we're discussing the pa gaming experience in the suggestions forum, found these links which are most interesting:
Strong Words, Article about MMORPGs
http://www.gamesdomain.com/gdreview/...re/strong.html
Current and future developments in online games
http://www.legendmud.org/raph/gaming/futuredev.html
The Laws of Online World Design << fascinating
http://www.legendmud.org/raph/gaming/laws.html
in the latter I found:
[i]Ownership is key
You have to give players a sense of ownership in the game. This is what will make them stay--it is a "barrier to departure." Social bonds are not enough, because good social bonds extend outside the game. Instead, it is context. If they can build their own buildings, build a character, own possessions, hold down a job, feel a sense of responsibility to something that cannot be removed from the game--then you have ownership.
[/]
this is
:
Pleasing your Players
Despite your best intentions, any change will be looked upon as a bad change to a large percentage of your players. Even those who forgot they asked for it to begin with.
Anonymity and in-game admins
The in-game admin faces a bizarre problem. He is exercising power that the ordinary virtual citizen cannot. And he is looked to in many ways to provide a certain atmosphere and level of civility in the environment. Yet the fact remains that no matter how scrupulously honest he is, no matter how just he shows himself to be, no matter how committed to the welfare of the virtual space he may prove himself, people will hate his guts. They will mistrust him precisely because he has power, and they can never know him. There will be false accusations galore, many insinuations of nefarious motives, and former friends will turn against him. It may be that the old saying about power and absolute power is just too ingrained in the psyche of most people; whatever the reasons, there has never been an online game whose admins could say with a straight face that all their players really trusted them (and by the way, it gets worse once you take money!).
this one is highly relevant on the subject of people leaving:
Hanarra's Laws
--Over time, your playerbase will come to be the group of people who most enjoy the style of play that your world offers. The others will eventually move to another game.
--It is very hard to attract players of different gaming styles after the playerbase has been established. Any changes to promote different styles of play almost always conflict with the established desires of the current playerbase.
--The ultimate goal of a virtual world is to create a place where people of all styles of play can contribute to the world in a manner that makes the game more satisfying for everyone.
--The new players who enter the world for the first time are the best critics of it.
--The opinions of those who leave are the hardest to obtain, but give the best indication of what changes need to be made to reach that ultimate goal.
enjoy