[MUD-Dev] DESIGN: Online adventure games

[Fred Snyder]

Mike Rozak wrote:

> I imagined that I wrote on adventure game (like Zork), and put it
> online. What would users think of the experience? What features
> would they request? Here's what happens (in my thought
> experiment):

>  1. The first feature I'd add would be the ability for users to
>  "chat", since it seems silly that people wandering around the
>  adventure game couldn't talk to one another.

>  2. Next, I'd add the ability for players to work together on
>  puzzles and hand each other objects.

>  3. It takes 20-40 hours to complete Zork (or any adventure
>  game). After that, players run out of stuff to do and stop
>  playing. In an online environment, players would complete the
>  game in half the time (or less) because they'd give each other
>  hints; then they'd run out of stuff to do, but rather than stop
>  playing, they'd start whinging about lack-of-content.

>    In other words, after working on content for a year, I'd have
>    one week of public release before some players would be asking
>    me for more. So much for my long-awaited holiday...


Just a few months ago, I experimented with my own online adventure
game engine.  The idea was to provide a framework for creating
Zork-like games and publishing them on the web.  The results of that
experiment are here:

  http://castwide.com/games/webventure

The above link includes player instructions, the development manual,
and a sample game created using the system.  Anyone can create a
game and publish it on my site; all you have to do is register an
account and follow the instructions for creating an XML game file.
The engine even includes a rudimentary script interpreter.

The reaction I received from players largely followed your
expectations.  One of the first questions I got asked was, "Is
multiplayer possible?"  (At this point, it is not.)  It was also a
mere matter of hours before players started sharing game hints with
each other.
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