Lessons I've Learned No. 3: Objects in Motion

The life expectancy of a MUSH that isolates the playerbase to a single relatively small area can be measured in months.

Mathematically, it makes sense to consolidate the players into one area, thus forcing them to roleplay with each other. However, this logic is fundamentally flawed due to the fact that behind those players are humans, driven by free will, and ultimately it is impossible (and futile) to try to force them to do ANYTHING they don't want to do.

It could be argued that, with a dedicated enough staff running events around the clock or aggressive players generating their own activities without administrative assistance, the life of a tightly centralized MUSH could be extended. I suppose that's true. However, it's unlikely that it would grow much larger than a somewhat ambitious tabletop RPG group. It's not a growth industry.

Back in 1999, we threw all of OtherSpace aboard a massive colony ship called Sanctuary. We had some refugee starships aboard, so that gave some folks places to hang out. The colony vessel itself was a pretty huge grid by most standards, with the hangar level, command deck, and massive domes for inhabitants to dwell. You could even zip back and forth on monorails. Originally, I planned for this experiment to last a full year. However, plot fatigue (on the parts of both staffers and players) and player attrition due to boredom, RL, and other issues led to an acceleration of the planned return to normalspace. We had a decent-sized playerbase, but most of them were hanging around in the out-of-character area rather than roleplaying.

In January 2009, we threw all of OtherSpace: The Farthest Star, OtherSpace: Millennium, and Chiaroscuro aboard a modestly-sized sentient starship known as Comorro. Now it's September, and although we've got a decent-sized playerbase, the foundations of a crafting system, and numerous possibilities for players to generate their own fun (or call on staffers to help make fun for them), we're starting to see the trend toward people hanging around OOC when they could be on the grid. Also, we've seen a resurgent complaint about the lack of things to do for players who are in time zones that are well offset from most of the staffers.

We're not, at the moment, in a position to enter a strong growth mode for OtherSpace. But we are very close. With the arrival of HSpace 5.0, we'll open the door for players to have their own ships, fly trade missions, and explore. That'll mean new worlds to visit - including some to claim, colonize, and call your own. Trade runs and exploration opportunities should be a huge help in generating "instant" crew activities. You don't need a staffer to ref your run from Hekayt to B'hira. You don't need a staffer to help you map the star charts and discover unsual alien worlds. But those activities WILL be something that can be done around the clock, no matter what time zone you're in.

It's been said in the past that spreading out the grid too much can be the death of a game. I'd counter that the lack of activity to draw people together, and the unwillingness of staffers to make sure that players can get together when the need arises, is what threatens a game's existence more than how many rooms are keeping people apart at any given time. Lots of small planet grids with things to do - trade, crafting, exploration - are a better solution than one big localized grid.

We're on the verge of an exciting time. I'm glad you're all here to be part of it and I'm looking forward to what happens next.