Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
As a designer, you probably want players to feel as if they are the first ones ever to
undertake a particular quest, or to explore an area of the game world. Ordinary
computer games allow you to evoke that feeling, because the game world is created
fresh when the player starts up the game program. In a persistent world, on the
other hand, only those who logged in on its first day of operation are the first to
experience a quest or explore a new area. Furthermore, those who went before will
always tell those who arrive later what to expect. In short, it's impossible to keep
anything secret about a persistent world. As soon as a few players know it, they'll
tell the other players.
Chapter 7, “Storytelling and Narrative,” introduced the emergent narrative : stories
that emerge from the core mechanics of a game. In a persistent world, stories
emerge not so much from the core mechanics as from interactions among the
players. The best emergent stories (those that make the player feel as if he's
participating in a story created by a great writer) occur in purely role-playing
environments with almost no gamelike elements. In effect, the story experience
in a persistent world comes about when the players are excellent role-players: good
at acting and improvisational theater. As a designer, you cannot force good stories
to emerge; it depends too much on the imagination and talent of the participants.
THE PLAYER'S ROLE
In a single-player, plot-driven game, the player's role is defined by the actions he is
allowed to take and is constrained by the requirements of the story. In a persistent
world, the player doesn't follow a single storyline, so he may, in theory, choose
from a larger variety of things to do and has more opportunities to define his own
role. The early persistent worlds offered only a limited number of roles, but modern
ones are increasingly rich and varied.
TIP If your game
offers too few things
to do, it will fail. Your
game design must be
expansive. Even the
coolest game mechanic
becomes tiresome after
a time. You have to
supply alternative
ways of playing or
alternative ways of
experiencing the
world. Otherwise, the
players will go to
another world where
they can have new
experiences. You will
need to release addi-
tions to the game or,
better yet, completely
different subgames
embedded in the
actual game.
As the designer, you must supply an assortment of possible roles the player may
take on and make those roles meaningful in your world. You should also give the
player the freedom to change her role (though not always easily or immediately) as
she sees fit. Because the world continues indefinitely without coming to a narrative
conclusion, you can't expect the player to want to play the same way forever. Just as
people change careers and hobbies over time, players need to be able to change roles.
GAMEPLAY
Finally, there's the question of the gameplay. Without a victory condition, you
can't simply offer the player a predefined sequence of challenges and achievements
as her ultimate objective. In the familiar persistent worlds designed like role-play-
ing games, the player's objective is to advance her character. She (usually) accomp-
lishes this by fighting AI-controlled opponents, such as monsters, although she
could also attain many other things as well: wealth, political power, fame (or noto-
riety), and so on.
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