''LegendMUD'' is a text-only MUD game founded by a group of friends including virtual world designer Raph Koster. It features historically significant story elements and award-winning gameplay. It opened publicly on February 14, 1994. It has received critical praise for its research and attention to detail in reconstructing past cultures within the game context.

Game characteristics

The thematic structure of ''LegendMUD'' is based on a literal interpretation of historical legend, with content based on real locales at various points in history, but with mythological elements included as concrete reality. ''LegendMUD'' was derived from

DikuMUD DikuMUD is a multiplayer text-based role-playing game, which is a type of multi-user domain ( MUD). It was written in 1990 and 1991 by Sebastian Hammer, Tom Madsen, Katja Nyboe, Michael Seifert, and Hans Henrik Stærfeldt at DIKU (''Datalogisk I ...

. At present, it features over 8,000 rooms contained within 60 areas. ''LegendMUD'' features several innovations, one of which was that

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

s were not required to select a

character class In tabletop games and video games, a character class is a job or profession commonly used to differentiate the abilities of different game characters. In role-playing games (RPGs), character classes aggregate several abilities and aptitudes, ...

such as mage or warrior. Rather, a skill system is used, which has been noted as extensive and original. The player selects a hometown affecting the types of skills which are then able to be learned. For example, a character from the industrial period San Francisco has the opportunity to learn about guns, but cannot learn magic. In contrast, a character from ancient period Ireland is capable of learning druidic skills, but can never learn about more modern ideas such as field surgery. To further innovate on the learning of skills, the character must through interaction with

non-player character A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster ...

s learn whatever that NPC had to teach, with some of these requiring a small form of

quest A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. The word serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of e ...

History

In October 1995, ''LegendMUD'' was selected as The Mud Connector's Mud of the Month. Koster wrote "", a short essay and epitaph about the death of a ''LegendMUD'' player named Karyn. An investigative journalist later disproved evidence of Karyn's death. Richard Bartle considered the incident to be a key event in the development of virtual worlds' ethics, similar to " A Rape in Cyberspace". The 'death' demonstrated that people can develop feelings for each other via the virtual world medium, thus experiencing real emotions about somebody they've never met, even an entirely fictional persona. ''A Story About a Tree'' is considered as a major

counterargument In reasoning and argument mapping, a counterargument is an objection to an objection. A counterargument can be used to rebut an objection to a premise, a main contention or a lemma. Synonyms of counterargument may include rebuttal, reply, count ...

against the "it's just a game" point of view on virtual worlds. Furthermore, it showcased that while being a very real object of grief to one party, it can indeed remain just a game for another.

References

External links

* {{MUDs 1994 video games MUD games Video games developed in the United States