@Ghost said in The Game Game:
Competition isn't about keeping people that aren't quality or aren't having fun/are absent. Competition is about wanting the game to have:
A) The best/active role players with as few drama problems as possible
B) More fun/events than other places to keep the momentum going
You're mixing a lot of aims here. This may be your definition of "competition," but it is not mine.
This is closer to my definition of "quality." A quality game has few drama problems, active players, and events to keep momentum going. You can have a number of quality games within the same genre/setting/system/whatever. Similarly, you can have multiple quality restaurants and bars on the same street within spitting distance.
My definition of "competition" is where there is a motivation or drive to be the best. To that end, while some MUSHes aim to be the best game out there it is not a universal aim. For example, I don't think Fate's Harvest ever wanted to be the best game in the WoD field, but it is a quality game that has a very steady group of participants. As another example, I don't think Apos aimed to create the best game out there, but Arx is undeniably a quality game that attracts a lot of people.
To be frank, I know of very few people who aim to have the best game out there, which means there's no competition. What I think designers want to build is a quality game and there is certainly room for as many of those as we, as a community, can support with our time.
You cannot run a game without players, no matter how great you think your ideas are, if they're choosing to spend their time somewhere else. On some level to maintain whatever playspace you're paying for, you have to be a "draw".
Being a "draw," though, isn't really about competition: it is about having something about your game that people enjoy. Further, whatever satisfaction a designer or operator derives from their playspace is individual and subjective. For example, Fate's Harvest is a small game, but this does not dissuade Anna from operating it; as another example, Tat's game was wildly successful but that's not what brought her satisfaction.
I see what you're getting at, but I disagree with the implications of what you are presenting as universal truths.