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Rise and Shiny: DragonRealms

Beau Hindman — Sun, 19 May 2013 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Culture, Game Mechanics, Interviews, Previews, Opinion, Virtual Worlds, Community Q&A, Rise and Shiny, Livestream, Miscellaneous, Subscription

As a part of MUD May, I just had to play at least one MUD for Rise and Shiny. I have a handful of favorite MUDs, like GemStone IV, BatMUD, and Achaea, but I have never really given DragonRealms a chance. Until now. I've poked into it here and there, but every time I found myself on the Simutronics website, I always logged into GemStone IV. I heard that DragonRealms was a lot different, more hardcore, and filled with PvP, and after spending an initial week with the game and the killer community, I can say that it is different, but mainly in a few outstanding ways. Of course I might find much more that sets the game apart if I played it for several years like some of the people I met in game, but for now I'll settle with telling you what I've learned so far.

The usual embedded video in this article serves two purposes. First, it's an interview piece I did with Eric Latham, Producer at Simutronics. Next, it's a glance at DragonRealms, from character creation to a bit of gameplay. It's not as in-depth as my other videos, but it keeps in the greater theme of MUD May.

Continue reading Rise and Shiny: DragonRealms

Rise and Shiny: DragonRealms originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 19 May 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Soapbox: MMOs are to kids what MUDs are to us

Beau Hindman — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business Models, Culture, Economy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Consoles, Casual, The Soapbox

I love MUDs. When I go through a several-hour long MUD session, I feel as if I took part in a greater story, and most of the fun was not based on stats or gear. MUDs let me escape into a world because they are about story first. I think I'm pretty rare, though. I can't find many other writers who seem to write about MUDs unless they are referencing them like some sort of relic from the past. The truth is that MUDs are still being loved, played, and enjoyed by thousands. Covering MUDs is as important as covering any other MMO. They're still part of the bigger picture.

I'm sure many of you reading this now could not care less about MUDs. You might have played one years ago, but generally they are seen as the cute elderly citizens of MMOdom. That's cool if that's how you feel, but now think about this: The new generation, kids between 13 and 20 years old, will look at many of our large PCs and 20 gig MMOs the same way modern gamers look at MUDs.

Continue reading The Soapbox: MMOs are to kids what MUDs are to us

The Soapbox: MMOs are to kids what MUDs are to us originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 14 May 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Free for All: Introduction to MUD May

Beau Hindman — Wed, 01 May 2013 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business Models, Opinion, Races, Roleplaying, Free for All, Player-Generated Content

For the month of May, I will be using this column to cover the world of MUDs aka multi-user-domains or dungeons. MUDs are text-based MMORPGs, and playing one is sort of like playing through a choose-your-own-adventure book with potentially thousands of other players. I'm not so arrogant to think that I could cover the decades of MUD development within the span of five articles, but I've had a go at it in the past and want to examine the topic more. Why?

There are many reasons, and to kick off this series, I'd like to talk about them. After today, my columns will concentrate on interviews with developers and players to explain how and why MUDs still work, and I hope that all of this will encourage many of you who have never tried a MUD to pick one out now. The recent buzz surrounding Twine-based games and interactive storytelling is perfect fuel for MUDs to come back into the spotlight. Unless, of course, many of the issues with the insulated community of MUDers sabotage the perfect timing.

Let's get started.

Continue reading Free for All: Introduction to MUD May

Free for All: Introduction to MUD May originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 May 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Free for All: How MUDs can stay relevant in today's 3-D world

Beau Hindman — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business Models, Culture, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Free for All, Miscellaneous

My latest passion is MUDs, or multi-user-dungeons. Essentially, they are text-based MMOs. Imagine a choose-your-own-adventure book that is played with hundreds or thousands of other players. I have found more freedom in the text-based worlds of some titles, freedom to make the character I want to make. I've also found many of the common, underlying problems with MMOs in MUDs as well. These are issues that might have started with MUDs, being that they are some of the oldest multiplayer games in existence today.

I wanted to take a look at how many of these MUDs could keep themselves in the game. It's not as though they need the help; many of them have been steadily chugging along for a decade or more. What I would like to see is many of them add more players, add to their developer teams, and actually stick around for 10 more years.

Is it possible? I think so.

