Blind Luck MUD Development Diary, Entry 7: Combat planning

All games have at least one core mechanic, around which the gameplay is built. The core mechanic of Super Mario Bros is jumping, and the core mechanic of Tetris is to fill rows with blocks without empty spaces so that they disappear. Blind Luck MUD is a role-playing game, and role-playing games typically have combat, exploration, and socializing as their core mechanics. Today, we are going to focus on the design on the first of those; and being a core mechanic, it is important that we get it right. That’s why this entry is all about planning rather than implementation — let’s dive in.

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Why a turn-based combat system?

As I went over in Entry 1 on this Development Diary, the combat in Blind Luck MUD will be turn-based rather than the real-time approach most MUDs take. There are three primary reasons for this:

1. In a well-designed turn-based system, the players have to think about their moves, to try to outwit and outmaneuver their opponents. As a player, I enjoy this aspect in games.
2. The slower pace of a turn-based system allows you to notice more of what other players in your party do during combat. When I used to play EverQuest, I remember once saving my party as we had to flee from combat. I cast a slow spell on the pursuing enemy, allowing us all to…