[MUD-Dev] Graphic MUDS.

[Matt Chatterley]

On Mon, 28 Jul 1997, Jeff Kesselman wrote:

> At 08:13 PM 7/28/97 PST8PDT, you wrote:
> >:For a seriosu graphic mud see Ultima OIn Line.
> >:
> >:Ive been platying with the beta for 2 dyas and its DEFINATELY a MUD with a
> >:pretty front end...
> >
> >Ah, but is it a MUD? I've heard claims on newsgroups that although it is
> >very pretty, it doesn't make for a very good MUD, in terms of the kind of
> >flexibility, language input, etc. that people expect from MUDs. Can you
> >tell us anything about that?
> 
> Okay,we a re abotu to have the "what is a MUD" debate...

Hmm. Not sure if anyone has it to hand, but a few posters (me, the
Keeganish one, and a couple of other people I don't remember) ended up
with what we thought was a pretty good definition of this in r.g.m.a some
time ago. IIRC, It ran along the lines of interactivity between objects
and persons as well as NPCs in the game world. You can probably argue a
multi-user version of Ultima into that definition.
 
> Let me just say this:  Its a game with a ver primitive and simpel combat
> system, a detailed world full of lots of little "toys" to learn to play
> with and manipulate and rpetty good charcter-customization features.

Well.. thats not what makes it a mud, IMHO. Its the level of interactivity
between players (and NPCs), as well as manipulation of static objects -
quake would be a mud, were it not that the scenery is only 'cover' - you
can only manipulate very, very limited parts of it, in absolutely set
ways. This is quite an interesting point to explore in a more civilised
environment than usenet.
 
> How GOOD a MUD it is i wont address, but the goal abnd work was clearly
> fuocused on building a world ratehr then a game, whcih is why I consider it
> a MUD but not NWN or DSO.

This is probably another qualification towards the mud side - although
plenty of muds are 'just games' (read: Lots of stock muds are this way,
and many never get changed significantly). The goal of 'building a
world/environment' is something that appears to have evolved amongst the
readership here (not that its a bad thing by any means! Its a huge
conceptual step forwards, IMHO).
 
> JK
> Jeff Kesselman
> Snr. Game Integration Engineer
> TEN -- The Total Entertainment Network -- www.ten.net
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Regards,
	-Matt Chatterley
	http://user.itl.net/~neddy/index.html
"Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's
	mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them." -George Orwell