Anyone see MUDs dying out completely any time soon?

[Roh]

Just curious. I personally can't see it happening because I can't see any other form of RP really satisfying me. Graphical games are far, far too limited in expression. And to me the combination of visual and textual expression totally screws up my ability to feel immersed. No matter how these games progress I don't see MUDs going anywhere unless the find a way to interface a graphical game directly with your mind.. And yeah.. I'll be driving my anti-gravity car by the time that happens.

Anyway what do you all think?

[Aaron Goulet]

I dunno, but no matter how many MMOs I play, I always find myself coming back to Armageddon MUD for my roleplay.  That's just me though.

[Rhyden]

No.

[Cutthroat]

I doubt they will die out completely ever. There's still enough demand for them to keep the good ones afloat.

[Mechafish]

I dunno, but no matter how many MMOs I play, I always find myself coming back to Armageddon MUD for my roleplay.  That's just me though.

+1

I really can't get myself in a MMO with graphics for some reason.

[Marauder Moe]

No.

[mansa]

Yes.

People said the telegram would never die, and handwriting, and radio, and other things that we don't do anymore.

[elvenchipmunk]

Yeah I don't handwrite or use the radio anymore.



I don't see muds dying out anytime soon. At some point, likely, but not soon.

[Marauder Moe]

The question is not so much will MUDs ever die, it's will people ever stop wanting to roleplay over the internet?  I doubt it. 

Until we have virtual reality like Diamond Age or Star Trek holodecks which can match that level of immersion and free-form acting, MUDs will stick around.

Telegram == email, BTW, so one could argue that the telegram is currently far more popular than it's ever been.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

What further enforces the concept that MUDs will not die out soon is that even in this day of X-Box this and Playstation that, in this time of Everquest and Conan and Warcraft, in this age of technology, people grow closer to their computers than could be conceived of back when MUDs began.

More than ever, we are a nation integrated with computer based entertainment. Each year, people discover MUDs and become part of the trend. And what's more, people that leave MUDs unerring tend to return to their pastime, unable to shake the bug.

So no. With the influx of new blood, the stability of veterans, and the return of prodigal players, MUDs won't die anytime soon. As one poster said, graphics are not enough for creative, imaginative people, and there will always be plenty of those.

[WarriorPoet]

I play Armageddon because it's a giant, incredibly detailed book that never ends. Our stories go on and on even when our favorite characters die horribly. MU*'s in general I don't care about, but so long as the staff keeps Armageddon, in some form, up and stomping ass, I'll be here, getting my ass stomped.

No graphics will ever reach the heights of my imagination.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

I play Armageddon because it's a giant, incredibly detailed book that never ends. Our stories go on and on even when our favorite characters die horribly.

The realist shit he ever wrote.

[Riev]

No graphics will ever reach the heights of my imagination.

[RogueGunslinger]

I'd quote that too, but I don't think it adequately describes. I have to say that even Armageddon limits my imagination. I feel sorry for other people who don't have the imagination that I do. I could literally live by myself forever, and endlessly entertain myself.

[Mechafish]

No graphics will ever reach the heights of my imagination.

+2

I been trying to get my 10 year old brother to understand that.

[SMuz]

Unlikely for a MUD to die out any more than roguelikes. MMORPGs are as likely to wipe out MUDs just like video kills radio, or movies killing books.

Simply put, you get a lot more with much less effort with a MUD. MUDs require a lot more effort just to do something tiny. With a MUD, you could create a dragon out of scratch in like, 5 minutes. With a MMORPG, you have to draw the sprite, animate it, get the size right, effects, etc, etc. With a MUD, you can piss on someone's face, or make lighting crackle from your fingers.

But MMOs are good. A MUD is pretty hard to get into and I like how I could point them to Armageddon if they want something with a lot more RP and where their actions actually effect the world.

[Dalmeth]

No, because they are largely independent efforts.  Comparing the technology is pointless, because most MUDs aren't in it for the money.

As soon as someone makes a cheap graphics engine capable of MMO interaction that's easy to use and modify on the fly, then MUDs might be in trouble.  Until then, they'll remain because they're free.

[SMuz]

As soon as someone makes a cheap graphics engine capable of MMO interaction that's easy to use and modify on the fly, then MUDs might be in trouble.  Until then, they'll remain because they're free.

Neverwinter Nights
But yeah, that has problems too.

[FiveDisgruntledMonkeysWit]

D&D 4e has been relatively successful, and people have been ringing the doom bell on pen-and-paper RPGs for years.
I consider MUDs to be a step up the nerd food chain from pen-and-paper, because people can do it annonymously and at their own leisure and pace. D&D requires you to look another person in the eye and say: "I cast fireball on the orc", which is just too much dorky for some people. I know it was too much for me personally, until recently.
If MMORPGs haven't managed to kill pen-and-paper, I doubt they'll do much to MUDs. It's always been a niche hobby; it will continue to be a niche hobby. It'll have a few die-hard supporters, and the rest of the world won't give a shit.

[jcljules]

I agree with the above. The reason I discovered MUDs is cause I always wanted to do that pen and paper stuff, but couldn't force myself to be so geeky out loud.

[Synthesis]

The reason I discovered MUDs was that I could never convince any of my friends to be that geeky out loud, hehe.

