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Drug Addiction Integrated Into Achaea MUD
An anonymous reader writes "The text-based MUD Achaea, one of Iron Realms Entertainment's games, has introduced an addictive drug called gleam into its world, during a plot involving a wide-ranging crime ring. On discovery, a number of players, eager for a new experience, took enough gleam to become immediate addicts, leading to head-twitching, speed-talking druggies polluting the land here and there. Several player cities have already outlawed the drug, and there are some very sorry addicts going through a painful withdrawal that can last up to 25 hours of playing time. It'll be interesting to see if anyone considers the tangible benefit (increased dexterity) that one gets worth the heavy cost of the drug on both the character's bank account and on the player's psyche. At least one real-life recovering addict has used the in-game forums to loudly object to the introduction of gleam."
Keep the effects simple, the price high. It will be interesting to see the effects on the dynamics of the game. Will it model the real world?
It could be a good experiment this!
For problems, seek only the simplest solution, complexity brings with it more problems.
At least one real-life recovering addict has used the in-game forums to loudly object to the introduction of gleam.
That's odd. It seems to me that looking at the effects of a drug on a fake world to see what might happen is a very interesting sociological experiment. It's hard to produce real-world effects in a static model, if only for the fact that people tend to do unpredictable things. But stick a drug with real effects (and benefits and detriments, just like a real drug) into a world run by diverse peoples, and you just might see a mirroring of real-world behavior regarding it.
It's interesting that cities have banned the drug; I would've thought something like that wouldn't be controlled at a governmental level in a MUD. I wonder if the drug actually forces the user to do things he/she wouldn't want to do, such as kill somebody or steal from them in order to get enough money to buy more gleam. If that's the case, it's more understandable why cities would want to keep it away from their walls. I'm also assuming that this MUD is PK-able?
I think this is cool. But then again, I've always preferred that art imitate life.
I don't think it will be as widely used as in RW-drugs, as it is far easier for people to handle withdrawals when it's not "real". Just like any RPG, the players would want to "win", and therefore would probably not let their chars be addicted too long.
Then again, maybe the effects outweigh the sideeffects for enough players...
The really evil twist is as follows... for every additional drink of SotS you take, you get the same ability boost... but the mandatory interval between your doses of "antidote" shortens by a day... so after 2 drinks of SotS, you need to drink the antidote at least once every 27 days... after 3 doses, you need to take the antidote on a 26 day cycle... etc etc...
This effect is cumulative, and (to date) there is no cure. However... the allure of the benefits that this potion can bring has driven a lot of people to become completely dependent on the antidote - having to log in every few days to make sure they get their fix and their character stays alive(!)
Of course, most people think: "Hey, I can handle one drink... the consequences aren't so bad..." - but once you're on the slippery slope to addiction.... ;)
If use of gleam can raise a character's dexterity, and if long time players have amassed a sizable pile of treasure they have no other use for, will some players see gleam as a way to make their characters even stronger?
I can almost imagine gleam use/addiction being a status symbol of some sort ... for those characters that can easily afford it. Or maybe gleam is a means to try and bleed some extra cash out of characters with too much coin.
Either way, I'm glad I don't play this game.
-- V
Hasn't this already been done in Fallout? I know Achaea is a MUD and therefore realtime/MM/etc, but Fallout had a number of drugs that you could use, get boosts from, get addicted to and go through withdrawl from. Hell, two of the abilities you chose while rolling your character determined whether you were highly resistant or highly affected by drugs.
--trb
Spice? Several Dune MUDs are in existence and the whole of that world revolves around an addictive substance. Why should gleam be viewed as any different than melange? Certainly introducing an addictive substance that has benefits into a society is going to cause changes to that society, but it will make for an interesting experiement. I think I need to start playing Achaea again just to see what happens.
The drift of the story -undoubtedly submitted by one of the industrious Achaea PR folks- seems to be that Achaea invented the drug addiction code. This is incorrect -there have been many instances of similar implementations in the past.
/. shallowly disguised as news or articles -there are many as good and even more better MUDs out there (not that Achaea is particularly bad), with better code, better storylines, better administration and better players. 'd rather read about MUDs in general rather than these moronic innuendos.
I am, frankly, sick and tired of reading advertisements for Achaea on
Achaea uses the same questionable advertising style on many forums. It is one of the few apparently commercially successful text-based game companies of the time, but this is entirely unnecessary.
Please, do not post this crap anymore.
Marxist evolution is just N generations away!
IQ tests wouldn't quite be right for this; one can be slow to put facts together, yet still able to pull the right facts out of the environment to come (eventually) to a valid conclusion. It's a matter of being able to see what information is available, not assume what isn't available, and even if the whole picture isn't available, using what you've got to make an educated guess. It would be more of a "savvy" test. But some sort of testing method, impartial and incontrovertible, would be needed for something like this.
Come on, admit it. If you're stuck at a toll bridge in the exact change lane behind someone with nothing but a twenty, most peoples' thoughts will stray, however momentarily, to putting a better filter on the gene pool.
Or maybe you don't. Interestingly, I never said anything about appointing myself Minister of Intelligence Standards.
Goodbye logic, hello ad hominem attack! So tell me, what's your solution to the problem of people who get addicted to things? (And don't tell me you don't have an opinion...)You cannot truly appreciate Dilbert until you read it in the original Klingon.