Continue reading Free for All: How MUDs can stay relevant in today's 3-D world

Free for All: How MUDs can stay relevant in today's 3-D world originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 13 Jun 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rise and Shiny: Threshold RPG

Beau Hindman — Sun, 27 May 2012 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Game Mechanics, Previews, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Casual, Rise and Shiny, Livestream, Miscellaneous

It's the third week in a row I have decided to spend with a MUD, or multi-user-dungeon. I've explained it before, but in case you are not familiar, a MUD is a text-based MMO. That's right: you play by typing commands and exploring environments, all in text form. I started this exploration with Gemstone IV, an amazing MUD that seems to be the gold standard for MUDs. I am still playing it and finding out how amazing it is. I moved on to BatMUD, a slightly more basic MUD that offered a great client but frustrated me. Honestly though, my time with BatMUD was a little unfair and I need to revisit the game. It really has some wonderful elements.

Now that I have moved on to Threshold RPG, another ancient MUD from before the time of mostly graphical MMOs, I feel as though I have finally reached an understanding as to how MUDs work and what makes them incredible adventures still to this day.

Threshold is more basic than all of them so far, but that's a good thing in many ways. There's also a lot that is lacking, and several tweaks that need to be made.

Continue reading Rise and Shiny: Threshold RPG

Rise and Shiny: Threshold RPG originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 27 May 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rise and Shiny: BatMUD

Beau Hindman — Sun, 20 May 2012 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Video, Bugs, Culture, Previews, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Casual, Roleplaying, First Impressions, Rise and Shiny, Miscellaneous

Here I am making myself crazy once again. Why? Why do I insist on visiting games that I know will provoke issues both physical and mental? I guess it's because lately I have been fascinated with MUDs, or multi-user-dungeons. They are better described as text-based MMOs or choose-your-own-adventure books written with thousands of other players. It's a fascinating concept, especially when you consider how dissimilar it is to today's modern, easy-to-play offerings. The ancient design of the MUD now feels fresh, so much so that I have decided to dedicate a future article about the possibility of MUDs' viability in today's three-dimensional world.

I have found some good and some very bad over the last several weeks. I've also stumbled across brand-new versions of the migraines that often bother me when I concentrate way, way too hard on PC text. I have to admit that my issues do not seem that common, but it is important to look at a game from all angles, even from the angle of someone who has specific issues. BatMUD has tested my patience over the last few weeks and several hours. It's also shown me some wonderful adventure and sparked my imagination.

Continue reading Rise and Shiny: BatMUD

Rise and Shiny: BatMUD originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 20 May 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rise and Shiny: Gemstone IV

Beau Hindman — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Culture, Game Mechanics, Previews, Opinion, Hands-On, Casual, Rise and Shiny, Livestream, Miscellaneous, Sandbox

This article was a long time coming. Not only have I avoided taking a look at any sort of pure MUD for many years, but I meant to write this up last week but real life interrupted my plans. I just didn't think it was fair to write up a first impressions based on only a few hours of play. I was quite hesitant to take a deeper look at Gemstone IV mainly because I knew that the non-stop reading would surely create more migraines that might derail my work again. I was very worried, actually.

Luckily, the Gemstone IV client is customizable enough to allow me to create a "book-style" experience: black text on a white background. I don't think I'm alone in my inability to view bright, colored text on a dark background comfortably. If I were, popular websites would still look like they were from 1996. We've moved past ugly fonts and horrible color combinations.

Unfortunately it took me most of the time with Gemstone IV just to learn how to play, make the text comfortable to read, and understand what my character was supposed to be doing. Once I got comfortable, though, I honestly had one of the most enchanting times in a game yet.

Continue reading Rise and Shiny: Gemstone IV

Rise and Shiny: Gemstone IV originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 29 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Game Archaeologist seals up 2011

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: A Tale in the Desert, Asheron's Call, Dark Age of Camelot, EverQuest, Lineage, Meridian 59, PlanetSide, Shadowbane, Everquest Online Adventures, The Game Archaeologist, Miscellaneous

You know what I love about the end of each year? The lists. Man, but I'm a sucker for lists, especially when they come in "best of" varieties. In the lull between Christmas and New Year's, there typically isn't a lot happening in the world of entertainment, so it's a good time to look back before we head forward.

And so it is for The Game Archaeologist. 2011 marks the second year I've been doing this column, and it's been one of my personal favorite series to write. Every week I'm learning more and more about the history of the MMO genre, and I'm encouraged to see just how much passion and interest there are for the titles that started it all and got us to where we are today.

