Top Mud Sites Forum - View Single Post

obit · 04-18-2008, 09:23 PM

I first encountered MUDs in the early 1990s. At the time, most any game I visited, even "brand new" ones, had a huge playerbase, compared to the average MUD of today. I would even venture to say that there are more MUDs with what I would consider to be huge playerbases today, than there were back then. The difference being that today, there are seemingly thousands of MUDS that have from zero to very few regular players. Just because your every-day up-and-coming MUD has trouble bringing in new players, is no reason to believe that MUDs- as a whole, are on the decline. Yes, there are games that die off and go away. There are also games that sprout up and pull in a ton of players.

My impression, through no scientific research; just what I've seen over the years, is that there are infact more MUDs and more MUD players today, than there were in the early '90s. You can argue the percentages, but until MUDs become true anachronisms in today's society, I'll hold firm to the belief that any MUD developer willing to put in the time and effort towards making a game succeed will be rewarded with the satisfaction of knowing that he or she has provided quality entertainment to to a group of persons that will appreciate what he or she has done.

-obit

04-18-2008, 09:23 PM	#6
obit Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Home MUD: telnet://we-dont.gotdns.org:1701 Posts: 64	Re: The "Health," of Muds I first encountered MUDs in the early 1990s. At the time, most any game I visited, even "brand new" ones, had a huge playerbase, compared to the average MUD of today. I would even venture to say that there are more MUDs with what I would consider to be huge playerbases today, than there were back then. The difference being that today, there are seemingly thousands of MUDS that have from zero to very few regular players. Just because your every-day up-and-coming MUD has trouble bringing in new players, is no reason to believe that MUDs- as a whole, are on the decline. Yes, there are games that die off and go away. There are also games that sprout up and pull in a ton of players. My impression, through no scientific research; just what I've seen over the years, is that there are infact more MUDs and more MUD players today, than there were in the early '90s. You can argue the percentages, but until MUDs become true anachronisms in today's society, I'll hold firm to the belief that any MUD developer willing to put in the time and effort towards making a game succeed will be rewarded with the satisfaction of knowing that he or she has provided quality entertainment to to a group of persons that will appreciate what he or she has done. -obit