[MUD-Dev] The impact of the web on muds

[Mike Sellers]

At 08:38 AM 12/26/97 PST8PDT, Greg Munt wrote:
>[##Make Nylander]
>
>> [Mike Sellers]
>>
>> | [##Make Nylander]
>> |
>> | >	For me, the idea of a graphics-only MUD has always sounded like
>> | >	"we invented video tape, now let's burn all the books!".
>
>I've never seen a commercial mud of UO's ilk, my only frame of reference 
>is something like Sierra On-Line's "King's Quest" series. AFAIK these 
>games featured a mixed interface (both text and graphics) - and I would 
>doubt the success of a graphics-only mud. My reasoning behind this is 
>that when you *completely* abandon text, you lose functionality. If you 
>are going to change the interface, it should, at the very least, be able 
>to provide identical functionality to what it is replacing.

To my knowledge no one is contemplating tossing aside all text -- at least
not until voice input is *much* better than today.  IOW, "graphical MUDs"
refers to MUDs with 2D or 3D graphics, but not to MUDs that have no text
interface.

As to how much replacing the existing functionality is necessary, that's an
open question... some text commands are needed, but many are not -- and
then there are new commands that you need in a spatially-oriented graphical
game.  

>Let's define what is considered "Web Technology": HTML, definitely; 
>JavaScript, yes; ActiveX, no chance. DHTML is coming, bringing CSS with 
>it. Perhaps even XML too. A foreseeable danger is IE's non-compliance 
>with Sun. (Was this sorted out? Last I heard, Sun were petitioning 
>Microsoft for the removal of the Java logo from its browser...) 

I know there are web-based MUDs, but I think most (if not all) successful
graphical MUDs will depend more on custom clients than on web-casting.
Java is looking better and better, but is still not appropriate for all
applications.  


--

Mike Sellers   Chief Alchemist -- Online Alchemy   mike at online-alchemy.com

"One of the most difficult tasks men can perform, however much others 
may despise it, is the invention of good games.  And it cannot be done 
by men out of touch with their instinctive values."  - Carl Jung