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A Multi-User Dungeon (MUD) is a text based computer program of an “imaginary world�? in which users log on to engage in role play. Other functions include creating melodramas, developing worlds and objects in them, solving puzzles, generating entertainment, competing for prestige and power, gaining wisdom, seeking revenge and acting on whims of greed, lust and violence (Rheingold, 2000).
Many of these virtual communities are hosted on websites which require subscriptions in order to participate. The computer acts as an electronic Dungeon Master, one that directs the plays in the program. It mediates all interaction between players in the game universe. Because of this, identities of the participants remain hidden during the game. These games have no definite ending, as the user is in control of how the game progresses.
MUDs originated in England in 1980 and have been a “staple of the Internet gaming scene�? longer than most kinds of games (Rosenberg, 2004). MUDs evolved into some of the first email games, in which the program would send out turn sheets to all the participants of the game, informing them of the current game status. Each user then responds to the game engine with written email instructions of their next move.
Real-time strategy (RTS) games and role-playing games (RPGs) spawned from MUDs, with both types of games borrowing many aspects from their predecessor. However, one thing that distinguishes MUDS from role-playing games is chat spew, where a command given by a user is returned by a message such as, “Your sword swings. You hit the creature, doing 45 points of damage.�? This text is unnecessary in RPGs, where the effects of the attack are demonstrated through the animated image.
A typical information exchange through a MUD program would look like the following:
(Player) Turn south.
(Computer) You see a rat.
Look North.
You see a door.
Look west.
There is a beetle.
Fight beetle.
You kill beetle.
Look east.
You see a dungball.
Wield dungball.
You raise dungball off the ground.
Eat dungball.
Dungball restores 15 points of your stamina.
(Kelly, 2004)
Presently, larger context multi-user dungeons are “somewhat underdeveloped�? (Steinmueller in Mansell, 2002). There are a limited number of users with the more developed frameworks, as special software is needed to be able to utilise the programs. However, this area is expected to grow, with the speed of Internet connections now supporting more intricate graphic displays along with the ability to use a personal computer connected to a telecommunications network to update objects.
Computer Games - Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming
Kelly 2, R.V. (2004). Massively multiplayer online role-playing games: the people, the addiction and the playing experience. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers.
Steinmuller, E. W. (2002). Virtual Communities and the New Economy. In Inside the Communication Revolution: Evolving Patterns of Social and Technical Interaction, ed. Mansell, R. pp. 21 - 54. New York: Oxford University Press Inc.
Rheingold, H. (2000). The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier. http://www.rheingold.com/vc/book/ (Accessed on 8 October 2005)
Rosenberg, R. S. (2004). The Social Impact of Computers. 3rd Ed. San Diego: Elsevier Academic Press.
Jenny Le 10:10, 28 Oct 2005 (EST)
