It's no secret that the popular MMORPGs today have fully fledged PvP systems. For some this is the be all and end all of a game, for others it is just one aspect that makes up a rounded game filled with myriad options and character paths. Getting people involved in PvP tends to involve either purchases, grinding, training or a combination of all.

What are the options for a developer looking to setup a PvP system within their game though? This article will give idea of what can be implemented, and the pros and cons for the administration and players once the game is up and running.

 

• Purchasing your perks - This isn't strictly the entire Pay for Perks/Free to Play genre. Often these games are balanced for everyone, offering some sort of basic skills with flavor for all, but in terms of combat everyone is rather lackluster. The administration then offers purchases with real cash that grant certain skills, benefits, offensive perks and defensive boosts, allowing the basic roleplay character to get a foothold in PvP. From a players perspective, this can be limiting, although many may see the investment into PvP as not much different to paying a subscription for a more PvP centric game, and still allowing them the immersive RP atmosphere of a roleplay focussed game.

• Grind for gear - Let's not kid ourselves, often the games that require you to be looting corpses, grinding for levels to out-bash your opponents tend to offer a very simplified PvP experience. This tends to be a system found in subscription MMORPGs that don't have quite the hardcore RP focus of other games. The combat system in these tends to rely on following prompts with each class fulfilling a specific role. It's linear, it's fun, but some people want more control, more thought in their virtual fighting.

• Strategy is key- Some MMORPGs offer (often in combination with the purchasing perks option) an in-depth class system, with each having myriad skills unique to them and then a stack of general skillsets offering defensive and utility skills available for all. With in depth factional support, this can offer the player a deeply strategic and imaginative gameplay experience, where they not only learn the ins, outs, methods and tricks of their own class but learn to work with other classes in team format. No class is specifically pigeonholed into healer, magic caster, bruiser. But all have the option to take up whatever role they like while not sacrificing personal roleplay to do so.

The first model can be nice from an organizational point of view, as it clearly separates your roleplayers from your PvPers. There are some communities who simply want to play their role, and who don't think that combat is necessary, who get uppity at any incurred losses and who have no interest in the fighting. This particular setup will ensure that the two crowds remain uninvolved with each other, so causing less administrative headaches.

The second model offers a quick learning curve, and an almost immediate platform for all players to dive into combat from, but you might need to constantly be adding more content and spoon-feeding events to the playerbase as their skills are not intricate enough to hold the interest of a smart player who wants a challenge for very long.

The third model encourages a cohesive game experience, where everyone can get into PvP if they wish. A player can be as skilled as their mind allows them to be. It often comes with some hefty administrative oversight, as the playerbase remains mingled, where the roleplayers are indistinguishable from the PvPers and occasionally things can bleed over, getting people's feathers ruffled. The learning curve can be steep, the games often have smaller hardcore playerbases, and many who enjoy the simple grinding of the second model won't find this a comfortable fit, but it can be a very rewarding experience as a developer watching your playerbase innovate with the wide variety of options given.


Whatever you choose to build, these are just some options with some concerns that come with them. No game has the same PvP system as another, no browser-based RPG offers quite the same suite of available options - many offer combinations of all of the above. In the end the game needs to be engaging and fun for your target audience. Give them that and they will come back and bring friends.

 

About the author:
A longtime devotee of MMORPG’s and MUDs in particular, Julian Talley has an avid interest in the different forms of PvP games can offer. When not trying to figure out the best way to take out his fellow players, he enjoys writing and rock climbing, and can usually be found doing one or the other.

If you’re looking for a way to get hired into the gaming industry, then look no farther than a text-based MUD. Whether you are a lead designer responsible for coding major features in the game or a volunteer who goes around checking spelling and grammar, it all counts as industry experience.

One such game that offers industry experience is Achaea, developed by Iron Realms Entertainment. Iron Realms MUDs actually offers five different communities: Achaea, Aetolia, Imperian, Lusteria, and Midkemia.

Something that each game has in common is that any player has the same chance to play the role of a Divine character. The Divine characters in Iron Realms MUDs also act as admins, and assist players with problems both in the game and in real life.

