[MUD-Dev] Where are we now?

[Greg Munt]

From: Ronan Farrell <rfarrell at parthus.com>

> The mud is stagnant and I mentioned that I was interested in making
> changes.  The reaction was unbelievable.  I've been innundated with
> support, offers of help, suggestions.  Maybe free muds have had a
> rough time, but also maybe with free muds you feel that you can be
> part of the mud rather than just another customer.


That's a cynical view. That's not to say that my post wasn't cynical,
of course. Some have pointed out that it was shrouded in bitterness. I
dispute that. I don't want my gaming experience polluted with d00ds
and perverts, that's all. I want to share my universe with like-minded
people, with a similar level of intellectual capabilities. This is
probably a good place to announce that I have decided to return to
online game development. (You can blame Ling Lo.) Watch this space -
unless you cynically expect me to never get around to it, again. I've
been told that my "unique perspective" could produce an "interesting"
game. I don't know how much sarcasm was intended..

One thing to note is that I will be writing it in Java. Comment on
that, as the mood takes you.

> So maybe it's back to the good old analogy of movies/books.  When
> movies first came out, books took it hard, but now books are being
> read more than ever.  And if you want to think to the future.. the
> art of book writing hasn't changed in hundreds of years, but in
> movies, at first there were silent movies, b/w, colour, what's next?
> I believe text muds will always exist as they provide the core
> essential nature of a mud, a game to play in a community of people,
> and if you keep to that, you don't need to worry about eye-candy
> such as graphics.


Hmm. I don't concur.

1. You assume that a free mud can't have graphics, and that a
commercial mud must have graphics. That is definitely not the case. I
know that both Achaea (whose idea WAS that name, anyway?) and The
Eternal City don't feature a GUI. If you don't assume it, you
certainly imply it; well, that's how I read your post, anyway.

2. Graphics don't *have* to be eye candy. Okay, if they're bolt-ons to
a text mud, to bring the $$$s in, sure. But, real GUIs can offer a lot
- a lot which text could never offer.

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