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Bartle to MMOG Players - Newbs!

Posted by Zonk on from the soapboxes-are-good-for-standing-on dept.

Gamasutra (registration required) has begun running an excellent column called "Soapbox". The first article up on the site is penned by Richard Bartle, one of the gents who created MUD1. Why Virtual Worlds are Designed by Newbies [non-reg alternate] is a great look at the lessons of past games and the foibles of designing a new one. From the article: "Virtual worlds are being designed by know-nothing newbies, and there's not a damned thing anyone can do about it. I don't mean newbie designers, I mean newbie players - first timers. They're dictating design through a twisted "survival of the not-quite-fittest" form of natural selection that will lead to a long-term decay in quality, guaranteed."

4 of 336 comments (clear)

  1. SLOW by TheMysteriousFuture · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Wow, is it just me or is slashdot amazingly slow right now?...

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  2. Re:Regisitration Required. Slashdot Sucks. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    If you hate it so much, why are you not contributing to it's demise?

    Go GNAA!

  3. Re:Article Text by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Rofl whoever modded that troll is going to get M2'd out the ass

  4. Discrimination by Pedrito · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Why is it when people link New York Times, people rant and rave about the registration requirements and you get the snide comments in the post like, "Registration and first born child required." But when it's GamaSutra, nobody says anything?

    I mean, seriously, is GamaSutra's registration really so much more ethical than the NY Times registration?

    Go ahead and mark me off topic and troll, but I think it's a legitimate gripe. 5 years down the road, I want to continue to get my NY Times free of charge and if all that requires from me is registration, I'll happily make the trade.