Long live the MUD! Posted on 2008-06-01 by Violette 3 Comments

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Long Live the MUD!

.....Breathtaking landscapes. Stories which unfurl before your very eyes. An intense sense of community. Intensive, true roleplay. Evolving, breathing worlds. Objects you interact with.....

 

...Thought I was referring to World of Warcraft?

Nope, and neither am I referring to any other MMORPG.




I'll let you take one last guess ;)

Hint: These games can improve your writing, reading, social and critical thinking skills.

Hint #2: They are completely free and require nothing more than a 'puter, a free client like Telnet, an internet connection and an imaginative mind....

.......

The average person has never heard of a MUD.
Yet if you think about it, these games are thriving, ever since the early 80s.

The best way to describe this Phenomenon is by telling you my story. Please, read it, as I wrote it for you!

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My story

I first found out these things existed sometime at the turn of this century. Achaea was my first foray into the genre, like it is for so many people, since it is very popular. Up to that point, I had played a variety of MMO's.

I'd been reading ads about games with descriptions to claim them as Games Out of This World. Then I'd read the last sentence: Text-based...and smirk in disgust! I thought it would be so unlike my personality and taste to play something texty, after all - being a romantic, I need colors and sounds ;)... I almost felt it would be beneath me to stoop to such a "dark-agey" type of gaming.

But, I was drooling over the features and was intrigued that there were always 250+ players online, and tried Achaea out anyway. I think I fiddled with it for 2 minutes and that was it... A few months later I tried it again, and managed to play for whole 5 minutes *lol*
So on and so forth until a FEW years later. I wish the transition could have been shorter, but I guess I needed to learn a few things first. Everything you do in a MUD you do with commands, and I had a hard time grasping that. It was also hard for me to understand the In Character and Out of character concept. (It's funny how most MMO's claim to be Roleplaying, when they are not at all.) But I think, over the many months of trying out the system, my brain grew in size, and so I was able to finally appreciate all the nuts and bolts :P

That's when I started noticing the in-depth descriptions of the rooms, objects, mobiles, and player characters. There were a hundred things to do in-game, something I didn't think was possible. I decided to become Lumiena, a Druidess, and therefore had to bind myself to a Grove of my own choosing. A ceremony was conducted, with many people from my House (Guild) and I had given my character a place where she could perform silly Druidic things like climbing the trees, summoning birds, or being able to teleport back to the Grove from any of the locations in the forests of the Achaean world. I was amazed at spontaneous moments, like when the Secretary of the House was performing a ceremony of some kind, with all of us being present, and emoting silly actions. With no one expecting it, a Wooden Nymph emerged through the bushes (not sure if she was NPC or PC), and gave the Secretary some special powers, as well as declaring her Guardian of the Aureliana Forest (probably of her having done many good deeds for the forest) That player was so overjoyed, I could feel her energy right through the screen! =)
What was also intriguing is the fact that Immortals were played by real human beings. This meant one never could know when an Immortal might interact with him, perhaps never - if your character was unlucky or undeserving. This also meant players who stuck with the game for a long time could ascend to become an Immortal, but would have to take on a competely different persona.

At the same time, I also found 8BITMUSH and was completely enchanted! I thought all text-based games were MUDs (Multi-User Dungeons), but MUSHes? (Multi-User Shared Hallucination) Anyway, I had never seen anything like 8bitmush, where one could Create absolutely anything, Sell it, Create a company, hire employees, Be anything, and earn money for playing (not real money). Think of 8bitmush as a text-based, ASCII-art colored version of Second Life :)

AT THIS POINT, I was starting to realize something odd was happening. I was no longer intimidated by the lack of graphics. My imagination was much more powerful!! It felt like transcending a stale mind-set. I felt like Buddha...

Back to Achaea. In the end, I left Achaea because of hidden fees (I hate that) and ventured into a game by the same company, Lusternia. I was attracted by the exquisite plot. Well, after a couple of months I grew somewhat despondent, having had enough with in-game politics (Gods/Administrators favoring certain players, Certain paying players being snobby).

I tried playing Medievia, one of the most famous MUDs, a text version of Everquest, if you will, but didn't like it.

I was searching for something I couldn't find. Amidst a trove of mindless hack-and-slash MMO's and repetitive, generic MUDs, would I ever find games with crafting, substance, depth, and quality? Or did they just not exist? I gave up looking among graphic MMO's anyway, being too used to constant disappointment.

Thankfully, there are many communities of loyal mudders, and that's where I went to ask for some direction! I'll spare you the details, impatient reader, but you'll be overjoyed to know I found what I was looking for. Sometime in 2006, a website had opened, containing a modest listing of impressive roleplay-intensive MUDs. It was called Rpimud. That is where I was directed.

No levels. No grinding. Permanent death. Hunger, thirst, fatigue. No hidden fees. Driven by volunteers. Intelligent fellow players. No annoying chat-speak. Skills and crafts. Complex and multi-layered storylines. Good roleplaying rewarded by admins. Complete control over a character's appearance and background. ....I had found my dream!

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Questions + Answers

You Ask: "So what's so wrong with MMO's?"

