An MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) Game is known to be difficult to build due to many technical issues and also server scaling, as well as design issues involving scaling economics, politics, level design, pacing, persistence, and progression. A common assumption about MMO's is that bigger player numbers are better and worth pursuing. This may not be the case as costs rise along with the number of players.
Human-scale game design is about creating strong relationship bonds between individuals. (Friendships)
Creating these bonds is a recipe of four ingredients. These are Proximity, Similarity, Reciprocity, and Disclosure.
Proximity
In order to create a friendship, players need to have close proximity. This allows interactions.
Similarity
It is more likely for players to become friends if they are similar. Their perceptions of one another need to be similar to their perceptions of themselves.
Reciprocity
Players must engage in escalating back-and-forth interactions in order to negotiate shared social norms.
Disclosure
After the development of friendship, intimate weaknesses need to be shared in a safe, consensual way. Or at least, players should have the opportunity.
"You can take any two players, put them together in matches for hundreds of hours, and if the above criteria are not met, they are unlikely to become friends. Naively tossing bodies at one another is not an efficient social design."
Dunbar's Friendship Chart
I read a lot about Dunbar and find it quite confusing. It discusses the different types of friendships all humans have and how much 'data' each one has for different groups. I found it very difficult to understand and after reading over it several times I think I slightly understand a bit more of what it is, but not its purpose.
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