The Legacy of MUD
The ways in which MUD has shaped virtual worlds
exploration
Since the whole concept was built on the concept of a virtual, connected world, the ability to explore in MUD was important. This was mostly done with creative writing and not visuals.
Treasure hoarding
One of the two ways to collect points was to ‘swamp’ your treasure, which essentially meant going to the necessary swamp location and dropping your loot there.
player versus player
PVP would later go on to become perhaps the biggest aspect to any MMO, yet while it was controlled to an extent in MUD it was still an area that some players were driven by.
levelling
Reaching the maximum level of ‘wiz’ – or wizard – was the ultimate goal in MUD, an aim that remains the key focus for practically any modern MMO, often with modern players aiming to be the first to reach maximum level.
dying
There was a saying in MUD’S marketing that said, “You haven’t lived until you’ve died in MUD.” Death, then, was a common part of the experience, which Rogue and roguelikes have since adopted in the years since.
socialising
The social side of MUD was integral to its popularity and growth, but there some people who preferred interacting with others over playing the game – and from there a whole branch of MUDS and, later, games grew.
player-created goals
It would take game designers the longest time to realise the strength of empowering its players with self-created goals, but MUD was doing that from the start, freeing players to explore, loot, kill or level up.
in-game events
Weekly events where players would let their hair down became a part of the experience that many would purposefully log in for, a facet that MMOS enhanced with their seasonal and one-off events.
role-playing
The biggest part of MUD, for its developers, was to enrich players with an opportunity to role-play as different people, the anonymity of the internet giving players the chance to experiment with their own personas.
continuous development
The idea of a MUD being ‘finished’ is still humorous to many devoted fans still playing and updating their favourite MUDS. It’s typical of any modern game to be enhanced over time today, but none have been gradually tweaked over the course of 30-40 years.