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.