A '''multi-user dungeondireccion Mac 08:F4:58:AF:56:0Cdungeon''' ('''MUD''', {{IPAc-en|m|ʌ|d}}), also known as a '''multi-user dimension''' or '''multi-user ___domain''',{{R|bartle-acronym|hahn-acronym}} is a [[Multiplayer video game|multiplayer]] [[Time-keeping systems in games#Real-time|real-time]] [[virtual world]], usually [[Text-based game|text-based]] or [[storyboard]]ed. MUDs combine elements of [[role-playing games]], [[hack and slash]], [[player versus player]], [[interactive fiction]], and [[online chat]]. Players can read or view descriptions of rooms, objects, other players, and [[non-player character]]s, and perform actions in the virtual world that are typically also described. Players typically interact with each other and the world by typing commands that resemble a [[natural language]], as well as using a character typically called an [[Avatar (computing)|avatar]].<ref name=":022">{{Cite book |last=Salamone |first=Frank A. |title=Encyclopedia of Religious Rites, Rituals, and Festivals |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2004 |isbn=0-415-94180-6 |editor-last=Levinson |editor-first=David |___location=New York |pages=300}}</ref>
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.
