Multi-user dungeon: Difference between revisions

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===Graphical MUDs===

{{Further|MMORPG|:Category:Graphical MUDs}}

A '''graphical MUD''' is a MUD that uses [[computer graphics]] to represent parts of the virtual world and its visitors.{{R|bartle-textgraph}} A prominent early graphical MUD was ''[[Habitat (video game)|Habitat]]'', written by [[Randy Farmer]] and [[Chip Morningstar]] for [[Lucasfilm]] in 1985.{{R|castronova-habitat}} GraphicalSome graphical MUDs require players to download a special client and the game's artwork, while others provide a rich experience by being website-based. Graphical TheyMUDs range from simply enhancing the [[user interface]] (e.g. Wolfery provides an option to set the room picture, but otherwise remains a text-based interaction) to simulating 3D worlds with visual spatial relationships and customized [[avatar (computing)|avatar]] appearances (e.g. [[Ultima Online]] provides a rich point andd click experience).

Games such as ''[[Meridian 59]]'', ''[[EverQuest]]'', ''[[Ultima Online]]'' and ''[[Dark Age of Camelot]]'' were routinely called graphical MUDs in their earlier years.{{R|meridian59-mud|bmcquaid|dog-daoc-mud|king}} ''[[RuneScape]]'' was actually originally intended to be a ''text-based'' MUD, but graphics were added very early in development.{{R|runescapeqa|warcryrunescape}} However, with the increase in computing power and Internet connectivity during the late 1990s, and the shift of online gaming to the mass market, the term "graphical MUD" fell out of favor, being replaced by [[Massively multiplayer online role-playing game|MMORPG]] (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) a term coined by [[Richard Garriott]] in 1997.{{R|mmorpg-coinage}}