Why MUD-Dev was so good

This is a blast from the past: a 1998 thread on MUD-Dev that I clicked to randomly that is ostensibly about room descriptions, but goes on to discuss simulation versus stagecraft, worlds that impose worldviews as opposed to games which let the player decide how to see things, whether players come to the world understanding the need for empathy for other players, and a whole hsot of other topics. Many of the proposed technical approaches make most of today’s MMORPGs look simplistic (check out the design for berserking that’s buried in there…). Lots to mine here for inspiration, and a clear sign that our ideas vastly outstripped our ability to implement.

There’s also some truly hilarious analysis of the current state of the market (“Diablo’s mostly done now…” “Wonder how EverQuest will do?” and so on)…

OK, now I need to actually do work instead of reading old threads. 🙂