Re: Why play open-ended games (was: OLYMPIA: Why do you play?)

From: bill@gphs.vuw.ac.nz (Bill Viggers)

Date: Sun, 30 Oct 1994 21:56:02 +0000

In article <pasquale.783018652@rimfaxe.diku.dk>, pasquale@diku.dk (Morten Larsen) writes:
>
> Why do people play open-ended games at all?
>
	Why do people play closed-ended games?

> In an open-ended game, even if I set up goals for
> myself, what is my sense of accomplishment if I "succeed"?

On the other hand, what is the satisfaction of meeting the goals
	that someone else sets in a closed ended game?  Part of the fun
	of open ended games is setting yourself challanging goals and then
	trying to reach them.  In Olympia I want to eventually rule the
	cloudlands.  As a first step towards doing this I'm going to have to
	build a castle up there.  This means securing large amounts of stone,
	peace treaties with the forces that occupy the ground beneath
	the cloudlands and somehow getting a rather large number of flying
	creatures to carry the stone and work crew up into the clouds to build
	my castle with.
	Everyone you deal with in an open ended game has their own agenda,
	this makes predicting what someone will do a lot harder than
	in a closed ended game where you have your objecteives nicely packaged
	for you (and all too often either the same as, or at least known by,
	eveyone else).

> So why are open-ended games so popular (Atlantis, Olympia, M.I., Quest,
> BSE)? Is it because of the role-playing opportunities they offer? Could
> an open-ended game succeed without role-playing?

I like open ended games because it gives me a chance to develop
	a position over a period of time.  Another thing I like especially
	about open ended e-mail games is the ability to interact with
	a lot of the other players, building up allies and trust as time
	goes on.  In a closed ended game there is a certain feeling of
	being rushed.  I guess another thing is that closed ended games
	tend to mean a particular 'winner' at the end.  Maybe I'm just
	not competitive enough...

In open ended games you get more time to meet new people as
	well.  Take Olympia for instance.  I work in a loose allience
	with a dozen or so other players, but I also have dealings with
	a large number of people outside our allience.  In a closed
	ended game, I'd probably have to be bumping off those other
	people rather than engaging in mutually beneficial activities with them.

As to the origional question of why I like Olympia, well... Being
	in New Zealand makes playing some of the more common PBMs rather
	hard.  I played Monster Island for a while, but the turn around
	time of airmailing orders to the States and then getting my results
	airmailed back took too long (and too expensive).  I played Quest
	locally for a short while, but it didn't hold my interest.  Olympia is
	the only other commercial e-mail game I've played.  It's turn around is
	quick, the game is fun, there are lots of players that are easy to
	interact with and as I've been PBEMing for a few years now, there are
	lots of familier names.

Bill.

References

OLYMPIA: Why do you play?
morrow@romulus.rutgers.edu (John Morrow)
Fri, 21 Oct 1994 01:02:11 +0000
Why play open-ended games (was: OLYMPIA: Why do you play?)
pasquale@diku.dk (Morten Larsen)
Mon, 24 Oct 1994 17:10:52 +0000