[MUD-Dev] Text Muds vs Graphical Muds

[Matt Mihaly]

On Fri, 21 Jun 2002, Michael Tresca wrote:

> Very VERY few MUDs build big.  Even fewer build DEEP.  Instead,
> it's "let's see what I feel like coding today."  There is
> certainly room for this kind of coding on every MUD, but if it's
> exclusively how the game grows, it's going to grow only as far as
> the creativity and interest of its coders.

> You either code on RetroMUD or you're out.  Active coders are
> rewarded, non-active coders are given warnings and then removed.
> Coders come exclusively from our playerbase.  We do this because
> experience has taught us we want a person who embraces the vision
> of the game -- we do not want random shmoe coder to come in and
> just do whatever he feels like because "he's a builder on other
> games."

I'm not sure what you're advocating here. Are you saying you don't
allow anyone who can't code to be an admin? I'd have to disagree
with the effectiveness of that policy, if that's the case. Our
admins, for instance, do a variety of things, and coding is done by
exactly three of us (two employees, one volunteer). They handle
customer service issues, build areas and write mobprogs (granted,
the scripting could be called coding, but it's pretty simple stuff),
lead and moderate game-wide or community-specific plots, help judge
our monthly art and literature contests, approve the custom clothing
patterns that tailors submit, handle the management of our Guides
(who are played mainly by non-admin players), and more. To tell
someone who is good at entertaining mortals via enhancing roleplay
that he or she has to code or get out seems a little harsh and
inefficient to me. If that's not what you meant though, I
apologize. =)

--matt

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