I'm not sure this is exactly where you were going, but I've spent some time thinking about what is important to make a "successful" PW. I call these my "7 Habits of a Highly Successful PW"
1)
Differentiation: Beyond the world's 'story', this is the aspect(s) of a PW that are unique to it and set it apart from other worlds. In the best cases, these unique aspects/systems are integral to the world story.
2)
Game Theory: This is the effective use of good RPG theory about the common play styles of players (explorers, achievers, killers, and socializers) and how to motivate and engage each of them in your world
3)
Balance and Challenge: This is the delicate balance of encounter difficulty, rewards, and the economy (gold faucets and drains).
4)
Quality: This is the "seamless" experience that a player has. It includes lag and the custom rules/changes that a world has made that enhance a player's ability to interact with the world.
5)
Player Control & Creativity: Players love to influence their characters and the world. This includes things like opportunities to change their physical appearance or armor. It also includes the opportunity for them to feel like they are part of the world (languages, custom tools, personalized quests, guilds, faction leadership, etc...).
6)
Evolution: Adding and refreshing content to keep the world current
7)
Ease of Entry: The ease with which new players can join and become integrated into the server. Included in this is the use of haks, a server website/forums, or the openness of the playerbase to new people.
While all are important, to me, the most important and hardest is #1: Differentiation. In today's world of a mature NWN environment, it is not enough to have just another Forgotten Realms server. There are dozens of them. PW owners must have a vision for their server that is new and unique.
For example, In Arenthyor, I believe that differentiation stems from 2 sources: Challenging Replayability and Destiny
1) Challenging Replayability: Our party-based custom randomized dungeon system, which is integrated into our quest system and affects the PCs and the world
2) Destiny: The Fates and a player's destiny are key focal points in the game. Our Destiny system blends roleplay and the mechanics of building a character.
Why is Differentiation the hardest? Because once you choose those elements that you feel are differentiating, you must hold fast to them and be faithful to them as you build your world. You can no longer be a little of everything to everyone. Those players who are attracted to those same differentiating factors will enjoy your world, while those who don't value those factors will not become long-term players.
Anyway, that's my perspective.
Modifié par BelowTheBelt, 12 octobre 2012 - 02:15 .
