LegendMUD
Encyclopedia
LegendMUD is a historically significant, award-winning MUD
founded by a group of friends including virtual world designer Raph Koster
. 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.
. At present, it features over 8,000 rooms contained within 60 areas.
LegendMUD features several innovations, one of which was that player
s were not required to select a character class
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
s learn whatever that NPC had to teach, with some of these requiring a small form of quest
.
's Mud of the Month.
LegendMUD was the MUD played by Karyn, the player character in A Story About A Tree
, an iconic tale of emotional involvement with virtual characters.
MUD
A MUD , pronounced , is a multiplayer real-time virtual world, with the term usually referring to text-based instances of these. MUDs combine elements of role-playing games, hack and slash, player versus player, interactive fiction, and online chat...
founded by a group of friends including virtual world designer Raph Koster
Raph Koster
Raphael "Raph" Koster is an American entrepreneur, game designer, and author of A Theory of Fun for Game Design. Koster is widely recognized for his work as the lead designer of Ultima Online and the creative director behind Star Wars Galaxies...
. 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 DikuMUDDikuMUD
DikuMUD is a multiplayer text-based role-playing game, which is a type of MUD. It was written in 1990 and 1991 by Sebastian Hammer, Tom Madsen, Katja Nyboe, Michael Seifert, and Hans Henrik Staerfeldt at DIKU —the department of computer science at the University of Copenhagen in Copenhagen,...
. At present, it features over 8,000 rooms contained within 60 areas.
LegendMUD features several innovations, one of which was that player
Player (game)
A player of a game is a participant therein. The term 'player' is used with this same meaning both in game theory and in ordinary recreational games....
s were not required to select a character class
Character class
In role-playing games, a common method of arbitrating the capabilities of different game characters is to assign each one to a character class. A character class aggregates several abilities and aptitudes, and may also sometimes detail aspects of background and social standing or impose behaviour...
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
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
s learn whatever that NPC had to teach, with some of these requiring a small form of quest
Quest (gaming)
A quest in role-playing video games — including massively multiplayer online role-playing games and their predecessors, MUDs — is a task that a player-controlled character or group of characters may complete in order to gain a reward...
.
History
In October 1995, LegendMUD was selected as The Mud ConnectorThe Mud Connector
The Mud Connector, abbreviated TMC, is a computer gaming web site which provides articles, discussions, reviews, resource links and game listings about MUDs. The site allows mud owners, administrators and enthusiasts to submit information and reviews about specific MUDs...
's Mud of the Month.
LegendMUD was the MUD played by Karyn, the player character in A Story About A Tree
A Story About A Tree
A Story About A Tree is a short essay and an epitaph written by Raph Koster, regarding the alleged death of a LegendMUD player named Karyn. The essay raises the subject of inter-human relationships in virtual worlds, particularly the loss of friends, concluding that these are not "just games"...
, an iconic tale of emotional involvement with virtual characters.