[MUD-Dev] Re: Ugh, IS Diablo a mud?

[Koster]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Andy Cink [mailto:ranthor at earthlink.net]
> Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 1998 9:56 PM
> To: mud-dev at kanga.nu
> Subject: [MUD-Dev] Re: Ugh, IS Diablo a mud?
> 
> In my mind, there is one thing that would make something like
> a diku a mud, whereas a game like Diablo is not (in my mind,
> anyways) a mud. And that is permanency. I don't mean permanent
> towns, or permanent characters, but a permanent location that
> persists even when nobody is present.
> 
> Entering a game of diablo is like entering a holodeck
> ala Star Trek. When you enter, it makes an environment
> for you. When you leave, it disappears. When you log
> off a mud, it does not disappear, but awaits your
> return. Things may change while you're gone, other
> players may change the world while you sleep. Other NPC
> characters may also change the world while you sleep.
> The fact that a mud world continues to revolve even when
> no players are present is what matters to me.

Ah, indeed a difference from Diablo. This is also grounds to consider
Quake, Warcraft et al not muds either.

> It is my personal belief, that for any mud to succeed it
> *must* have a social environment of some kind. 

It's been noted on the list before that a social environment is the one
thing you get for free; the real issue is how good of a social
environment it is.

> For Diablo,
> this may well be the chat room like environment outside of
> the game itself.

A minor detail of implementation, really--there are folks on this list
who are designing chat systems divorced from the game itself. On Legend
I made a OOC complex that was divorced from the game itself.

>  But for a mud to succeed, it must have
> players, and those players must interact. When a game
> like Diablo can only have 4 players at a time, and
> those players must always look for games created to
> see other players, it just doesn't have the strength
> that a mud has for supporting socialization. The mud
> always persists and offers a stronger foundation than
> a game like Diablo.

So maybe Diablo is just a BAD mud. :)

> Because a game of Diablo is only temporary, when you try
> to enter, it may not be there. You can't just telnet in
> and check things out. Each time the world is different,
> and may or may not be there when you get back.

Seen plenty of muds that may not be there when I try to telnet to 'em.
;)

>  Diablo also
> has a very tiny environment, only a city with one dungeon.
> On any mud I've seen that is even halfheartedly respectable,
> that would be considered a pittance.

Lots of social muds have very small worlds... can size really be a
criterion?

-Raph