re: Wolverine
Posted: 29 Aug 2011 17:14
Hi Wolverine,
I really do appreciate your helpful attitude towards our new players. That is
just excellent! However, I think there is a danger in simply giving massive
handouts to people. Let me explain what I mean with an example.
When I was a young player, I would spend literally hours in the gibberer
cairn which was near Faerie and then running to the nearby (in those days)
Solace to sell all the knives I had gotten for 50 or so silver coins. The
feeling of satisfaction was immense when I would take these hard earned coins
to the centaur instructor and improve my combat skills. It felt great to be
able to train myself up like that! So fun!
The above example shows how enjoyable the game is for players who are given
the natural opportunity to accomplish their own goals, earn their own money,
and get their own experience. Compare this now to a completely different
scenareo.
New player Gorbonk walks into Sparkle for the first time, and heads over to
the Adventurer Guild. Lo and behold! 10,000 silver coins are sitting in a
group of huge piles on the ground! Yes! Train train train. Great sword skill
now. Oh look, here is a myth team offering to get me on their team. Awesome!
Hmmm ... these qualinesti elves sure are dying fast. Too bad I can't attack
them. But ... wait ... I'm already a wanderer! Oh, the team dropped me off
in Sparkle. Okay ... lets explore. Hmm all these orcs are dying so fast. This
game is easy. Kinda boring actually ... hmmm ... I don't really know what I'm
supposed to be doing ...
What I'm trying to illustrate with the above example is the idea that doing
*all* the work for a new player might risk robbing them of the actual enjoyment
and satisfaction that is felt when you accomplish things on your own. Now, I
am well-aware that there are many different kinds of people in the world, and
for some the "do it yourself" method might just be far less satisfying than
just having everything handed to you. But I do believe these players are not
the normal sort we will get. Rather, I think most people enjoy a good
challenge, and a game is the most fun if you actually have to "score your own
points" so to speak. If someone just does all your moves for you, and raises
your hand as the winner, is that really fun?
Food for thought.
G.
I really do appreciate your helpful attitude towards our new players. That is
just excellent! However, I think there is a danger in simply giving massive
handouts to people. Let me explain what I mean with an example.
When I was a young player, I would spend literally hours in the gibberer
cairn which was near Faerie and then running to the nearby (in those days)
Solace to sell all the knives I had gotten for 50 or so silver coins. The
feeling of satisfaction was immense when I would take these hard earned coins
to the centaur instructor and improve my combat skills. It felt great to be
able to train myself up like that! So fun!
The above example shows how enjoyable the game is for players who are given
the natural opportunity to accomplish their own goals, earn their own money,
and get their own experience. Compare this now to a completely different
scenareo.
New player Gorbonk walks into Sparkle for the first time, and heads over to
the Adventurer Guild. Lo and behold! 10,000 silver coins are sitting in a
group of huge piles on the ground! Yes! Train train train. Great sword skill
now. Oh look, here is a myth team offering to get me on their team. Awesome!
Hmmm ... these qualinesti elves sure are dying fast. Too bad I can't attack
them. But ... wait ... I'm already a wanderer! Oh, the team dropped me off
in Sparkle. Okay ... lets explore. Hmm all these orcs are dying so fast. This
game is easy. Kinda boring actually ... hmmm ... I don't really know what I'm
supposed to be doing ...
What I'm trying to illustrate with the above example is the idea that doing
*all* the work for a new player might risk robbing them of the actual enjoyment
and satisfaction that is felt when you accomplish things on your own. Now, I
am well-aware that there are many different kinds of people in the world, and
for some the "do it yourself" method might just be far less satisfying than
just having everything handed to you. But I do believe these players are not
the normal sort we will get. Rather, I think most people enjoy a good
challenge, and a game is the most fun if you actually have to "score your own
points" so to speak. If someone just does all your moves for you, and raises
your hand as the winner, is that really fun?
Food for thought.
G.