So, what is a MUD and what does the word MUD mean?
MUD is an acronym that can mean Multi-User Dungeon, Dimension or
Domain, other uses for the letter D may be applied as deemed fit (no
pun intended).
A MUD is a program that is run in a computer that can be either a
low-end PC, which nowadays for 2015 it can even be run smoothly in a
Raspberry Pi, or a high-end server. It can be run in different
operating systems such as Windows, Mac OS X or Unix/Linux to name the
most commonly known and the users access to it by using a Telnet, SSH
or GUI (Graphic User Interface) that can connect through a name,
commonly known as a DNS (Domain Name Server) such as www.yourmud.com
or an IP address.
A MUD can combine and is not exclusive to elements of Role Playing,
Hack and Slash and Social Channels, other uses can apply such as the
Builder Academy which is, or was, a MUD where one learns how the
innards of the MUD work in order to create a world of your own
without the need to install it.
Aspects of MUDs can vary as mentioned with the elements of Role
Playing being adapted from Dungeons and Dragons, although other
systems such as GURPS and BASIC could be used for the purpose of
number crunching, which were common in the initial days of MUDs, the
Hack and Slashing could be done either PvE (Player versus
Environment) or PvP (Player versus Player) using said mechanics.
Although Hack and Slash would refer to melee weapons in other cases
it also involves ranged weapons and magic, in futuristic settings it
could also involve other methods of defeating your opponent such as
artillery or bionics but in the end this is more visual than
mechanic.
Another important aspect is communication through certain channels,
some can only be heard inside a specific range from the player, other
can be heard in a region or throughout the entire game, this depends
on the channel being used for this purpose.
Communication also helps another aspect of Role-Playing and that is
of fleshing your character in order to interact with others being
that character. For that purpose there are two additional terms used
for this which are known as IC (In-Character) and OOC (Out Of
Character). IC means that all interactions and communication with
others is done as if you were the character you have built, an OOC
interaction is outside of this realm and back into our reality. Some
MUDs could be dedicated solely for the purpose of Role-Playing IC
with all Hack and Slash stripped out or it could be the other way
around where there is no Role-Playing IC and only Hacking and
Slashing, the choice is left entirely to those building said games.
In other instances the game may have both but Role-Playing IC may not
be enforced, in others it could be, or there could be specific areas
where Role-Playing IC is mandatory or allowed with Hacking and
Slashing, including PvP, is frowned or forbidden.
MUDs have been around for more than thirty years, since the early
80s, while not new to the game genre it belongs to a minimal
percentage of the on-line games currently it was back in its day it
held the position of “Multi-Undergrad Destroyer” at some campuses
where it was common for them to spread, this joke in turn to the time
students spent on them.
There are also hundreds of versions that came to life after the
official first MUD, which came on-line somewhere in 1980 and ended in
1987. DikuMUD is probably one of the most famous, yet not the first
copy, of MUD. Some of the derivate from the original MUD are:
ACK!MUD
AFKMud
AberMUD
CircleMUD
CoffeeMUD
ColdMUD
CoolMUD
Crossfire
DUM
Dead Souls MUDlib
DikuMUD
Discworld Mudlib
EmlenMUD
EnvyMUD
Fuzzball MUCK
GodWars
LPMud
Lima Mudlib
MOO
MUSH
Merc
Merentha Mudlib
MudOS
Mudlib
NiMUD
Nightmare Mudlib
ROM
ROT
SMAUG
Sequent
TMI Mudlib
TinyMUCK
This list of MUDs is just but a few that can be found on the Internet
nowadays, the reason why so many of these exists is due to the open
nature of the MUD project, one can follow through, for example, on
the steps of DikuMUD and create a new version based off from this,
such as CircleMUD, as long as the person modifying and renaming the
final product retains the name of the original authors giving them
credit for their work. An example of this would be the original
DikuMUD, created by Sebastian Hammer, Tom Madsen, Katja Nyboe,
Michael Seifert, and Hans Henrik and a derivate called CircleMUD
created by Jeremy Elson.
Another considerable aspect from the original MUDs back in the late
20th century and the early 21st is the type of
players and environment, originally MUDs were restricted to college
campuses due to available hardware and software, also being a place
where programmers had the opportunity to work on their own projects
which included MUDs. At the 21st century the hardware and
software necessary for this purpose are readily available through and
considerable cheap, the important difference would be the interest
there in MUDs and text games in general, with a constantly growing
population more interested in graphics and less by a storyline, also
an importance would be the way people communicate nowadays.
The inside working of a MUD is quite simple but it doesn't build
itself from the ground, there may be a pre-built world or certain
inner workings already defined but the world is created by a Game
Master or Implementor. The four basic concepts used in a MUD are
MOBs, OBJects, ROOMs and TRIGgers.