So before we head into 2012, let's take one last glimpse back at the road we've traveled. If you've missed out on any of these columns or want to revisit your favorite classic MMO, I've compiled a huge list of everything I talked about this year, from histories to interviews to player stories. There's also a special request for you (yes, you) at the end of this column, so do me a favor and hit that jump!

Continue reading The Game Archaeologist seals up 2011

The Game Archaeologist seals up 2011 originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Game Archaeologist plays with MUDs: Your journeys, part 1

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Interviews, Free-to-Play, The Game Archaeologist

What a long, strange trip it's been back through the heyday of multi-user dungeons and the many, many spin-offs and variations thereof. We've looked at the history, talked with Richard Bartle, and promoted a few of the best titles out there -- but we're not done yet! The Game Archaeologist will not hang up his hat and call it a day well-lived until your stories are entered into the history books.

Throughout this month, MUD and MU* players have deluged the inbox of the Game Archaeologist Institute for Text-Based Virtual Worlds, impressing us with hefty paragraphs of passionate experiences. These stories are so good, in fact, that we have little desire to choose between them, which is why we're going to annex the first week of May so that we can share all of them. May won't mind -- May's cool like that.

So hit the jump and read the testimonies of the word warriors who were there on the front line of parser combat and grammatically correct roleplaying. These are their stories. This is your lunch break.

Continue reading The Game Archaeologist plays with MUDs: Your journeys, part 1

The Game Archaeologist plays with MUDs: Your journeys, part 1 originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Game Archaeologist plays with MUDs: The games

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, MMO Industry, Free-to-Play, The Game Archaeologist

Fair citizens of Massivelyville, believe me, I've heard your voices. After two weeks of giving an overview of MUDs and MU*s, not to mention talking to Dr. Bartle about the genre, I think I've held off talking about specific games long enough. No need for heads to explode on my watch!

One of the reasons I stalled for time is that I was gathering as much information on the most popular and beloved MUDs of the past few decades. From the perspective of someone who is but a mewling infant when it comes to these games, it's a considerable task akin to asking someone to sum up all of the World War II movies out there. The selection field is big -- that's all I'm saying.

So after polling a number of friends and hearing what you've had to say in the comments section, I've culled the list to six games that seem to pop up over and over again. Not only are each of these MUDs a wealth of history, but they're all going strong even in the futuristic year of 2011. If you've never played a game in this genre, then consider these a good place to start, and if you have, hopefully this will be an exciting stroll down memory lane. Watch out for the boojums and grues!

Continue reading The Game Archaeologist plays with MUDs: The games

The Game Archaeologist plays with MUDs: The games originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Game Archaeologist plays with MUDs: A talk with Richard Bartle

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, The Game Archaeologist, Miscellaneous

From talking with Richard Bartle, reading his blog, and looking over several interviews that he's done, I've concluded that the co-creator of the first multi-user dungeon is, in many ways, a card. A smart one, a perceptive one, and an outspoken one, but a card nonetheless. I say this in a good way, of course, because for all of the verbal pussyfooting that often goes on in this industry, it's refreshing to hear the voice of someone who knows what he thinks and isn't afraid to say it, even if it goes against the grain.

Dr. Bartle's name often comes up in discussions of both MUDs and MMORPGs. His designs, work and scholarship have influenced MMOs in substantial ways, and it's possible that if our children end up learning about massively multiplayer RPGs in school some day, Bartle's name will be mentioned once or twice.

While he's sometimes polarizing, it's hard to deny the incredible work he's done, which is why I was excited to get to talk to him about this month's subject on the Game Archaeologist. So hit that pesky jump and let's pick the mind of a guy who really earned the right to post "FIRST!!1!"

Continue reading The Game Archaeologist plays with MUDs: A talk with Richard Bartle

The Game Archaeologist plays with MUDs: A talk with Richard Bartle originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 12 Apr 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Game Archaeologist plays with MUDs: The history

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Lore, MMO Industry, The Game Archaeologist, Miscellaneous

You know that sinking feeling when you get into something that's way, waaaay over your head and you have no choice but to swim furiously or drown? That's exactly how I felt when I started to do research for this month's series on MUDs -- Multi-User Dungeons -- and their descendants.

