The Theory Of

Here you'll find discussion of all manner of topics relating to the theory of multiplayer games. As I see it, anyway. A note to commentors: if you stray off-topic or if your reply contains ad hominem attacks, your comment will be deleted.

Author: JB47394

There are several perspectives on crafting systems.

1. Consumer.  This is the player who spends his time using a crafted item.  His greatest concerns are on the capabilities and appearance of the item, as well as what he has to do to get it.  The skills of a Consumer revolve around how the crafted item is used.

2. Merchant.  This is the player who spends his time buying and selling crafted items.  His greatest concerns are those of supply and demand, market pricing and profit margins.  The skills of a Merchant revolve around money and inventory management.

3. Manufacturer.  This is the player who spends his time cranking out copies of a crafted item.  His greatest concerns are similar to the Merchant, except that his needs are for raw materials, and he may be able to work with a Merchant to get the products out the door.  The skills of a manufacturer revolve around factory efficiency and materials management.

4. Artisan.  This is the player who spends his time making individual items.  In contrast with the Manufacturer, his goal is to work on a single crafted item.  The skills of an Artisan revolve around the crafting task, whatever that might be.

Players carry one or more of these perspectives with them when they consider crafting systems.  The perspective that is rarely accommodated by MMOs is that of the Artisan.  Because that is one of my primary areas of interest in gaming, I'd like to offer a few basic ideas to sate the desires of my fellow Artisans.

The Artisan is interested in sitting down to make something.  It may be used by someone, it may be sold, it may be powerful, it may simply be nice to look at.  However, the perspective of the Artisan is to focus on its crafting.  We all like to see something happen with our creations, but that motivation is apart from that of the Artisan.  The Artisan wants to be occupied with fashioning stuff from other stuff.

In concrete terms, that means that the Artisan wants to be using the controls of the game to manipulate raw materials into a finished product.  The Artisan wants that process to occupy him for hours.  This is the same attitude that any other player has; a player wants to do something that is fun for hours at a time.  Monster bashing, perusing markets, exploring; whatever the interest of the player might be.

What can Artisans be doing for hours on end that could be any fun?

The activity will vary, depending on the type of crafting being performed.  As with all activities, they should be implemented into a game in ways that appeal to enthusiasts of that activity.  Swordfighting systems focus on factors that appeal to swordfighting enthusiasts, while gunfighting systems focus on factors that appeal to gunfighting enthusiasts.  It makes no sense to make swordfighting like gunfighting or vice versa.  In the same way, each form of crafting must be designed to appeal to enthusiasts of that activity.

The classic crafting example is blacksmithing or swordsmithing.  In standard fantasy MMOs, players fill a recipe with raw materials (which can be an arduous process), then press a button to make the item.  That moment when the player presses the button is the moment that an Artisan is disappointed.  That is the very moment when the Artisan's game would normally begin.