I saw the 'how old are you?' thread below. I'm a young and winsome 33 myself--and very happy to see folks even more ancient than myself still gaming.

I started MUDing last year. It's not easy finding a game geared toward older players (and, I guess, younger players who are mature beyond their tender years). I found a game I like, and an admin I liked better (and he's far older than I!). He's starting a new game (and one reason I'm posting is, frankly, to advertise it. But also ...)

The age thread started me wondering: if you're older (say, late-twenties or above), what are you looking for in a game? What would your perfect game look like? Do we tend to have different preference than those youngsters who still have full heads of hair and functional knees?

Now the ad: this admin I like is starting a new game. If you're looking for an intelligent, mature, RP-intensive game in an original world, with no magic swords, slaughtering monsters or any of that--but with plenty of subterfuge, conflict, swashbuckling, dramatic plots and counter-plots ... give Outremer a try. It's "The Three Musketeers" meets "Brotherhood of the Wolf" in a fantasy world with magic and inhuman races ... it opens for playtesting tomorrow (May 5), so while it's not entirely ironed out, you'll be getting in on the ground floor of something great ... you old fogey, you!

Oh, and the website is:

I think older players like muds to be social. At least taht is what I have found in the mud that I play - AVATAR. I find we are not as fiercely competitive. That doesn't mean we dont' want to level or gain good gear. I think we have learned that patience is a virtue. As a result instant gratification is not as important to us. We know we will get it in time.

On a personal level, I like muds that start of easy, so you can learn the ropes of how they work, ones that don't kill you at every opportunity before you get to level two. I like ones where I can find my way around without too much difficulty. That doesn't mean I want a drawn map for everything, but like the knees comment, I prefer an air conditioned hotel room with a jacuzzi to a night in a tent on the ground, so I prefer a well run well organized mud.

Why not make it as a poll? after you get a couple of ideahs.

'I am not old, I am not old, I am not old,'<clicks ruby red heels three times>'rats.'

Anywhoo-- I find that the 'older half' of our little world tend to invest heavily in being honourable folks. They tend to migrate towards guilds that ask more of them to be honest, forthright and to aid their guild, Dark or Light. Gents and gals alike seem to enjoy adding to the overall story of our mud. But I feel it generally doesn't matter what age a player is, all that matters is personality.

The mud that I like most is a no-nonsence kind of mud.

The adminstration does not put up with a lot of the junk that twinks seem to derive amusement from. A good example would be the fact that recently they announced a player wipe (originally there was to be an eqwipe for code reasons), the reasoning gave was that players actually requested it (including high-level players who had a lot to lose, this is supported by forum discussions), and two many of the problem players have threatened not to come back if there is a pwipe, and that the admin is taking them up on their offer.

Obviously, some people would not find this kind of mud friendly. I have found the people there to be helpful. No one there ever drug me around, or heaped me with eq, but they have always answered any polite, thoughtful questions that I have posed.

I don't play muds as much as I used to. I have been playing this particular one off and since either 1996 or 1997 (I am terrible with dates). I will continue to do so because it suits me.

Neranz Laverani, Seeker of Knowledge