Quote:
Originally Posted by Bjeanj
I don’t know what that means. NPCs? MUD?
Sounds like your day is more interesting than mine, whatever it is you’re doing!
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A MUD is an acronym for "Multi-User Dungen" [sic].
I don't know if you remember the old computer text games like Adventure, or Zork. But a MUD is a descendant of that. The first MUDs were created in the late 1980's. ArmageddonMUD (the one I staff for) was created in the 1990's. The longest-running RPI (roleplay intensive) MUD on the internet.
The games are 100% text-based, no graphics. They're interactive and have players from all over the world playing them, with all kinds of different themes and styles, and created from a host of different codebases. I started as a player, then became a builder (someone who writes up the room descriptions, the NPCs (non-player characters, sometimes known as mobs)), various items, etc. And then I was promoted to storyteller. I do mostly my own building, but I also help with players who want intervention for various plotlines, or help guide existing plotlines toward an end that fits with the game world. I can create an NPC (in this case, the noble woman), and then animate her to interact with characters played by the players. In this case, the the people in her clan who want to do some kind of thing, and want to know what "the seniors" think about the idea.
It's all live-action, runs 24/7. All the roleplay is spontaneous.
Game play is pretty simple: you create a character with a name, general description, basic background, "short" description (such as the red-headed young man), and enter the game. Your character becomes a living breathing entity, and you want to achieve whatever goals they might have (survival is a given). Maybe he's a dwarf whose focus is to make the most admired sculpture in the world. Or maybe they're a greedy ne'r-do-well half-elf who wants to kill off the elves who live on the other side of the slums, and take over their territory. Or a desert elf who wants to support their tribe by hunting and bringing home hides for the crafters to make their armor. Or maybe you want to play a noble who needs to balance her own status in her Noble House, with the interests of the city, while at the same time keeping the competition at bay. Tons of politics.
This particular game's "theme" is a sort of hybrid of Frank Herbert's Dune series meets a certain Dungeons & Dragons campaign known as Dark Sun. It can get pretty intense and is definitely a niche hobby. But I've been playing these games since the 1990's and this game since 2002.
So this is what I do when I'm not running around at the archery range, or walking, riding my bicycle, gardening, cooking, shopping, dancing, or visiting friends/family.