Multi-user dungeon: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 21:35, 19 May 2023

Revision as of 16:46, 21 June 2023

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Traditional MUDs implement a [[role-playing video game]] set in a [[fantasy]] world populated by [[List of species in fantasy fiction|fictional races and monsters]], with players choosing [[character class|classes]] in order to gain specific skills or powers. The objective of this sort of game is to slay [[monster]]s, explore a fantasy world, complete quests, go on adventures, create a story by [[roleplaying]], and advance the created character. Many MUDs were fashioned around the dice-rolling rules of the ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' series of games.

Such fantasy settings for MUDs are common, while many others have [[science fiction]] settings or are based on popular books, movies, animations, periods of history, worlds populated by anthropomorphic animals, and so on. Not all MUDs are games; some are designed for [[#Educational MUDs|educational]] purposes, while others are purely [[#Talkers|chat environments]], and the [[Turing completeness|flexible nature]] of many MUD servers leads to their occasional use in areas ranging from [[computer science]] research to [[geoinformatics]] to [[medical informatics]] to [[analytical chemistry]].{{R|hansen|boring|cruickshank|schaefer}} MUDs have attracted the interest of academic scholars from many fields, including [[communication]]s, [[sociology]], [[law]], and [[economics]].{{R|turkle|grimmelmann|castronova-mmorpg}} At one time, there was interest from the United States military in using them for teleconferencing.{{R|shefski}}

Most MUDs are run as hobbies and are free to play; some may accept donations or allow players to [[Virtual Asset Sales|purchase virtual items]], while others charge a monthly subscription fee. MUDs can be accessed via standard [[telnet]] clients, or specialized MUD clients, which are designed to improve the user experience. Numerous games are listed at various web portals, such as [[The Mud Connector]].

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==Grammatical usage and derived terms==

As a noun, the word '''MUD''' is variously written MUD, Mud, and mud, depending on speaker and context. It is also used as a verb, with '''to mud''' meaning to play or interact with a MUD and '''mudding''' referring to the act of doing so.{{R|hahn-verb}} A '''mudder''' is, naturally, one who MUDs.{{R|internetculture-mudder}} [[Compound (linguistics)|Compound words]] and [[Portmanteau word|portmanteaux]] such as '''mudlist''', '''[[Cybersex|mudsex]]''', and '''[[mudflation]]'''<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Chester |first1=Chris |title=Curing mudflation before it starts |work=[[Engadget]] |date=2008-05-05 |url=https://www.engadget.com/2008/05/05/curing-mudflation-before-it-starts/ |language=en |access-date=2019-11-27 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> are also regularly coined. [[Pun]]s on the "wet dirt" meaning of "mud" are endemic, as with, for example, the names of the [[ROM (MUD)|ROM]] ('''R'''ivers '''o'''f '''M'''UD), [[TinyMUCK|MUCK]], [[MUSH]], and [[CoffeeMUD]] codebases and the MUD ''Muddy Waters''.

==See also==

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[[Category:Telnet]]

[[Category:Video game genres]]

[[Category:1990s fads and trends]]

[[Category:2000s fads and trends]]

[[Category:Internet memes introduced in the 1990s]]

[[Category:Internet memes introduced in the 2000s]]

[[Category:Internet memes introduced in 2004]]

[[Category:Internet memes introduced in 2008]]