TRAVEL TIME AND PLAY EXPERIENCE

(this is a long post, please read this and all following posts before
response. Respond to the last post in this article to keep threads clean.)

Lets talk about bad design.

This is the second article in a set of two (yes this is my last one) which
explain thoroughly concepts and ideas for those who have the patience to read.
I touched on what
bad design was in my previous article but lets apply it to this travel time
scenario.

Previously I examined how the use of time and gradient relationship was bad
design. Another aspect of bat design crops up here in the new travel system
and continent restrictions: Backward Design.
The continent restrictions started with a simple idea. "These ships are really
neat, wouldn't it be cool to have players take ships to other continents, and
eventually implement inter-continental trading and commerce" That is a lovely
aspect I'm sure everyone is waiting to enjoy.

The problem is that the new map's design was built -around- ships. To force
players to ride in NPC ferries and homebrew ships, imaginary barriers where
navigator spells cannot work were created, and seemingly as an afterthought of
that being just a little too unfair, wanderers were created to give the
determined player a chance to win back those old nav abilities.

First of all, if you are experienced in explore, and have enough exp to take
wanderers as well as navs (prerequisite), chances are you can easily afford a
ship if you needed one. Secondly, to create another guild whose sole function
is to fix a different guild is silly.

A good system will ENTICE the player to favor one form of transportation over
the other, because of the bonuses that method gives the player. To work
backwards, and code an environment and set of rules to force the player to use
ships is bad design.

"but you are not forced to use a ship, you aren't forced into any of these
modes!"

This is the definition of what it means to force a player to do something,

FORCED DECISION (game context): When the benefits of another system or method
so greatly outweigh another, that player is consistently unsatisfied with
their current system or method.

Lets skip to the chase, how can we entice players to use ships so we can build
more content around them, yet not frustrate the player into a dormant form of
playing which they are exhibiting now?

- blackstar -