Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Majority Rules

The conclusion to the series on the necessity for the Holy Trinity is forthcoming (WTB 4hr time block). Just a quick thought, open-letter question I had today...


What about the game mechanics that facilitate gameplay vs. deal with the consequences?

In some games, I do not have the ability to form a group (depending on mode of play). Within that same game, I cannot adjust the in-game fall-out that might ensue with who I am grouped with. The pairings might be bad, people with ulterior motives, etc. I have one recourse and one only: to ignore and hope to not be paired again. I have no active influence in who I am paired with, and only marginal influence in the feedback on said pairing (at least there's some form of feedback?)

Compared to other styles of play, with full discrimination in forming groups as well as the vested feedback present. I might meet and greet, build a group, evaluate others and if they don't perform as desired, they never, ever get an invite again. With time, the problem weeds itself out.

Clearly, both offer certain rewards and each with their setback, but there must be a way to negate the madness of random players (former) and the madness of time/energy (latter) involved with making play happen. Bite-sized frustration periodically vs. initial frustration buy-in for long-term peace?

Clearly, a proper post will [most likely] follow, after concluding the present series, an upcoming series on scaling and inflation... while still being behind on current affairs (le sigh). Thoughts, if any, on grouping systems, are welcome.

4 comments:

  1. Psychochild has a great article up on "Punishing Grouping" that I always refer to in this sort of discussion. Grouping really could use some better tools.

    http://psychochild.org/?p=745

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  2. Thank you for the link Tesh. This helps me with what I'm struggling to identify as a problem. I'm still not quite sure what I'm feeling. It's not quite a solo vs. group issue, it's more akin to mechanics that allow grouping and whether or not the power is in the hands of the gamer. But if the power to form groups is removed, does the game effectively deal with the consequences of said design point? IDK, I don't know what I'm trying to formulate just yet, only that I feel something is askew with how the grouping is implemented. But this link for sure helps, obviously, it's from one of the founders of all this =P

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  3. The title of the post has kinda confused me with what you're aiming to address here. If the question is how best to handle grouping in games, I've turned this idea over in my head a lot like many of us, heh. I don't know the answer either. I think in MMOs, group tools need to continue developing along the same lines as what was offered in DDO, EQ2, and other games with great systems. Here's a link to an old post (I believe you've probably read it) that might add another perspective on grouping?

    http://bitly.com/vxgBGF

    Keep up the thoughtful writing over here.

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  4. Majority rules deals with a voting scheme, which is sorta tied into the whole /ignore concept of LoL. I'll admit my titling often makes little sense to anyone else.

    I am still not sure what I'm aiming to pin down. The concept is dealing with grouping, and how it is handled, yes. But idk, I feel that there's more to it, and that's frustrating for me. Like a zit that you want to pop, but too small to gain traction. You gotta let it sit and ripen before you pluck the goods. This idea is akin. Hence the open letter format.

    I have read that post, along with your ongoing series. I've been meaning to launch a salvo of my own on your ideas in that series. In the meantime, I'll bookmark that link as well for when the day rolls around that this idea has matured.

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