[MUD-Dev2] [Design] Design challenge: Bed-time game

[Adam Martin]

> On Mon, Aug 4, 2008 at 9:04 PM, Peter Harkins <ph at malaprop.org> wrote:
>
>> On Fri, Jul 18, 2008 at 11:14:36AM -0600, Acius wrote:
>> > One style of game that seems appropriate is the Ikariam/Travian style of
>> > web-based empire building.
>>
>> On a tangent, does anyone know of a nice name for this class of games?
>> ...
>> I've got a few
>> browser game designs I've been considering building, I just don't even
>> know what to call the genre. Thoughts?

"MMO".

Or, if you're afraid of the MMORPG stigma, try:"Casual MMO" or even go
all the way and just say "Online Games".

But, personally, recalling the Endless War over
MUD/MOO/MUSH/MMO/G(raphical)MUD/M*/MM*/MMOG/3D-MUD/VisualMUD/etc/etc/etc/etc...
I'd suggest: pick the simplest term that the largest number of people
use, worry less about terminology, and just get on with life :).

IME right now the following terms right now are "big" (i.e. used and
recognized by millions of people):
 - MMO (or MMOG/MMORPG but most people seem too lazy and to have
devolved to the TLA)
 - VW (for "anything which is not primarily a game")
 - Social Network (for "anything which is user-oriented and primarily
consists of user-generated content")
 - Online Games (for "any multiplayer game that is none of the above")
 - Casual Games (for "any game which supports drop-in / drop-out
gameplay of as little as 5 minutes per session, at the PLAYER's
choice, not the game's")

So, I'd pick the closest and run with it, or a combination of terms
*if* the thing you're doing genuinely uses the bulk of both those
genres. Then, if you find you want to explain in more detail, then go
ahead - explain in more detail! - rather than trying to make a new
term.