okay so im putting this in a reblog because I have Opinions about this silly little post that I think apply to a wider sect of gaming in the way of Managing a Community. Please bare with me as this is just off the top of my head and not very well organized.
TLDR: I think the focus should be on encouraging good behaviors instead of punishing bad ones.
So, I see the goal as this: inspiring a certain level of Whimsy and encouraging self-exploration. Additionally, encouraging a high level of immersion and a unique sense of community for said game.
Unfortunately, I think the methods you're describing to achieve this will create the MMO version of the Minecraft server 2B2T. In other words-- pretentiousness and a distinctly unwelcoming community that keeps to themselves and tells outsiders, archivers, and people providing helpful resources to go fuck themselves. Also, the thought of being so heavily controlled by devs in such a Fun Police way makes me wanna tear your throat out with my teeth (nothing against you-- that's just how I feel about it).
I think it comes down to this: heavily policing a community like that will inspire fear and distrust between players, causing players to avoid and backstab each other due to fear of being banned for sharing information. Additionally, I don't think players will actually *stop* archiving and sharing information-- they'll only do so with their buddies and anyone paying the right price. I don't think you necessarily implied wanting to stop the first thing (sharing information organically through conversation instead of wikis), but I cannot *imagine* you would want the second thing to happen (wiki-level information being *buyable* because if you're already risking a fucking cease-and-desist, there needs to be *some* profit incentive).
Additionally, players aren't going to *stop* wanting to know about the game they're playing. They're just going to have to work *against* you instead of *with* you to get that information. I am heavily of the opinion that if a player community is actively working against the developers, the developers are doing something *very* wrong.
So, here's a list of things I can think of that will encourage the behavior you want and discourage the behavior you don't.
Make a robust hint system and guide as a replacement for a wiki. The best way to discourage the formation of a wiki is to make it so one would be redundant. Don't out-right give all the answers, but steer players in the right direction. Ex: making the requirements to get an item (or where to find out how to get an item) EXPLICITLY clear. Yaknow how you basically NEED a wiki or cultural knowledge of Minecraft to actually beat the ender dragon? yeah don't do that. I'm thinking less than Vintage Story but definitely more than Minecraft.
have procedural or rotating maps for dungeons. If players cannot predict what's going to happen without complicated math, then they simply will not the vast majority of the time
Make things intuitive. If I see an ice enemy, first thing I'm gonna try is using fire to kill it. Don't need a wiki for that.
Give multiple ways to get the correct answer. If a puzzle is super convoluted and there's only ONE way to pass it, anyone who the answer does not come naturally to is going to reach for a guide. I'm not saying make things easy-- I'm saying to accommodate multiple playstyles.
Having *players* discourage other players from reaching for a wiki is a good idea! However, to do that, you need to cultivate a friendly and helpful community. Give incentives to players who want to be the tutorial NPC. Make *many* community events.
IDK where to put this but the BEST example I've seen of a helpful and friendly community is Pixel Cats End, a brower based pet-sim (kinda? hard to explain) with forums. I love PCE. Unfortunately, you *do* need an account to see the forums as a protection against AI scraper bots.
Make meeting and communicating in game not only easy, but also fun! Hanging out in-game should be highly encouraged and an integral part of the game. Mechanics should be geared a little more towards roleplaying and fun than the average MMO. If you want it to replace discord, it needs to be better than/offer a more fun experience than discord.
Encourage more casual playstyles. Being a sweat should have diminishing returns. Ex: every time you do a specific dungeon in a 24-hr period, it spawns less n less rewards.
Encourage creatives in your game. Artists and musicians should be rewarded by either the devs or players (both if possible).
If someone wants to be a potato farmer, another wants to be a warrior, and a third wants to be a potion merchant, all three playstyles should feel relatively-equally rewarding. There should be multiple "correct" ways to play the game.
Consider a guide system that reveals more and more tips on how to beat it the more you fail to and tells you where to go in-game for other *players* to teach you how to. Like online math homework.
Keep a finger to the pulse of your in-game economy and add money sinks and incentives as necessary.
Don't send a cease-and-desist for a wiki. cmon man.
Do not ban players for archiving your game. Who are you, nintendo?
Making metagaming *necessary* to get something valuable in a timely manner. Best way to make sure it doesn't happen is to make it unnecessary in the first place. The negative example I gotta give is, unfortunately, in Cookie Clicker-- the garden. Bro how am I supposed to get that within 5 years if I don't look things up?
Allow bots. Nothing sweatier than bots.
Focus all the good cosmetics, mechanics, and abilities on one or a handful of classes/playstyles.
Only punish instead of rewarding players. Even punishing more than rewarding players would be bad methinks.
okay yeah that's it I couldn't think of anything else. hope this was insightful.
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