This is one of those moments where I wish I could have started the thread so that my reply will be at the top and easily found (and ensured that it is read). This may be a little long-winded, but please bear with me, here.... (because I know I've dropped this before on MSB and I will -always - feel that this is relevant).
Almost 2 decades into the hobby, reflectively, I think I've come to realize two MAJOR quandaries with the MU hobby in general that are responsible for probably most of the highs and lows of the hobby. The first (which is irrelevant to the topic, but I'll dip) is "Is it cybersex between players or is it in-character romance?" The second, however, I think is a KEY concept that is responsible for so much frustration, bullshit, and confusion in these games that it may very well be a tangle of computer cables that may never be fixed:
"Is it a GAME or a Cooperative Writing Hobby?"
Here's why this applies to the question of "How do we incentivize IC failure" and potentially why the hobby may never, ever, ever be able to communally incentivizing IC failure a reality, and here are important things I think that everyone needs to understand.
- If it's a GAME, then RPG players are going to bring both their GOOD HABITS and BAD HABITS
The online tabletop RPG community has the same issues: Pervy/rapey players, powergamers always wanting things their way, people min-maxing their stats to try to win everything they'll roll, and a TON of other bad habits when it comes to sharing the table, trying to control win/fail results, and being cooperative with others. HOWEVER, many of these games are attractive to RPG players (like me!) because often they use existing RPG settings and systems as a front-end (World of Darkness, Star Wars, Superheroes, etc), so a lot of people who might search on Roll20 for a tabletop RPG might find themselves finding MU as a hobby.
Why this is important to understand
- Tabletop RPGs deal in rewards similar to what Arx does: Coded money, inventory, experience points, dots on the sheet, stats
- With those rewards you are codifying a sort of "failure mitigation" that opens up other in-character opportunities with the dice to "back up" your character decisions
- RPG-focused players CAN and WILL approach the MU hobby from a "systems" approach, often seeking to leverage the SYSTEM to determine what their character can or cannot do.
- Tenure, experience, and time spent often resonate with RPG-minded players as somewhat entitling them to bigger gains, situations where threats beneath their character's tenure are less difficult for them, and newer players and characters should reasonably not be equal to their level or opportunities
For better or for worse, the RPG-minded player hits a wall with other MU players when it's realized that a large number of people DO NOT WANT DICE TO RESOLVE SUCCESS. Dice are the great equalizer; a number that determines pass or fail whether you like it or not, and it only works if everyone agrees to let the mighty gods of RNG decide their fate
- If it's a CREATIVE WRITING HOBBY, then the motivations for PASS/FAIL are entirely different than RPG motivations
(In this example) "It's not a GAME right? It's a STORY." Therefore the concept of pass/fail isn't based on whether or not you've put in the time, stats, experience, or have the +3 broadsword. It's about whether or not people are having fun and enjoying the story, right?
Why this is important to understand
- Without RNGesus to determine pass/fail, then the discussion about "who gets to win in a conflict" ultimately falls into other danger zones: Who can come up with the best idea at the time, who would be the most upset if they fail, what the GM/scenerunner had planned from the get-go (which is why railroading is so common in MUs in my opinion), or even who is the GM's favorite (which I think explains the extreme amount of cliqueish behavior and sucking up to staff that happens).
- Creative writing together is a GREAT IDEA! But if people are approaching it AS THAT, then why is there so much arbitration over who wins and loses? Obviously, people either aren't being as cooperative as they'd like to think or perhaps the cooperation factor is just some mantra that people don't believe in as much as they'd like to think
- People who want to just write-out the results as what they feel is "most fun" need to understand that there will never be a week that goes by where someone realizes that "someone else's idea of what was more fun took priority over someone else's".
- Unless you have a very specific group of roleplayers who have bonded together to ensure that the results will always be fair and fun within the group...you're going to find that people break off into groups and problems arise when they peek outside of those little groups to mingle with others they don't have such an understanding with.
Alas (with that last bullet point), surprise surprise, the majority of MU players I know always say stick to people you know as much as possible. Sure, this can be to avoid really strange, dangerous, bizarre, and downright scary players, but I think it's mostly to avoid the issues I found commonly with players I didn't know: Misunderstandings turning into flame wars on MSB, accusations, people getting upset, etc....
WHAT I THINK ALL MU GAMES ABSOLUTELY NEED TO DO TO UNDERSTAND PASS/FAIL AND PLAY WELL TOGETHER
- Don't mix. If you're making an "online tabletop RPG with WoD dice and systems (with accompanying writing)", then explicitly say so, cling to RNG as the deciding factor on pass/fail results, and make it a part of the +agree statement that going into the game they're prepared for this.
- Don't mix. if you're making a "cooperative creative writing game", you should explicitly state so and do away with codifying extensive dice systems into your games (which will only confuse the RPG players), and instead incentivize cooperation over pass/fail results. Create the game, environment, and social structure as a showcase of writing and stories, sharing written works, and remove the game concept from the MU altogether.
I guess in short: I don't think the "my story" types and the "RPG gamer" types mix together very well, at least in a long-term gaming environment. There's always some "my story" person who doesn't give a shit about dice and experience points getting trounced by some absolute dice-whore who doesn't care about "their story". ("I don't care if you think this moment is a character-defining moment where you stood up to a bully. I have 34 combat dice and turned you into grape jelly in one roll!") Likewise, there's always people (like me) who thought that their character sheet and experience meant something getting shutdown by GM-caveats and players acting like they have dots on their character sheet that they clearly didn't spend, which was always frustrating ("Hey, I actually have 10 dice in being manipulative. Your sheet has a dice pool of 4 because you spent all your points in other things. Why do I have to CONVINCE you OOCly that it's okay to manipulate your character?")
I think the MU community as a whole tries to accommodate far too many playstyles to ensure the maximum number of people will log in to play, and then these games hope and pray that people will find a way to get along and play cooperatively. I think that this is a long-term mistake and it would have been better setting rules and guidelines about HOW the game is played and ensuring that people who aren't playing in the spirit of the game (regardless of how many friends they have, who they know on staff, or what kind of accusation they threaten to make on gaming forums) are politely removed to keep things safe and fun for copacetic players.
(And yes, I suppose it COULD be BOTH a GAME and a WRITING HOBBY, but not everyone has the same definition of WHAT THAT MEANS, and with that comes ultimately the constant problem of incentivizing IC failure and dealing with people who become problematic around the topic. So ultimately my logical brain goes to "if this is an "IF/THEN/ELSE" scenario all you can do is start creative definitions, your expectations, and focus on the PLAYERS YOU WANT rather than EVERYONE.)
Do this. Be up-front about potential trigger warning, content, and just how much risk or combat will in it. This allows people who arent combat characters or have irrelevant skills choose if the scene is for them and also provides some up-front support for people who want to avoid certain elements.
