Massive Growing Pains, Part One
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There is a trend for players to demand to know every last number and calculation in the game so they can maximize their character builds and player efficiency. Is a reliance on numbers hurting the genre? Would it be better to conceal more from the player? Or is this actually a benefit?
Richard Garriott:
"It definitely runs against what I believe is the essence of "roleplaying". The problem we have with these MMPs is that since the game itself cannot give high quality storytelling for years of time to millions of people all concurrently they have this horrible habit in my mind of deteriorating into slot machines. Where people hang around and optimize their play behavior to maximize the results from the slot machine.
I don't think this is what is most compelling about the genre. I don't think this is what is compelling about games in general and I as a designer am working to try to break that mold but I can't tell you that I have the magical solution to lead us out of the dark ages of repetitive behavior within MMPs."
Brad McQuaid:
"I think you can have a great game where all the numbers, statistics and formulae are published or derived, but I also think the game can even be better where there is mystery that remains about the game. The trick is to find a balance where the game is not too cryptic but also still intriguing. And that balance can't be achieved for everyone, because some players like to know more about the nuts and bolts of a game than others."