The first one we would talk about would be an area, an area would be
a perimeter of a rectangle, to give us an idea, a ROOM. The way it
applies in a MUD is a bit more complicated, while it may put a limit
to an area it could be as small as the head of a nail to the whole
universe, in a single area or room, there is no up, down, left or
right, front or back, not unless you define this inside the room
itself. Care must be taken when building and connecting the rooms
with one another as it works different to our logic. Room 1 can have
an exit to the west but it will take you nowhere until you define
Room 1 connects to Room 2 through the west of Room 1 and if you are
not careful enough you can be trapped in Room 2 if no exits
indicating another room exist.
There is also a peculiar feature in some MUDs, namely CircleMUD,
called Buildwalk, inside OasisOLC,. Buildwalk allows you to walk in
any particular direction and continue to build connections between
rooms, just as if you were creating a mine, but the same care must be
taken with rooms and connections as going in circle will not connect
the last room with the first one.
MOBs, which could also be known as an NPC (Non Playable Character)
are entities inside the game which could be considered as animate
objects, persons, monsters, you name it. There is some debate as from
what originally the word MOB means and if it's supposed to be written
as MOB or simply mob. Some say the word MOB means Monster Or Beast
and other say it means Mere Ordinary Beast also it has been said that
the acronym MOB comes from the acronym NPC. But what does a MOB/NPC
do? Well it can be involved in a rich Role Playing Adventure or it
can be just a mere monster that can be killed by a PC (Playable
Character). The NPC is much like a PC, it can carry objects, it can
speak if programmed to do so and it can even interact with other
players, there is a famous case in which Builders and Coders took
time, too much time if you ask me, to construct a MOB that would
answer back to players and even appear as a playable character if
anyone typed the WHO command, WHO allows players to see who is
on-line at the moment, their level, their class and even a title, if
the MUD allows it.
OBJs, best known as Objects, are items that the player can use inside
the game to protect, attack, consume or assemble, can be worn,
thrown, burned, etc. ranging from all kind of fantastic weaponry,
armors, food and drinks and even some other minor yet interesting
objects can enter this definition. It all depends on the Builder,
which is the one in charge of constructing them, on how they will
look like, what function will it have inside the MUD, and not less
important the grammatical ability of whoever is creating the object.
TRIGs, a trigger is an action that runs in the background of the MUD,
something such as the weather changing from sunny to rain, a trigger
can be activated by the player doing a certain action or by a timer,
probably by entering a room or talking to an NPC, the trigger may do
nothing more than send text to you or it could probably kill you.
An example of a trigger would be this:
if %actor.is_pc%
say Metallica rocks!
emote viciously headbangs while throwing the sign of the beast!
end
First of all this is a MOB trigger and was activated by the player
saying the word Metallica. Then the MUD will analyze first of all if
the actor that's saying this is a Playable Character, it can also be
triggered by other commands and variables, it all depends as stated
what the Builder intends to do with it. At the end we see that the
MOB says something and then emotes something, we finish this command
with the variable end to tell the MUD it's all it’s supposed to do
otherwise it could cycle or crash the MUD.
With that said now we have to pass to the Administrative Tree of a
MUD. In a MUD there can be personal working directly in the MUD and
outside of the MUD. The Inside Section consists of the "Wizards"
of the game, also known as Gods and Implementors. The general
structure of the MUD consists of at least one Implementor, which is
the leading figure, and then the Builder, Moderator and RP Divisions,
to call it in a way. The Outside Section consists of the Coders and
sometimes Builders and Implementors, who may be doing two jobs by
doubling as Coders. These figures are responsible for keeping the MUD
running in perfect shape and also of fixing any internal problem,
like errors in the code.
The first line, the so-called front line, consists of the Moderators
which are the ones to keep everything in control inside the game,
mostly the channels and teaching a lesson to players that just keep
bugging everyone (guilty as charged there). They are probably the
least admired or considered but their job is important in order to
keep balance and order.
Second, also very important, are the Builders. They are in charge of
constructing the MUD infrastructure, they are the architects. Their
design comes to life with time and effort, sometimes they are free to
build up whatever they want, sometimes they have to build what they
are told, it differs but the last one can be very annoying especially
if you can't let your imagination run wild.
The Role Player Gods are considered to be expert in the topic and
also have extended knowledge of the storyline, when it's an original
storyline it would be recommended that the creator of the story
explained his ideas and was the Head of Role Playing to keep
everything under control until the other responsible for Role Playing
can get up to date.
The Coders are probably the most important thing in a MUD, without
them the MUD doesn't exist or expand, internal issues such as that
MOB that shows up for no reason after 6 AM at the newbie area and
kills everyone or PvP being removed at random intervals, maybe that
Sword of Orcs +3 you have crashes the server whenever you hit
something that isn't an orc, all these are verified, or can be
verified, by the Coder to understand the source of the problem. Of
course there are several MUD types out there and are free but those
who can create an original code for a game, for example EldhaMUD
which uses an original code, could be known as Gods of MUDding for
this simple fact.
The last is the Implementor yet he is the leader of everything, he
can be head of Role Playing, Head of the Builders and Head of the
Coders, although without knowing much about these subjects it's of no
use but many Implementors like these exist.
With this I conclude my little review of MUDs and
how they work, I hope this has given you a little insight as to what
it is and how it works and if anything is missing do let me know.
