

To increase the number of killers:

• increase the number of achievers.
• massively decrease the number of explorers.
• increase the number of socialisers.

To decrease the number of killers

• decrease the number of achievers.
• massively increase the number of explorers.
• decrease the number of socialisers

A MUD can't focus on just 1 player type, but must focus on and try to balance all four to be rightfully called a MUD.



***

This is a very biased reading against "killers", it seems the writer may have had a rough gaming experience in a player killing environment.

The "killers" that he speaks of do exist, however I believe he is only referring to a small share of this player type. I do not believe it is true that most "killers" gain their fun out of causing distress to other people.

My opinion is based on other similar readings to this which were a lot less biased.

Also, a lot of statements used didn't quite click with my experiences while playing online. However times may have changed, and I'm trying to understand MUDs in the context of my MMO knowledge, so I could possibly be off.