This is getting OT - time for a new thread!

As to twinking - it provides some incentive for long-time players to start new characters, meaning that a complete newbie has a better chance of finding characters that are at least ostensibly at the same level as his. Also, it keeps players playing after they've "maxed out" one character, and keeps them playing at a level that's (at least marginally) less game destructive than having hordes of bored level 100 characters wandering around with PUSDs looking for new species to make extinct... To that extent, it's a good thing. On the negative side, it means that repeat characters have a decided advantage over complete newbies (to the extent, reportedly, that newbies feel excluded), and that twinkies can rampage through areas that, by design they should be avoiding or at least being very cautious in at their ostensible level. To that extent, it's a bad thing.

As long as you allow players to trade items/money, there's no way to prevent twinking, but there are some measures that might control its negative effects: broadening the focus of the game so that items useful for a warrior are much less useful to a thief (for example), though this could encourage people just to replay with the same type of character; level restrictions on items (use or character growth while using the item or having high level items degrade when used by low level characters); or item degradation over time in all cases, which I personally favour for economic reasons anyway.

An alternative approach might be to encourage experienced players to "adopt" newbie characters by some sort of in game reward (though this should be thought through carefully to try and avoid abuse...)

[edited by - rmsgrey on December 14, 2002 11:54:32 AM]