You are standing at the edge of the forest. Tall trees,
green with the life of spring, loom over you. There
is a path that enters into the forest to the north.
==> Examine Tree
The trees are in the full bloom of spring. You can
hear small animals scurry around in the branches above.
One of the trees looks climbable.
==> Climb Tree
You approach the tree and begin climbing. After climbing
a few feet, you lose your footing and fall, taking 2 damage.
==> Climb Tree
You approach the tree and begin climbing. Swift as a
squirrel, you reach the leaf canopy.
You are not effectively hidden from most onlookers.
Believe it or not, this was once how games were played. The first instances of these games were simply called “Text Based Adventures.” The first such game was Colossal Cave Adventure, written by Will Crowther. As time went on these games began to evolve. The size of the game worlds grew, more interactive objects were included in the worlds, and better syntax dictionaries were created to better understand what the user was requesting. The advent of the Internet brought sweeping changes to the genre.
In 1978 the first Multi-User Dungeon (MUD) was created. It was basically a multiplayer adventure game. As the Internet became available to more of the general population, MUDs exploded in popularity. By the late ’90s, MUDs were more than multiplayer adventure games. Many of them consisted of huge worlds with large player bases. The world economies and governments were player run, and the actual design of the games was just a framework for the players.
MUDs are not as popular in today’s graphically intense world, but there are a few out there that are hanging on. Dragon Realms still holds an average daily player base of over 400 paying players. The price? Fifteen dollars per month. What convinces someone to pay the same amount for a text-based game that they would pay for a huge online game like World of Warcraft, and are those elements things that we should be seeking in our games, whether they are single player or multiplayer?
The most endearing quality of a well designed MUD is that you feel as if you can really make a difference in the world around you. As mentioned, most MUDs have economies and governments that are almost completely player run. If one player kills another player who happens to be the mayor of a town, that is going to affect that locale. This is the sole reason why I have not played an MMO for almost four years. I, admittedly, have not tried every single MMO out there, but the only one that I have personally seen that really captures this aspect of MUDs was Ultima Online. In my three years of playing World of Warcraft, I never one felt as if what I did made a difference. So many game developers laud that your decisions in their game will make a difference, but it usually ends up being a singular decision that gives you one of a few ending cut scenes. Fable II started in the right direction, but the results were all the same. Even with a character who was 100% evil and 100% corrupt, I was still able to get crowds to love me and have people move into my houses with inflated prices. Developers can learn from MUDs by allowing players to have real control over the world around them.
MUDs are also known for their freedom. In any single scene you can examine multiple items, pick up multiple items, climb a tree, etc. Obviously some things are easier to handle in a text-based game (such as climbing a random tree), but most games today are so limited that it removes you from the immersion into the game. How many times have you gotten angry over the fact that your grand hero who can slay dragons cannot jump over a three-foot-high fence? Is my gun-toting soldier so dumb that he cannot even hit the keyboard of the randomly placed computer? I understand that developers think they are keeping us on task by keeping some things “out of our reach,” but that should be our decision to make. Am I really supposed to feel apprehensive about the fact that a bunch of soldiers are hunting me down, when I know that they will not appear until I make it to a certain point that acts as their spawn spot? Why can I not hide in a locker and blast a group of soldiers as they walk by looking for me? Developers can learn from MUDs by giving their NPCs lives of their own. A good game should have its NPCs in action even when they are off screen.
As you all know, I believe that story is king. I will not spend too much time on this point, as you’ve heard it before, but a great story can carry a game a long way. I was able to get past the bad voice acting in Heavy Rain because of the story. Actually, I love Heavy Rain because of the story. I can return to Final Fantasy III (VI in Japan) in all of its 16-bit glory (Super Nintendo version) because of its story.MUDs are usually known to have amazing stories. Dragon Realms has almost as much lore to its world as our real-life religions do; and its well written lore. Over the past few years, I have found myself getting bored quite easily with games. I’m like a script reader; if a story has not hooked me within the first 10%, I’m out. The games that I remember to tell my friends about are the ones that have stories that grab me. Developer can learn from MUDs by crafting tight stories, without fully sacrificing player freedom. Let the story be a framework upon which the player can build an experience.
I miss playing MUDs. I occasionally try to hop on one every once in a while, but I just do not have time for them any more. The aspects that I miss most about them are the things I mentioned above, and I want to see more games incorporate them. MUDs are proof that developers do not have to have complete control over a players experience. Even if I do something that screws up the game world around me, at least it was by my choice. I do not mind getting a little dirty in my games, so give it a shot and throw a little MUD my way.
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