At first I was thrilled, because I knew that along with Dungeons & Dragons and Bulletin Board Systems, the MUD was one of the key predecessors to the MMORPG as we know it today. It was, and still is, vital gaming history that helped to shape the genre. The only problem was that for various reasons -- mostly a lack of good internet access in college and general ignorance -- I'd missed out on MUDs back in the day.

But it's not like that stopped me from covering any of the other games in this series that I never experienced first-hand way back when; after all, there are few among us who can honestly say they did everything. So the problem wasn't the lack of first-hand knowledge but the sheer, overwhelming scope of this subject. One game alone is a manageable subject -- MUDs are an entire genre unto themselves. It's intimidating, to say the least.

It doesn't still my excitement, however, nor will it stop us from diving into this topic no matter how deep the waters get. This week we'll take a look at the brief history of the MUD/MUSH/MOO/et al. and then get into specific games later this month. So hold your breath and jump on in with me!

Continue reading The Game Archaeologist plays with MUDs: The history

The Game Archaeologist plays with MUDs: The history originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Game Archaeologist and the SysOp's Sinister Stratagem

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, The Game Archaeologist

When you think of MMORPGs, I wouldn't blame you if your mind stayed rooted firmly in the past decade or so, perhaps taking a brief vacation to 1997 before returning to today's 3-D polygonal glory. But it's not like people just woke up in the late 90's, looked at each other, and said, "Hmm. Online multiplayer RPGs. Let's make it happen!"

On the contrary, history had been building up to that moment for quite some time. Tabletop RPGs and computer MUDs (multi-user dungeons) were both important ancestors of modern MMOs, just as was a mostly forgotten piece of software lore: the bulletin board system, also known as the BBS.

In layman's terms, BBSes were like pocket internets -- host computers that allowed anyone to dial up and use special programs remotely. While BBSes weren't (initially) tied together like the world wide web, they featured a lot of the elements that would make the WWW so popular, such as email, forums, and, yes, online games.

Today's special one-shot Game Archaeologist will take a brief look at the history of the BBS, as well as a couple of its games that could be considered "MORPGs" (like the renowned website, the "Massively" part would be a while in coming). Dial up, gentle readers, and make your hissing modem noises!

Continue reading The Game Archaeologist and the SysOp's Sinister Stratagem

The Game Archaeologist and the SysOp's Sinister Stratagem originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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More about MUDs for the MMO curious

Krystalle Voecks — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Game Mechanics, Interviews, MMO Industry, Opinion

When it comes to the evolution of the MMO, you can't really deny the earliest roots of MMOs -- the MUD or Multi-User Dungeon. But as there are many who just started in with MMOs with more recent titles like World of Warcraft, the initial roots from whence the games we love rose remain shrouded in mystery for many people. Thankfully, recently Edge Online decided to not only take a very close look at the earliest creation of MUDs, but they also got a chance to sit down with Richard Bartle.

Their illuminating article, simply titled "The making of: MUD" talks not only of what started the system we know, but also how the thinking behind it progressed into the MMOs we know now. Additionally, sprinkled throughout the second half of the article are some really interesting quotes from Bartle. One such example is Bartle's explanation of his current levels of involvement and why he'd rather "...focus on the health of the forest than on individual trees" in terms of the massively multi-player game market. If you're a veteran or a newcomer, the article is well worth a read if only to give a perspective on our favorite genre that you may not have had before.

[Via Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

More about MUDs for the MMO curious originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 27 Dec 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MUD history gets a wiki for itself

Seraphina Brennan — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, News Items, Massively Meta, MUDs

When we last talked about multi-user dungeon (MUD) history here on Massively, it wasn't for good reasons. Wikipedia had been slowly removing some of the more memorable games from its archives, causing a response from a few of the resident experts here in the multiplayer genre. Since that story was published, many readers here offered a suggestion, "Why not go put the history on your own wiki?"

Well, that suggestion has recently become a reality with the creation of MUD Wiki. MUD Wiki, a Wikia gaming wiki, will be holding all of the MUD history and information that Wikipedia has been slowly losing/removing. The wiki launched on January 11th, and is slowly filling up with all kinds of information relating to MUDs, including a growing entry for the recently Wikipedia-deleted Threshold RPG MUD. If you have anything to contribute, stop by and add what you have to the new home of MUD history.

MUD history gets a wiki for itself originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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