Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction
Path: news.duke.edu!newsgate.duke.edu!solaris.cc.vt.edu!news.vt.edu!router1.news.adelphia.net!logbridge.uoregon.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!paloalto-snf1.gtei.net!crtntx1-snh1.gtei.net!denver-snf1.gtei.net!news.gtei.net!coop.net!world!buzzard
From: buzzard@world.std.com (Sean T Barrett)
Subject: Re: RPGs in IF.
Message-ID: <G55uC8.8K8@world.std.com>
Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2000 19:04:56 GMT
References: <t2r0t3r8otdlc7@corp.supernews.com> <t2ri8coihakd25@corp.supernews.com> <3a2df613.689898686@news.worldonline.nl> <ZpsX5.46322$i%4.1233797@news20.bellglobal.com>
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Lines: 36
Xref: news.duke.edu rec.arts.int-fiction:81072

Kaia Vintr <kaia@xoe.com> wrote:
>I think the only relevant question is this: how can I implement or replace a
>human game master?

I'd argue that somebody asked that many years ago, and one result
was the modern text adventure--the other result was the roguelikes
and Temple of Apshai and such.

The latter allow for greater variation of player experience
by giving the player lots of choices (weapons, spells, armor)
within a very limited game mechanic (combat) based around
randomness (to make the best player choices less obvious).

The former uses a broader simulation--there are more kinds
of interactions--but trades away a lot of player freedom
within that simulation--there tends to be a planned path.
If a player misses a jump, a real life game master can
improvise a result and steer things back to a pre-planned
path. This allows coping with both randomness and player
improvisation. In a computer implementation, there would
simply become too many paths, or it would be necessary to
implement an incredibly deep simulation plus a game-master
AI that knows how to cheat behind the scenes to bring things
back on course.

I'm assuming here that you want to do it "right"--that
the author wants the player to be able to try the jump
and still win regardless of whether the player succeeds
at the jump or not.

But I'm serious. The computer in IF already *is* an attempt
at making a gamemaster. As I posted some time ago, look
no further than the form of the dialogue between player and
gamemaster--for example the use of 2nd person present tense.

SeanB