[Bogre]

when they have virtual reality so good that you can do the same thing in arm with just thinking.

[solera]

Not while I'm alive.

[AreteX]

Muds won't ever die unless something comes out to replace the immersion you can feel within a text based games.

Alot of people don't comprehend what I do when I mud and they look at me kinda funny, but they're missing out.

No single MMO, Console or anything will get rid of Muds.  It will have to be something crazy revolutionary, and still then I don't think they will die.  The written word has a tendency to stick around.

[brytta.leofa]

It takes big money to make a "good" MMORPG.  This means pay-to-play.

Pay-to-play means no permadeath. enforced roleplay, or negative account notes.

[Jorlain]

A buddy of mine once described a H&S MUD I used to play as "The Matrix". He didn't understand it at all. Too much text, too fast. He was all about the latest and greatest.

Well, here I am, still mudding. He's so bored of his video games that he doesn't play them anymore, MMO or otherwise.

I could never get into MMOs. The only one I got into for a while was DDO, and I think that's only because I had friends to chill with, and the obvious D&D flavor was easy to associate with.

MUDs will always be home for me. But like someone else had mentioned, it's a niche thing. Not to mention, pay-to-play, as Brytta mentioned, is sucky.

[SMuz]

It takes big money to make a "good" MMORPG.  This means pay-to-play.

Pay-to-play means no permadeath. enforced roleplay, or negative account notes.

Not really. I could probably code a good one if I had the time. I could also code a good MUD if I had time. MMOs are generally more profitable because they appeal to a larger audience.. which means that the ads should be able to pay off the costs. If the coders and artists work for free, it's just as cheap as any MUD.. except maybe in terms of bandwidth.

[Roh]

It's a bit off topic but I always hear people thinking of rping in muds as a story. Especially mushers. I see it differently. I see it more like taking on a life and actually being able to somewhat experiencing things you would never be able to in your normal life. That's not a feeling I get from any graphical game. Sure I play plenty of them. But it doesn't have the same kind of depth and meaning I get from a good MUD.

[brytta.leofa]

I could also code a good MUD if I had time.

There's a community-specific joke here begging to escape...

[MarshallDFX]

I still do black and white film photography, in a darkroom.  That's because nothing will ever quite replace the experience.  Same with Muds.

[Ampere]

Of course they will die out --- but barring apocalypse, or incredible new technology, it'll be awhile.

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

[jcljules]

MUDs can never die so long as we still play!

[shadeoux]

I've played almost every MMORPG there is and find myself back here time and time again, I play them to get away from this I think, losing a heart felt character and taking the time off to get another concept.

[naatok]

Game companies which put out MMOs are interested in one thing:  Money
The people who conceptualized ArmageddonMud, and those who staff and play it are interested in the game world.

There has never been, and will probably never be an MMO or a graphical interface roleplaying game like Arm or anything close to it.
As soon as you try to sell an idea, the point ceases to be about the idea and becomes 'the moolah'.  It's sad, but there it is.

[DustMight]

It depends on what you mean by "dying." There are still people that love their Amiga computers - but in all real sense, those platforms are dead dead dead though their adherents would not admit it in a moment.

Muds are dead. We're just refusing to act that way because, as was pointed out, there is no better RP than text RP with people with whose mindset and style you can only guess at.

[UnderSeven]

Yes.

People said the telegram would never die, and handwriting, and radio, and other things that we don't do anymore.

But did they die or evolve?  The technology of telegram, handwriting and radio died, but we have im and email, television and internet radio and keyboards.  Similarly I think the concept behind a mud will persist but eventually the form will change and I'm pretty sure Marauder Moe would agree that ractors would be too much fun.

[LoD]

It depends on what you mean by "dying." There are still people that love their Amiga computers - but in all real sense, those platforms are dead dead dead though their adherents would not admit it in a moment.

Muds are dead. We're just refusing to act that way because, as was pointed out, there is no better RP than text RP with people with whose mindset and style you can only guess at.

I'm not sure that's an entirely fair comparison.  MUDs still provide a unique experience that is far superior to that any other medium has been able to provide, despite the increases in technology.  People who still love their Amiga computers do so out of a sense of nostalgia, but I doubt that anyone would make a claim that these old machines are in any way superior to the current computing standard.

However, MUDs continue to provide an experience that peaked at a certain level of technology and likely cannot and will not be replaced until technology is at such a level that the experience can be elevated far past what is possible today (i.e. extremely powerful and savvy virtual reality).

Until that day, I don't think MUDs are in any danger of dying and still provide a unique and superior experience that cannot be replicated or reproduced by any of the technological improvements made thus far.

-LoD

[MarshallDFX]

Basically, all the "mudders" are still alive, so no, it won't die out.  The trick might be to promote MUDs with the youth of today.  That way, when we all die, there will still be people mudding.

It's like the sport of squash.  Will it "die out"?  Probably not, but unfortunately the -bulk- of the players are all getting older, meaning squash organizations globally have been launching promotions aimed at college levels, and so on.

[eska]

What are MMORPGs and are there really graphical games out there?

I've been on Arm for a good while and whatever other game I played, I just got bored of it and quit playing them. MMORPGs my ass. I think they gotta remove RP part from it. As for quitting playing Arm, I will only do it when they make a graphical game as realistic as Arm.