It is almost impossible to play a Divine Character without serving in some kind of customer service position, and the primary way that Iron Realms prepares players to serve in higher roles is through volunteer positions. Here is a list of some of them.

• NEWBIE GUIDE – Each game begins with a structured tutorial that takes new players on a little adventure and introduces them to simple tasks to get them acquainted with the game. Volunteer adventurers act as Guides for new players from the time they complete the tour until they reach level 21. The Guides answer questions, offer assistance for basic problems, and help find other resources for issues that fall outside the scope of a Guide’s duties.

• MORTAL BUILDER – Mortal Builders are exactly what they sound like – non-admin characters (mortals) who help dream up (build) new areas for the game. Unlike building in other text MUDs, these characters are not made Immortal, given any special powers, or allowed to do any of the coding required for the game just because they carry Mortal Builder status. After completing a training period and proving excellent spelling and grammar abilities, a Mortal Builder might be promoted to create new areas from scratch based on their own ideas.

• IRON REALMS CODER – Iron Realms encourages everyone to learn basic coding from the time they are just a newbie adventurer. There are quite a lot of resources starting with how to make aliases and triggers that help with things like hunting, PvP, and general roleplay such as through emoting. If you become a Mortal Builder, then you may eventually be allowed to add new things based on your own ideals. However, coding for IRE is the only volunteer position that pays in something other than credits.

How Volunteering in a Game Can Help Get You Hired

You might be wondering what volunteering in a text MUD can help you bring to the table if you ever find yourself face to face in an interview for a paid job in the gaming industry. Things like responsibility, delegating, confidentiality, strict adherence to deadlines, and a lot of hard work go a long way towards boosting your reputation, especially if you plan to use the supervisors in the MUD where you volunteer as references.

As you wait to get hired for your dream job, spend your free time networking with other gamers. Build up your portfolio. Take classes in topics like sociology and medieval history. These classes not only add a little something to your resume, but they can also inspire how you roleplay and interact with others in your text MUD of choice.

Finally, take a bit of advice from SWTOR Lead Designer Damion Schubert who recommends, “Don’t join the games industry because you want a fat paycheck. Programmers in other fields make far more.” He recommends that coders and designers maintain a good relationship that balances communication with vision for best results.


 

About the Author
Rick Williams is both a college graduate and a long-time gamer. Although he appreciates all the time and energy that the coding teams put into his favorite Iron Realms MUDs he prefers to enjoy the games as a player rather than a volunteer. When he isn’t gaming or working his desk job Rick enjoys extreme sports like rock climbing, mountain biking, and surfing.

MUDs are a type of game where everything you do is through text, just like the text you are reading right now. Unlike games that show you exactly how everything should look via HD graphics, MUDs encourages players to use their imaginations.

You might think that in a world where smartphones and tablets boast graphics as sharp as the flat screen televisions connected to our gaming consoles, that nobody would want to bother with a game that lacks pictures. However, MUDs are alive and kicking.

 

Not only are they alive and kicking, but MUD games offer so many options versus games that rely on graphics for their success. Although I love video games and own a good number for my gaming console, most of them can’t touch MUDs when it comes to roleplay. Here are some other benefits.

 

• Unique Character creation – When you play a game with graphics, usually you choose from a selection of stock characters with little variation. The Tiger Woods PGA Tour series offers a lot of creative freedom when it comes to customizing your character, but they all pretty much say the same phrases. Text MUDs not only let you describe your character to be as unique as you are, but you also get to choose the speech and other custom details.

• Varying Weapon Stats – Most graphic-based games I play have weapons, but they all have the exact same stats as other weapons of that type. In Achaea, characters have the forging ability which offers them the chance to create weapons with a variety of stats. If your character forges 50 swords and they all have less than ideal statistics, you can smelt them for slightly less commodities than it took to create them and try again.

• Full Sensory Immersion – The benefit of text games is that you can use your own creative juices to imagine whatever you are reading. Achaea holds its creative building teams to high standards. This means that you won’t be distracted by misspelled words or poor grammar choices. Even adventurers with crafting licenses who design food, fashion accessories, and clothing must submit their creations to the Crafting Guild for approval.