I answer: We as an instant-gratification culture are being fed MMO's which make up for the lack of true roleplay with fancy graphics and music. Subconsciously we start believing that is all there is, and it can't get any better than that. (Oblivion is an exception, but it's not an MMO!)
However, some people break out of the routine and seek a BETTER gaming experience. If you think about it - today's MMORPG's fall short of being a TRUE roleplaying, immersive experience. First, we have graphics. An MMO' is defined by its' graphics, which means what your character can do is limited by graphics. To try to optimize them, we need expensive hardware. In that sense, you're kind of brainwashed as you can't personally experience the game. There is a strong element of the impersonal in today's MMOs. How you look and behave is already predefined.
Second, of course, is they're expensive! Third, is IMHO there is no real creativity within the game. Fourth, as I've mentioned before, is a lack of Roleplaying. Fifth, the grinding and levelling is nauseating. So, you've just spent the last five hours getting to level 101 so you can show-off how uber-cool you are and to prove that you're not a NOOB! To me, that is a slap in the face and an insult to my intelligence. Grinding feels to me like I'm being raped... of my time, maybe. During that time, I have not grown in any way, learned anything new, or (most of the time) met anyone interesting. I want to play something worthwhile where I can use my brain and have quality time, too!
Before you get me wrong and start scowling at me, MUDs are not for everyone. If you hate books but love movies, you won't enjoy a text game. There are plenty of smart, mature people who play MMO's and wouldn't touch a MUD with a stick. There are also plenty of bad MUDs. And sometimes, I get plain sick and tired of text and want to enjoy an MMO for a bit.


You Ask: "If MUDs are so wonderful, why are they so unpopular?"

I answer: It's because the average person doesn't want to bother. However, people are very attached to their MUDs. Some have spent 10+ years with their favorite. The numbers may be reduced at the moment, but the community is tight-knit. How many MMORPG's can claim that?

You Ask: "So who runs these MUDs and why are they free? Are these people nuts?"

I answer: I don't know, I've often wondered that myself! To spend hours developing something and then not expect a penny in return, is NUTS. Unless...unless you're positive others will enjoy what you've created?...
...The people who run a MUD are usually Builders, who use their writing skills to describe everything in the game, and Coders, who create scripts and ensure the framework of the game is running smoothly (I think?!), and the Administrators who run everything including recruitment of staff, development of goals, overseeing absolutely everything. Usually the Staff also become Immortals once a MUD opens its doors. There are people who take advantage of that, unfortunately.
This is what makes me sad. To see all these inspired, talented people create something just to be enjoyed by others, in the end never having seen more than 5 players at a time, feeling like they have thrown money down the drain, and closing their creation with despair. It's truely sad. That's why I want to spread the word about MUDs. They are gems and most people don't know about them...

You Ask: "So why should I have to use Telnet?"

I answer: Because that's how we connect to the game! Nearly everyone, though, much prefers to use a free MUD client, or a shareware client, because they allow for color and many more features. Just punch in the host name, and the port. See my Fiery Links page for some clients!

You Ask: "Do you really think I'd trade in music and graphics for dry, lifeless text?"

I answer: That's what went through my head too, before all this. But what are books but lifeless pages devoid of moving graphics and music? Yet still, humans have been in love with them for God knows how long! Once you start reading, the words take on a life all their own, don't they? I don't think you realize how powerful imagination can be. Give it a chance.

You Ask: "You mentioned 'commands'? Commands are boring."

I answer: If you've played a couple of MMO's, then you're already familiar with commands, so don't worry! Many of them use commands like /say or /whisper. After getting acquainted with the basic commands, you should feel at ease. It becomes absurdly simple from then on :)

You Ask: "Is cyber sex allowed?"

I answer: Yes, it depends on the MUD ;-) Each one is different. If you go to Mud Connect, and use Advanced Search, you'll see that you can search by language, the number of players, world size, category (such as Adult-Oriented, Cyberpunk, Newbie Friendly, Social muds, Tolkien, Star Wars, tons of others). Something like that would probably be under "Adult-oriented", but it's best to check the rules once you're logged into the mud. Typing 'help rules' should do the trick!

You Ask: "So what kind of MUDs are there?"

I answer: Mudconnect, a sort of Yellow Pages of the MUD world, has 1,673 Listings at the moment. In reality, that number is higher, because some MUDs are not listed, like the one I build for, Mythic Shores, maybe cause it's in the Alpha phase.
That is why the world of MUDs is so colourful - the number of them. You can find anything you love and definitely something you hate. There is Shadows of Isildur for Lord of the Rings fans. Armageddon, for those moments when you crave a harsh, desert world.(Read my review of it here). For reliving WWII, there is The Greatest Generation. On the disturbing and perverse end of the spectrum, there is Hell, an X-rated game for "acting out your sickest fantasies so you can keep them off the street". (Not for me, I assure you!)
We have The Sanctuary, a haven for people who have survived childhood abuse. Aardwolf for pure adventure. Erotic Labs for erotic experiments... Dare to Dream for having fun with games, carnivals, rides, and so forth. And the The Burbs for socialization!...
And it's all there for you, waiting to be discovered!

You Ask: "So what are your favorite things about these things?"

I answer: Some MUDs make up for the lack of graphics by using cute ASCII art with a generous amount of color. I love them! In Accursed Lands we have a graphic picture of the sky at any given moment, and overhead maps in the wilderness. Ahh!
Many good MUD clients come with tons of features to make life easier. I love that too. Aliases, macros, events... There are also Sound Triggers which play sounds or music when events happen. Ahhh...
Sometimes people make scripts for certain games and share them with the public, which is so cool.
I just love everything about them!!

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Conclusion

If all of this is new to you, I hope a new interest has sparked within you. If you've tried MUDs before but gave up, email me for some therapy ;) And if you are already a devoted mudder, remember to convert as many as you can! :P