MUD-Dev Mailing List

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The MUD Development mailing list is not platform, language or game specific, but concentrates on discussing the design and implementation of any and all MUD servers and systems. Another large related topic is game design. This does not mean that the details of a specific server or game design point can't be discussed in excruciating detail, or even that server or game source can't be bandied about and picked over, just that the list isn't to become a religious stomping ground for your platform, language, server, or hobby horse of choice. The topic definition is not limited to technical areas: social engineering, cultural considerations, applicability of technical addresses to "soft" problems, and other less rigorous avenues of investigation are also fair game.

• My Posts
  This list is a great place to test theories about MUD design and how multi-user games work. Even better, when someone posts about a massive multi-player online role-playing game (MMORPG), the developers will actually respond! It's an excellent place where MUD administrators can mingle with MMORPG administrators and still feel like equals.
• Should We Pursue Balance?
  As you can probably imagine, I've been around the gaming block long enough to think I know a thing or two about MMORPGs. Sometimes, I get into arguments. On MUD-DEV, it's entirely possible to get into lengthy discussions with creators of popular games -- like Raph Koster, for example, who helped create Ultima Online and Star Wars: Galaxies. This is one of two discussions he has on his web site. This discussion is about balance. To what degree is "balance" something that we as designers desperately pursue, as opposed to the "balance" that players pursue?
• The Appeal of Massively Multiplayer Games
  Raph and I argue about MMORPGs (again). In this case, it's my statement that MMORPGs reduce roleplaying (a statement Raph agrees with) and that they offer a fundamentally different appeal to the player than text muds do (a statement he disagrees with).