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From: buzzard@world.std.com (Sean T Barrett)
Subject: Re: Multi-player IF (was Re: AI in IF)
Message-ID: <GJF98p.1BI@world.std.com>
Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2001 00:55:37 GMT
References: <7d26d66b.0109030448.59339a1a@posting.google.com> <9n8uaa$3c0$1@newsg1.svr.pol.co.uk> <9ngu4d$t0g$1@sol.mincom.oz.au> <tpo1rm6remoq36@corp.supernews.com>
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David A. Cornelson <dcornelson@placet.com> wrote:
>Oh there has to be conversations on Google somewhere. We talked about it
>quite about 2 1/2 years ago and then at least once since. The link that goes
>into some of the thoughts on ifMUD are at
>http://ifmud.port4000.com/alex/logs/networked-if.txt.

[snip]

>1) Is it turn based or is there some sort of timer? How does the system
>react if one player is playing and the other one goes away?
>
>My thoughts were pretty simple on this. If you build a system exactly like
>current IF, only add for the programmer the ability to code for a second
>"player character", then the rest of it seems pretty obvious to me.
[snip]
>(the PC named Joe on another client sees)
>****
>You see Dave pick up the apple.
[snip]
>Anyway....I think this is one of the NEXT BIG LEAPS in IF and someday
>someone will implement an author-friendly environment to do this sort of
>thing. I think it would take a zarf, gn, mr, or kt to do it, but that's my
>opinion.
[snip]
>I'm all for this technology to be built.
[no 2), 3), etc.]

Time for my twice-yearly posting on this subject:

Please let's not spend lots of time focusing on the
technology problems; they're pretty effectively solved
on any of the programmable MUD systems out there (and
there are tens of them). Yes, they're not geared so
heavily to single authors, and they're all "real-time",
but forcing them to be turn-based (you can't take another
turn until everybody else does) wouldn't be hard.

The technology is not the problem.

The game design is the problem.

SeanB
and by that I don't mean "real-time or turn based"--I mean,
how do you give both players interesting experiences? How
do you tell a story if both players aren't there? How many
non-lame multiplayer puzzles can you design?
