Xanadu: an introduction
Xanadu is the MMORPG that I would like to play.
Goal:
I have observed that most MMOs have a singular goal: The improvement of a character, via stats or gear. Tangentially, social interaction, teamwork, and indeed "fun" are also goals and valid reasons for playing the game, but they are dependent upon the first goal. They are "player objectives," but not "rules goals." This is to say: within the game, the objective that is supported most heavily by the rule sets is character improvement, level gaining, rare equipment, &c. It is analogous to a group of D&D players creating a fantastic and meaningful story, while the rules they are using drive merely the combat and technical skills of the characers.
See: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/_articles/system_does_matter.html
In this case, the world affects the players. The world is essentially static, the tools by which an effective character is formed. I would like to play a game in which the objective is to affect the world, in which the character is the tool by which the world itself changes. This seems more in line with the mythic hero most rpgs purport to simulate: it is of little importance how a character advances his skills in a story, what is more important is how he uses those skills and whether they are sufficient to cause a change. Personal change is important as well, but this seems an unlikely topic for an MMO, being better supported by a single-player RPG (see: Planescape: Torment). In any case, that is not what Xanadu is concerned with.
So, the goal of the player in Xanadu: To change the world.
Goal:
I have observed that most MMOs have a singular goal: The improvement of a character, via stats or gear. Tangentially, social interaction, teamwork, and indeed "fun" are also goals and valid reasons for playing the game, but they are dependent upon the first goal. They are "player objectives," but not "rules goals." This is to say: within the game, the objective that is supported most heavily by the rule sets is character improvement, level gaining, rare equipment, &c. It is analogous to a group of D&D players creating a fantastic and meaningful story, while the rules they are using drive merely the combat and technical skills of the characers.
See: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/_articles/system_does_matter.html
In this case, the world affects the players. The world is essentially static, the tools by which an effective character is formed. I would like to play a game in which the objective is to affect the world, in which the character is the tool by which the world itself changes. This seems more in line with the mythic hero most rpgs purport to simulate: it is of little importance how a character advances his skills in a story, what is more important is how he uses those skills and whether they are sufficient to cause a change. Personal change is important as well, but this seems an unlikely topic for an MMO, being better supported by a single-player RPG (see: Planescape: Torment). In any case, that is not what Xanadu is concerned with.
So, the goal of the player in Xanadu: To change the world.
posted by d.p. at 7:42 PM
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