KoL is scary

[learnedax]

So recently I've been spending far too much of my free time playing The Kingdom of Loathing. For those of you who aren't already playing it, KoL is a (very slightly) graphical MUD focused on the clever, and extremely strange, parodistic style of its content (treasure is measured in units of meat; getting drunk can increase your stats, like Moxie; Pastamancer is an available character class).

The funny thing is, not only does this game manage to capture the best qualities of classic MUDs, it's players have taken the game so far beyond its wry stick-figure core that their built-up infrastructure puts Everquest to shame. Sure, these days everything has a Wiki, and most MMORPGs have some pretty complex economies going on, but KoL takes economic analysis to the extreme. Its sociology is rich, as well: as was recently discussed it has become a rarified playground for all four of Bartle's MUD-playing types. The spades are ingenious (see commentary on right-hand side for explanation of the image), the diamonds are hyperactive, the clubs methodically abuse players' trust, and the hearts... have created a radio station!

I am consistently surprised by how deep this game has gotten considering it's core is a joke (a very good joke, perhaps, but a joke nonetheless). It is simply a stunning instance of social infrastructure crystalizing around the right seed.

Comments

i should totally read up on php to properly do this.

[mpgalvin.livejournal.com]

now that i think about it, the meat econ doesn't have the constraint of staying *in* the mall. the mall itself may die when it can no longer traffic in the majority of valued items, (a long way off, but still forseeable future) but the meat can always move through direct Offers. unless those, too, have a numerical limit... but since i've seen people offering 20M meat for Mr A's, i guess it's pretty freaking high.

at the moment, there is no offer system for buffs or trades?