• More Emotions than an Emo-Kid – Graphic-based games allow you to express yourself through a few different stock emotions. Some add in the benefit of a chat room where people might add flavor to the conversation through text. However Achaea has several hundred preset emoticons, called emotes, which are lines of text that emulate actions. And if you can’t find the one you need to express your character’s feelings, you can use EM (whatever) to use a custom emote to get the point across.

• Customer Service - In all the time I have spent playing various types of online games, I have never found another one with a support system that compares to the one in Achaea. In addition to all the HELP files, you can BUG things that do not work like they should, TYPO spelling or grammar mistakes, and use the IDEA command to suggest ways to improve the game.

 

It’s Easy as Kicking Rats

 

At first, playing a text-based MUD can seem rather complicated. There are so many commands to remember. And on top of the game rules, each house, city, and other organization seems to have even more rules that must be followed else your character suffer the consequences.

 

At the advice of the friend who introduced me to Achaea, I read up on the available classes, cities, and houses. Knowing what type of character I planned to create helped get me started. But when that character didn’t work out, for various reasons, it was even easier to start out with my second character because I already knew the basics.

 

If you have never tried a text-based RPG before, then what is the holdup? You are probably already at your computer if you are reading this, so why not log into Achaea? Roll up a character and once you complete the incredibly helpful newbie trial, you can get started on your first adventure. You might even see me in there!

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emily Saunders is a freelance photographer who was looking for a way to kill time online between photo shoots. A friend introduced her to "MUD games" and it wasn’t long before she was spending a couple of hours a day typing out commands in the quest to reach Dragonhood. When she is not gaming or traveling for her job, Emily enjoys spending time with her friends and family.

If you’ve ever attended a big festival like a renaissance faire, then you know it is a great event because it has so many different activities to attract people from a wide range of demographics. I travel around a lot and always enjoy attending the local ones at various locations across North America. It was at just one such event that I had an idea to host a similar festival in my favorite text MUD!

Even though I am a chef in the game that I play, coordinating a worldwide festival required more work than creating recipes for Barney the Bard’s Beer Cheese Soup and Siroccian Snake Steak on a Stake for people to enjoy during a jousting or arena event. I had to seek out services of juggling jesters, noble knights, mystical magi, and even a menagerie of animals for a stinking pet show. (And trust me – with that many animals, it did stink!)

Learning as You Go

Eventually I managed to get everything together, and the event went off with just a few slight hitches. If you are planning to hold some kind of festival in your favorite RPG then take my advice – it is a lot of work, and you will not get the thanks you deserve, but it will be a lot of fun. Having learned from my own mistakes with the first event I hosted, here are some questions I now ask myself before planning other big events.

What is the goal of the event? – Your event might be something that is just for fun, or you might actually have a goal in mind, like to raise funds for a specific purpose.

Who will attend? – This is important not only so you will know who is on your guest list and how many people to prepare for, but also for how to plan your event. For example if the dwarves and goblins are warring and you invite all the dwarves in the lands, then you do not want to hire a bard to sing the praises of the Goblin King.

Where will you host the event? – Can people get to the venue by their own means, or do you need to provide some kind of transportation, like a magical portal or someone with access to special areas of the game?

When will your event take place? – This will depend not only on your schedule but also on when the bulk of your guests are around in the lands as well. If you host your event at 1100 GMT on a weekday, when only 20 people total are around in the land, then you will not have as much success as if you have your event at 2300 on a weekend when there are 200 people in the lands!

What activities will you feature? – When planning activities, see what members of your planning committee have to offer. Maybe one person is passionate about hosting games of chance. Another might be adept at coordinating interactive puppet shows. And someone else might have an in with a large number of bards who can provide music and other entertainment.

What is your budget? – This is how much you will spend at your event overall. There is nothing worse than wrapping up your festival and finding out that you have lost a bunch of money – especially if you planned to turn a profit. Knowing what you expect to spend can help prevent any shocking financial facts when your event ends.

How will you promote your event? – Will you just use the news? Maybe someone on your committee can make posters or has experience in creating clever adverts. No matter how you promote your event, you should make sure that the message or purpose of your event does not get lost in the advertising.

