MUDs

Dr. Katherine Phelps

MUDs were developed so that people could play Dungeons and Dragons online. MUD stands for Multi-User Dungeon. Since that time people have discovered many work and research related applications for the technology, so some people like to refer to them as Multi-User Domains. I prefer to refer to them as the former because I believe it is important to remember that the impulse that brought about the creation of most Internet services and especially those that have proven to be immensely useful in improving work and research efficiency was the desire to play and have fun with others.

MUDs are like IRC in that numerous people can type at one another in the same moment of time. However, unlike IRC you are usually expected to take on a role and interact within a textual context. Let us say that you log on to a MUD known as FuzzyMOO. You see scrolling across your screen this textual message: You appear in a swamp up to your armpits in goo. Around you are a number of giant lilypads. Spyf, Sporf and Rikki are here. If you type in a command to look at Rikki, you will receive this text: Rikki is a brown rat wearing a red shirt, blue shorts andpacking a tiny laser pistol at his side. From this you may deduce that you have entered a cartoon world where people take on the roles of anthropomorphic creatures like Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny. In this way people become dynamic characters in an ongoing group story. The fervor with which people play in these storied environments is the envy of every film and games creator. I would say anyone interested in telling a story using digital media must spend some time playing on a MUD.

MUDs come in a number of varieties depending upon the software used and the type of game being played. You will come across MOOs, MUCKs, MUSHs, MUSEs, WOOs, DikuMUDs, LPMUDs, etc. These represent different software methods for building a world for you to navigate through and can result in different commands for interaction. For instance you might type in the command wield sword in Hack-n-Slash DikuMUD in order to join in mortal combat with a werebear, butfind the command yields no results in a FuzzyMOO. This will also be in part due to the fact that MUDs come in social and combat varieties as well. FuzzyMOO would probably be a social MUD where the primary aims are to interact with other players as a character, explore the world and create more interesting features for it. Hack-n-Slash DikuMUD, on the otherhand, would probably be your more traditional Dungeons & Dragons type world where you are encouraged to rack up points by completing adventures, killing monsters and grabbing treasure.

All MUDs to date are freely available to their players. Often you can spend some time wandering around as a guest getting a feel for a particular world before making the decision to join. In order to join you will need to contact the MUD administrator or wizard in order to request an official character. After that it is up to you to develop your character and have experiences. If you set your Web browser so it can link to telnet sites, a good place to easily link to a variety of MUDs is the MUD List page . This page will also give you the addresses should you wish to telnet in a separate session.

The big question many companies are asking themselves is, how do we make money out of MUDs? The answers so far have been to develop graphic ones. One example is Active Worlds which provides you with three dimensional worlds to explore and socialise in. Within Active Worlds you can even construct your own buildings complete with theme tune. The problem all of these worlds face, unfortunately, is that they tend to end up overglorified IRC channels, rather than resembling MUDs at all, in that people no longer feel compelled to roleplay or make their own creative additions in storytelling. Another answer is to make networked computer games where a company has already done the work of creating a storied world for you with pre-generated characters you can choose from.

Basic MUD Commands
CommandAbbreviationDescription
say <message>"<message>Your character says. . .
pose <action>:<action>Your character performs action. . .
whisper <player> Speak privately to a single player in the room.
page <player><message> Send a private message to another player anywhere on the MUD.
look Look at room or area your character is currently in.
look <object> Look at a particular object.
get/take <object> Make an object a part of your carried inventory.
drop/throw <object> Remove an object from your inventory and leave in your current area.
move/go <direction> Move to other areas in directions such as n north, e east, or u up.
inventory Check your inventory of objects.
@ describe me <description> Give yourself a visible persona.
news Find out the latest news on the MUD.
home Go either to your character's home base or to the opening of the MUD.
QUIT End your MUD session 
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