[MUD-Dev] Where are we now?

[Koster]

> From: Ola Fosheim Gr=F8stad

> Well, now that Richard (Bartle) has publicly stated (on MUD-Dev)
> that "MUD" was originally conceived as "Multi User D" and "Dungeon"
> was an afterthought, then maybe the somewhat common "Dimension"
> interpretation is the one that should be encouraged... Then there
> would be less confusion, maybe...
 
> Of course, there are more descriptive interpretations: "Dwelling",
> "Daydream", "Destiny", "Dating", "Daycare", "Destination", "Detour",
> "Displacement", "Distraction", "Dilemma", "Dinosaur",
> "Disappointment", "Delusion", "Delirium", "Downgrade", "Dump",
> "Dustbin", "Dunghill", "Dictatorship", "Disease", "Dragnet",
> "Drain", "Drug", "Disaster", "Deathtrap", "DYSTOPIA"... You name it!
 
> Why he had to choose "Dungeon", I don't know...

He can chime in, but I think because it was intended in part as a
multi user version of DUNGEN, which was a Zork clone available on the
PDP machines he and Trubshaw were using. I don't recall where I got
it, but in the Online World Timeline it says:

1978

  * Roy Trubshaw begins MUD1 development. In the fall, he and Richard
    Bartle complete the first version, which runs on a PDP-10. The
    name, "multi user dungeon" refers to a variant of ADVENT known as
    DUNGEN.

  * Alan Klietz writes Sceptre of Goth, also a mud system. These two
    developments were completely independent. Lauren Burka puts this
    date at 1979. Sceptre of Goth was also known as Empire for a while
    but is not generally referred to that way because of the numerous
    other games with the same name.

  * AD&D Player Handbook published. 

    - Interestingly, according to Lauren Burka, early mud developers
    never played the game.

    - Richard Bartle clarifies,

      "In my case, that's only true because AD&D wasn't out yet; I had
      played D&D quite a bit in 1976-8. The only real impact it made
      on MUD1 was the "levels" system, though, which I thought was a
      neat way to give players short-to-medium term goals. Roy
      Trubshaw knew about D&D and may have tried it once or twice, but
      I don't think he ever dived in deeply; he certainly never
      designed his own dungeons."

-Raph
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