Using Feedback for Future Events

After my festival, I talked to a lot of people inside the game. I also listened to what people had to say on the forums. Some of it was really hard to listen to, because there were some harsh comments! But after I reminded myself that it was just a game, I looked for the constructive message in both the compliments and the complaints. Needless to say, my next festival went a lot smoother. I’m already looking forward to Spring Break so I can host some other kind of event!

 

About the Author
Rick Williams discovered RPGs in high school and played all through university as well. After obtaining a degree, he landed a desk job that allows him to play all his favorite MUD games between work assignments. In his free time he is an avid sports enthusiast, and is always up for trying out something new. For example he recently competed in a mountain bike race in western Canada.

When Achaea added the cooking mini-skill, I was so excited! I had high hopes of creating recipes that I was sure all my friends would love – especially desserts. Being a citizen of Cyrene, who wouldn’t love cakes and pastries? After all, the city talked about desserts so much that the patron made an unofficial rule banning anyone to speak of it lest he zap them with Divine Fire.

If Your Character Was a Recipe….

Even though I liked all the fruits of my labors, when my character tried to share with his house, the other members just seemed just okay about them. The items weren’t even selling in the shop he rented, even though the shop was strategically located to two primary city features. And although he yelled out on the market channel time and time again, shop sales showed that his advertising was falling on deaf ears. Then it occurred to me that the problem wasn’t my character’s recipes at all. The problem was my character.

If my character was a recipe, then he would be described something like this: An off-white bowl of bland-coloured porridge sits here looking forlorn. Any member of the United Union of Crafters can confirm that the description probably would not pass inspection by those who oversee recipe approval – which is a good metaphor for character creation! Obviously it was time to spice things up. Here are some things I tried. Maybe they can help your character, too!

• Dialogue – How do you speak? Do you stay in-character? Do you use a voice or an accent using the “voice” or “accent” feature in the game? Is your accent more pronounced? Personally I find accents annoying, but once my character developed one suddenly people started talking to him more often. And it was flattering when a newbie adopted a similar accent, and claimed to be his long-lost kid.
•  
• Relationships – Do you have a family? My character was bloodlined but his parents were long dormant. So he bought a clan and began inviting aunts, uncles, great-grandparents, third-cousins four times removed, and any other family member he could find across Sapience. They began having family picnics to celebrate major events, and everyone was happy to devour his culinary creations.
•  
• Backgrounds – One of the most underutilized features in Achaea is the BACKGROUND. The admins take this seriously, and once your background is in place you only get one chance to tweak it. Afterward you can add “chapters” to your background, to update people about your life history. This is a great way to add flavor to your character regardless of his profession.
•  
• Poetry – So you aren’t a poet? You say that you could not rhyme your way out of Yudhishthira’s cavern located inside the volcano on Polyargos? Use Google to search for “poem generator” and use one of those tools to create an original poem. Then tweak it to make it unique to Achaea. Here’s an example of something I wrote just now:

Ode to a Pie

The fresh-baked pie slowly cools in the shop window.

Fruity, sugary scents lazily drift along the wintry, Cyrenian streets.

Hunger is a powerful motivator.

Oh, sugary, fruity confection!

The pie beckons likes a tawdry siren.

Why does the pie flirt?

All my coins drop into the shop owner’s grubby hand.

The pie is now mine, temporary as a night with a Theran prostitute.

Will this poem about pies win you a Bardic prize? That’s doubtful, but it is guaranteed to catch the attention of your fellow adventurers. Although the topic of the poem is silly, comparing pies to tawdry women of the night, anyone who has known great hunger realizes the comparison between the two types of temptations. Best of all, when they realize you are a chef they may ask if you really do have a pie that is just that tasty – and you can tell them that yes, you do!

There are endless amounts of ways that you can spice up a boring character. One final way that I will mention is through relationships. Just be warned that getting into a relationship could give a little more spice than you were expecting. As with real life, you may also find problems with in-laws, organizations to which your textual spouse belongs, and other sticky situations. But if things get bad, don’t worry. That’s why Sarapis invented alts!


About the Author

Rick Williams first discovered online games while taking computer classes in high school, and after graduating from his local university he found a desk job with enough downtime to play all of his favorite MUDs. When he’s not working or gaming, Rick enjoys hanging out with his friends and doing things like watching sports at the local pub or mountain biking.