Market Place

[Eight-Bit]

Hey all,

In case any of you don't know (which I expect is all of you), I am a huge fan of videogames using systems and interfaces which mirror the methods of our current world. For example, ebay comes to mind when I think of the most efficient way to exchange goods over the internet. The current system, where you post and meet for an in game exchange only works on the intimate level we are used to on Layonara. As size increases, so has to the availably of sales, otherwise people will spend too much time trying to sell something and less time enjoying the game. Unless they want to be professional merchants, but hey... you can do that in retail and get real money, so go figure.

I've set the stage here, so with the idea of ebay in mind to borrow a format, discuss your ideas for the future market place of Layonara.

[jadewillow]

Thanks for that comment. I'm going to use the bad word here, but World of Warcraft actually has a pretty good auctioning system for this sort of thing. Last thing I want is a WoW clone, but they actually did some stuff pretty well.

[Eight-Bit]

Originally Posted by jadewillow

Thanks for that comment. I'm going to use the bad word here, but World of Warcraft actually has a pretty good auctioning system for this sort of thing. Last thing I want is a WoW clone, but they actually did some stuff pretty well.

By using similar ideas, concepts, and methods to preform necessary in-game functions you are in no way causing any negative blow to roleplaying as a whole.

[Honora]

I will chime in on this. I don't know what WoW does, but I did play EQ for a significant number of years and I hated the Bazaar. Before that, there was East Commonlands (at least on my server, Karana). You had to be there, you had to advertise, you could be clever and funny, or not, but you interacted. The Bazaar took all that away. From that point forward, you clicked on a menu and paid the price or didn't. No haggling, no stories, 95% of the "people" selling were level 1 mules. It was like a medieval Wal-Mart.

BORING!

I don't know what's in store for that, but I do hope that it's at least interactive on some level.

[Pen N Popper]

That's a very good point, Honora. How to balance interaction and RP with OOC coordination?

An idea:

Player A meets player B and they agree to some deal (eg. 200 clay lumps for 10 lion skins). They 'use' their market folder and click through the menu of the myriad items that can be gathered and crafted. Player A selects 10 lion skins and then the 'write shipping order' menu entry. This creates a shipping ticket that is given to player B. B will hunt lions and put the skins into A's shipping ticket. When the order is filled completely, the ticket just becomes a receipt and is no longer usable. The reverse is done for the 200 clay so that A can ship it to B. The items themselves get shipped to a warehouse where they can be picked up (like the bank).

In this manner, gatherers can coordinate with buyers through RP ingame but after that the shipping mechanism is nice in an OOC manner.

[miltonyorkcastle]

We may also consider having both the option for OOC "speed-transactions" as well as a place and set-up for a more interactive market place.

To be honest, there are days when I have the time and desire to spend an hour and a half RPing a regular transaction (and by regular, I mean a deal between two characters who know each other and have long since made trade arrangements). Then there are other days when I don't have the time. And still other days when I don't have the desire. I'm interested in a different story than "How Steel got his two-hundred mushrooms." Thanks to crafting, it seems Steel is constantly hiring out folks and making deals. I've had to do the craziest stuff just to make some of it interesting, but I'd typically rather not even bother with it. I'd rather invite those same characters Steel is trading for honey to be involved in some intrigue at the Arms or an exploration adventure. So yeah, if there was a way I could drastically cut short trade time, I'd take it, unless the trade is important to the story. Most of the time, it's not important to the story I'm trying to create, at least not directly.

(And to be very honest, 90% of the time I find all buying and selling interaction boring. Even the most interesting characters typically only need that first encounter to establish the mode of operations with another character, and after that, it's just "I got this, you got that, let's trade." If I wanted to play a merchant, I wouldn't be playing an adventurer.)

Point is, options are good.

[Faldred]

"Commodity" goods should be able to be sold at the medieval "Wal-Mart" -- it makes sense, and will easily reflect a "going rate" mentality of common trade goods. More rare, exotic, or unique items should require true interaction.

The trick is how to actually manage that in software.