Iron Realms Entertainment (formerly known as Achaea LLC) is a

computer game development Video game development (or gamedev) is the process of developing a video game. The effort is undertaken by a developer, ranging from a single person to an international team dispersed across the globe. Development of traditional commercial PC ...

company that has created the

MUD A MUD (; originally multi-user dungeon, with later variants multi-user dimension and multi-user domain) is a Multiplayer video game, multiplayer Time-keeping systems in games#Real-time, real-time virtual world, usually Text-based game, text-bas ...

s ''

Achaea, Dreams of Divine Lands ''Achaea, Dreams of Divine Lands'' is a roleplay-focused, text-based multi-user dungeon (MUD) released on September 9, 1997. It was published by Achaea LLC, now known as Iron Realms Entertainment. Achaea is operated by collecting the revenue ...

''; ''Aetolia, The Midnight Age''; ''Imperian, the Sundered Heavens''; ''Lusternia, Age of Ascension''; and ''Midkemia Online''.

Matt Mihaly Matthew ("Matt") Mihaly (born June 21, 1972) is an American CEO/founder of Iron Realms Entertainment, a game designer, investor, executive, entrepreneur, and prominent member of the Burning Man community as creator and operator of the website Burn ...

is its founder and CEO and Jeremy Saunders is its president.

Games

Games developed by Iron Realms Entertainment include: * ''

'', a

high fantasy High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot.Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Press, Pl ...

text-based MUD operating continuously since 1997. * ''Aetolia, The Midnight Age'', a

roleplay Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing a ...

-intensive text-based MUD set in a Gothic

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

world with numerous player-run political organizations. * ''Imperian, the Sundered Heavens'', a fantasy MUD set in a world ravaged by natural catastrophe. * ''Lusternia'', a text-based MUD game set in a fantasy

sword and sorcery Sword and sorcery (S&S) is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tale ...

world revolving around four

city-states A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...

and two nature

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, ...

. * ''Midkemia Online'', a text-based MUD game based on author Raymond E. Feist's Midkemia universe. It was shut down in 2015, partially due to the cost of maintaining the license. * ''Starmourn'', a science-fiction MUD announced by Iron Realms as under development in May, 2016.

Rapture Engine

The Rapture Engine was created by Iron Realms Entertainment and is used by all of its MUDs, albeit heavily modified for those most recently in production. Rapture was used to develop an interactive chat system in conjunction with a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

affiliated organization for the 7th Annual World Summit of Young Entrepreneurs.

History

Iron Realms Entertainment LLC was founded as Achaea LLC in 1996. After the release of ''Aetolia'' in 2001, Achaea LLC was renamed Iron Realms LLC. In 2004, IRE was featured in ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...

'' and on ''

Wired News ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fran ...

'' after the release of an "addictive" virtual drug called ''gleam''. ''Achaea'' was featured in the June 10, 2004 episode of ''The Screen Savers''.

References

External links

Iron Realms Entertainment official site

NoGFX (No Graphics)
Logs posting site for IRE MUDs {{MUDs Video game companies established in 1996 MUD organizations Video game development companies Virtual economies Video game companies of the United States