"Don't Believe the Hype(rtext)":
Writing with, in, on and around the Computer
MUDs
Multi-User Dungeon
Multi-User Domain
Multi-User Dialogue
Multi-User Discourse
Multi Undergraduate Destroyer
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The warning label can't be big enough and the description as 'Multi Undergraduate Destroyer' is (unfortunately) not a joke. Mudding can quickly become an easy escape from reality and a relief from alldays problems. It is a good thing to limit yourself from the beginning and to set strict conditions for logging in (e.g. never play more than two hours .. or not to log in before 6pm). Mudding CAN
become an awful addiction, ruining your studies and crippling your bank account! ! !
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In case you have read the warning and still consider playing in a MUD, you might want to try one out?
My two favorite MUDs are both fantasy worlds. Places where you can be an Elf or a Human or Dwarf or one of the other races
created for players.
One of the oldest worlds around is Xyllomer which is also known under it's old name 'PaderMUD' after the origin of it's
creators Paderborn.
If you like to take a look around you can enter here : Xyllomer.mud.de 3000.
Unfortunately the security measures had to be tightened, so you can't simply pop in and create your alter ego to run around
anymore. I'll try to get more information about the new ways to create a charakter and publish them here as soon as possible.
Fortunately I can offer you another place to check out:
If you like to take a look around you can enter here : morisot.informatik.uni-hannover.de 4000.
Morisot is a world still in the process of creation, though many places are already finished, but be prepared to stumble over a
stone and find yourself trapped in the void. But you really don't have to be afraid! Most of the places you can visit are save
(from BUGs, I said nothing about lurking monsters ;-) ).
So get in, create your alter ego and have FUN
The MUDs: No matter which description you prefer, it will still be a Multi-User virtual
environment
The players: You, me or anyone else logging into a MUD to play.
The character: Technically just a couple of bits & bytes on some computer
the player might never see or touch. On the other hand it is the creation of the player. By deciding (depending on the MUD the choices might
be more or less limited) upon the appearance and the strengths and weaknesses of the character it
becomes the alter ego of the player in the virtual world.
The wizards: Wizards, Gods or whatever other name they might be given, their
role is always the same: They are those taking care of the world and expanding it. Wizards are players
whose character either reached a certain level and are by this promoted to this level, or in other MUDs
just good in programming or have some nice ideas they wish to share. It is up the the wizards
to build new areas for the characters to explore and to spice up the game with new quests.
How to create a character?
This question is not easy to answer since every MUD has it's own restrictions.
Some still allow free access and have very little regulations, others will ask for the name of the
player first and her/his address for security reasons.
Also the initial process of the creation of the character differs from
MUD to MUD. Some MUDs have nicely designed rooms where the player is able to create his
alter ego step by step, other MUDs rely more an random creation and again others ask new players
to write an application and describe their future character before they accept the player into their
community.
The quests, or adventures, or tasks or whatever name you like to give them, they
are one of the major parts of the game next to roleplaying. It depends on the wizards how quests may look like and the overall appearance of the world.
In a fantasy setting a character may be out to rescue the imprisoned princess, fighting an evil
sorcerer or (if powerful enough) a dragon on the way to acomplish the goal.
A science fiction setting might include quests (missions) to break into a corporate building to steal
some valuable information or a special prototype.
But no matter if it is fighting an orc or some space fighter, part of the reason why characters do this is
to gain XP (experience points) and greater power. But the race for power (though
popular with some people) is not the only reason why people 'quest'. Sometimes it is the solving of
a puzzle that is thrilling and keeping you awake too long or even the social event of gathering a strong
team to fight a big and dangerous enemy (monster) which is standing between you and the solution of
the quest.
XP (experience points). Most MUDs use the concept of XP to reward characters
for solving quests or killing monsters or even other players characters (depending on the rules) allowing
the rewarded character to 'grow' and gain more power. On the other hand there is the loss of XP for
dying and needing a resurrection, leaving the character behind weakened. Sometimes the reduction
of a characters XP is used as punishment if a character (or the player) has violated to rules.
The society of a virtual world. Like in the 'real' world, the characters (driven
by the desires of their players) also organize a social life, creating guilds for people with common
intersts or for the protection the larger group offers. Free from the threat of real imprisonment people
can be the 'bad guy' and kill someone (maybe imagining it was their boss they beat up), though this
is not without risk (for the character) either. Friends of the victim might retaliate or (like it is in some
MUDs) the character might be dragged before a court and punished there.
Always depending on the taste of the wizards and players, MUDs are a more or less realistic copy
of our world transferred into the computer and by this characters often face situations one might
experience in everyday life, but the 'advantage' of the virtual world is : if your guild leader (boss)
is getting on your nerves, you can just switch of the computer and read a good book.
The guilds : Guilds are usually the home for people with a common interest
or profession. There may be guilds of mages who gathered their knowledge to provide better learning
conditions or clerics of the same belief who built a temple to worship their deity. Other guilds may
consist of fighters trying to uphold the law or just be the gathering of people who enjoy roaming the
world together. In some MUDs guilds offer special benefits like better training or a special mean of
conversation, in others guilds are just what the players decide to make out of it.
The void is the place you end up if you encounter some
serious bug. It is technically just a plain room in most cases, but some wizards
put some time and effort even into these areas, to make them look neat.
The EVIL BUG : Since these worlds are created in computers and consist of nothing but computer-code, they also contain errors or mistakes better known
as BUGs. BUGs can have different effects ranging from being buried under a huge pile of gold coins to serious damage to your charakters 'code' and sometimes it happenes that you walk into the next room and find yourself in the void.
The FUN : That's what it's all about! Isn't it?
I hope you read the warning I posted at the top before considering to play in a MUD!