Quince
08-11-2003, 03:49 PM
A MU* can be open ended rather than "limited lifespan", or instead could be written as a series of large story episodes, while still having characters designed to be of limited duration.
For instance, in the MU* I am working on developing, we have placed a rather strict limitation on the lifespan of characters by instituting (after much discussion within staff) a 60:1 time acceleration ratio combined with aging characters.
This has many interesting effects, but essentially means each character lives from approximately age 20 to 80 in game by default (60 years, flexible and up to the character's owner to decide precisely), which is approximately a year in real time. We are working in terms of a main story arc of about 300 years IC which equates to 5 years in real life.
Because this is a rather strong constraint, our intention is to leave a wide range of flexibility to the player in dealing with the implications, changing appearance, etc. One interesting emphasis dealing with aging and death brings up are questions of legacy. What will each character leave behind when they die? We assume that some players will essentially recreate the same character (as a sibling, offspring, friend, etc.) if they really want to play the same sort of character. Approaches like that are fine. The idea is not to anger a player by destroying their favorite character, but to give them an interesting set of circumstances to role-play a story within.
Our hope is that dealing with an aging character, and inevitable death will be an interesting framework for character life planning and role-play.
Does anyone know of other MU*'s out there with a similar approach? Or have experiences with such to share? I'd be interested in benefits and pitfalls seen elsewhere.
For instance, in the MU* I am working on developing, we have placed a rather strict limitation on the lifespan of characters by instituting (after much discussion within staff) a 60:1 time acceleration ratio combined with aging characters.
This has many interesting effects, but essentially means each character lives from approximately age 20 to 80 in game by default (60 years, flexible and up to the character's owner to decide precisely), which is approximately a year in real time. We are working in terms of a main story arc of about 300 years IC which equates to 5 years in real life.
Because this is a rather strong constraint, our intention is to leave a wide range of flexibility to the player in dealing with the implications, changing appearance, etc. One interesting emphasis dealing with aging and death brings up are questions of legacy. What will each character leave behind when they die? We assume that some players will essentially recreate the same character (as a sibling, offspring, friend, etc.) if they really want to play the same sort of character. Approaches like that are fine. The idea is not to anger a player by destroying their favorite character, but to give them an interesting set of circumstances to role-play a story within.
Our hope is that dealing with an aging character, and inevitable death will be an interesting framework for character life planning and role-play.
Does anyone know of other MU*'s out there with a similar approach? Or have experiences with such to share? I'd be interested in benefits and pitfalls seen elsewhere.