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Poobah
TriadCity Character
Folks:

Here's a question for you all about the philosophy of authoring, if you like. Should every noun in a Room description be something which responds to the "Look" command?

Example: suppose a simple Room description is "A cheerful living room with a fireplace, a rug, and two windows." Is that enough detail? Or, should it be possible to "look rug" for a further description of the rug?

Up to now we're pretty inconsistent. Some TC spaces are more richly detailed than others. Granted that it takes a lot more work to add more layers of convincing detail, do you think the work is worth it?

Lastly, what would you prioritize? More new Rooms, or fuller details in the existing ones? That's a pretty important trade-off right now.

Let us know what you think! Thanks!

~Poo

Bartle quotiet: E80, A67, S47, K7. TriadCity characters: Mark, Poobah, Occam, Abelard.
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Agular
TriadCity Character
Eventually it would be nice for more in depth rooms, Something that say, "command Search room, search couch" That would be nice later, but I think the quantity of rooms should be first, detail second.
Sunni
TriadCity Character
I like a room that is richly detailed, adds to the feeling that you are in another world and able to interact with everything. More rooms would be nice, but I think it is better that the rooms made be the best they can be for the roleplay environment. Quality, not Quantity.
SioneldJ
TriadCity Character
Yeah, I must say I agree with Sunni. Being able to examine, touch, pick up, all that stuff is great fun.
Eventually it would be good if everything seen in a room could be touched and looked at and stuff.
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SioneldJ
TriadCity Character
an no, stuff is not my fav word. wish we could edit these
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Shadowshawk
TriadCity Character
I think brief is better when using the look command. If you want further detail, you look at that specific item. It's more important to generate new areas now though. You can always fill in the detail later.

Shadowfyre
Bentooth
TriadCity Character
I would like to see more details as well, though having more rooms to explore is another fun way to go.

I suppose it would depend on the signifigance of the room. If the room is just a filler, to space out other important rooms... i'd like to see at least one item to look at or smell or touch. Perhaps in more important rooms, 2 items would be plenty for the time being.

A question... If you put some nouns in rooms, would you go back to add more later?

if yes, then one or two items would be plenty to give the room something to do while not having you to hassle over descriptions and details. Since you would not be restricted to a "one time" opportunity of putting nouns in the room.

if no, then i'd say it would be best to fill each room with as many nouns as would make the room complete, sacrificing quantity on quality.

Poobah
TriadCity Character
Thanks for the responses everybody! Input much appreciated.

I think what I'll do is try to strike a balance between detail and growth of the City. The long-term goal will be to flesh out every noun, so that it can be looked at or otherwise engaged with. But in the short and medium terms, I'm going to stay focused on implementnig features such as the three Temples, the guilds, and other areas needed as preconditions for character Roles, new Skills, and stuff like that.

Hope this makes sense!

~Poo

Bartle quotiet: E80, A67, S47, K7. TriadCity characters: Mark, Poobah, Occam, Abelard.
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midas
TriadCity Character
My preference is for detail over quantity but not detail for its own sake. I've been mildly frustrated at times by rooms full of things, none of which are recognized by the game (whereas other rooms have lots of things that are recognized).

That said, having lots of areas to explore is pretty important, too. So I'd say prioritize getting the main initial areas detailed out, then go for things like secret portals into whole new areas, etc.

Just my 2 dinars.
 
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