Kingdoms of Camelot Part 1: Seduction and Addiction

Hello world!

Yesterday marked two months of involvement with Kings of Camelot. A good time to distill what I’ve learned and gained (and lost) so that I can somehow infuse it into my novel, The Game. The what-have-I-learned part is easier than the distilling, so, for the sake of my own sanity, I’ll start there.

1. KoC is seductive. Early on, I had to discover what was expected. A list of “quests” set my goals, and a “might” score increased as I messed around. As the might score increased, I began to earn higher ranks. By following quests and points and ranks, I trained myself to be a better and better player. And always, the little rewards and awards kept coming, making me feel smart and competent (whether or not that was true).
2. KoC is addictive. I’m reminded of training my late cat, Caspia. She occasionally stood on her hind legs in anticipation of a treat, so I encouraged the behavior, until she always stood for food. Then, I enticed her to stand for longer, and finally had her do a string of “tricks” to receive her goodie – chase me round and round the divider between the living room and kitchen, run to her indoor cat condo and climb to the highest level -- squishing her chubby belly through a tight passage (making us laugh), until she stood on hind legs at the tip top, five feet above the ground, in anticipation of her reward.

Similarly, KoC’s reinforcement schedule trained me to give over bigger and bigger chunks of time. There is a city to construct -- structures to build. They take a few seconds at first, and it’s a small inconvenience waiting for them to finish. But each one needs eight more upgrades to achieve full usefulness. Each level means a longer wait, and they begin to require resources that you need to gather. So you learn to wait longer. And longer. Soon, you are spending all day online. Trained exactly to the game’s demands as surely as Caspia atop her cat condo. 

With that lovely image, I think I’ll stop for today. But do check back for the next thrill-packed episode . . .