Designing Virtual Worlds
by Richard Bartle · first published 2003
57% recommend36% neutral7% critical
Why HN recommends it
The canonical text on designing multiplayer virtual worlds, covering recurring MMO design questions and player psychology. It is detailed, thought-provoking, and fun even for non-designers.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…http://www.mud.co.uk/richard/hcds.htm http://www.themis-group.com/uploads/Pitfalls%20of%20Virtual%... http://eternal-lands.blogspot.com/2008/03/mmorpgs-economy.ht... http://eternal-lands.blogspot.com/2008/03/mmorpgs-economy-pa... http://www.devmaster.net/articles/mmorpg-postmortem/part1.ph... The canonical book is Richard Bartle's Designing Virtual Worlds. The first essay is from him, and a classic known by all MMO developers. The next three are an academic essay by Bartle on virtual economies, and a two-part essay by Radu Privantu on the day-to-day practicalities.…
on “Most MMO companies are "rudderless ships of doomed people"” ↗I'm pretty sure Dr Bartle would object to generalizing HCDS out to the general population. Also, to 'lifeisstillgood, Bartle actually expands on his paradigm in the book Designing Virtual Worlds, where he introduces another axis for the four types (bringing it to eight) and also specifies two progressions between the types as players grow. http://www.amazon.com/Designing-Virtual-Worlds-Richard-Bartl...…
on “Experiment in paying villagers in India an unconditional basic income” ↗I'd recommend anyone interested in more of this area check out Designing Virtual Worlds by the Richard Bartle mentioned in the article. It goes into a lot of detail on persona and self and issues that came up in the early days of online gaming. Many great stories and things to make you think.…
on “Video Games Satisfy Basic Human Needs” ↗…writing a Python "MOO" as a weekend fun project -- a sort of interactive literary world inhabited by other writers / creators / explorers. If you're interested in this sort of thing, Richard Bartle's "Designing Virtual Worlds" is the classic to read.
on “LambdaMOO takes a new direction (1992)” ↗I'd recommend Richard Bartle's "Designing Virtual Worlds" if you have any interest in the history and design of MMO's.
on “Deeper Than Pixels: A Reading List on Video Games” ↗“Designing Virtual Worlds” by Richard A. Bartle. Awesome site by the author (a legend) where you can download the PDF: https://mud.co.uk/dvw/.
on “Ask HN: Can anyone recommend good books on game design?” ↗…Rogers A Theory of Fun for Game Design, by Raph Koster Designing Games: A Guide to Engineering Experiences, by Tynan Sylvester Game Feel: A Game Designers Guide yo Virtual Sensation, by Steve Swink Designing Virtual Worlds, by Richard Bartle Here are a few more that I haven’t read and don’t own, so don’t know anything about them: Elements of Game Design, by Robert Zubek Advanced Game Design: A Systems Approach, by Michael…
on “Foundations of Game Engine Development” ↗"Designing Virtual Worlds" by Richard Bartle has a good mix of history and design from his perspective, IMHO.
on “Multi-User Dungeon (MUD)” ↗/Designing Virtual Worlds/ by Richard Bartle
on “Ask HN: Any intro guide to creating text-based games?” ↗If you find this interesting, you will love his book "Designing Virtual Worlds". The first chapter covers the types of players in much greater detail. Its a fantastic book and I enjoyed reading it. Richard Bartle does a great job of explaining his points and backing everything up…
on “The 4 types if MUD players” ↗Regarding games, Richard Bartles book, Designing Virtual Worlds, touches on this topic. Its an interesting read. Would you write a program that people would rather play than have lunch? A game that millions of people spend 40-hours-a-week on, like Wow? I have no…
on “Ask HN: Unethical Programming?” ↗My advice would be to read Richard Bartles book, Designing Virtual Worlds at least twice before attempting to design an MMORPG. He covers all of the common recurring discussions and then some. Besides, its an interesting and fun book to read, even if you're not designing an…
on “How would you fix the repetitive and boring gameplay of today's (MMO)RPGs?” ↗Almost missed the footnote at the bottom, but his "Designing Virtual Worlds" book is available as a free PDF in the link there. I read it cover to cover previously and it had a profound effect on my designs going forward.
on “Richard Bartle explains Web3's flaws at a Web3 conference. It doesn't go well” ↗There's a book called Designing Virtual Worlds from 2003 that might be interesting to you; since it's 2003 it predates World of Warcraft and some of the information is dated, but other elements are timeless. It was re-released under a Creative Commons…
on “How we crowdfunded $750k for a giant book about keyboard history” ↗…http://www.amazon.co.uk/Building-Bioinformatics-Solutions-Perl-MySQL/dp/0199230234/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267352412&sr=1-1 [8] Beginning Ruby on Rails (Wrox Beginning Guides) (Paperback) - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beginning-Ruby-Rails-Wrox-Guides/dp/0470069155/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267352434&sr=1-2 [9] Designing Virtual Worlds (Paperback) - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Designing-Virtual-Worlds-Richard-Bartle/dp/0131018167/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267352457&sr=1-1 [10 GONE klaut] Founders at Work - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Founders-Work-Startups-27-Startups-Problem-Solution/dp/1430210788/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267352477&sr=1-1…
on “Tell HN: Giving away programming books to HN members” ↗