Top Mud Sites Forum - View Single Post - Do MUDs need to be "brought into the 21st century"

ArchPrime · 04-28-2013, 11:58 PM

No, actually I didn't. However, whatever you 'think' might be more visually appealing to today's teenagers may very well not. The concept of appeal is wholly subjective. And, at the end of the day, if the 'gameplay' sucks, then no beautiful graphics will keep players around any longer than the initial "holy cow, this is a beautiful game!" stage.

Its been a long while since I have been a teenager, and as a matter of fact, I have two of my own. And, they have friends. They all play games. I will tell you for sure that the teenagers who love FPS type games aren't interested in reading the amount of text required of MUDs. Any teen who has grown up with a console controller in their hand really won't give two ****es about MUDs. On the flip side, the teens that love to read and roleplay/cosplay actually do enjoy MUDs, regardless of needing to read walls of text. How well do you know your intended audience?

I'm not sure why you're so hung up on today's teenagers(as a whole). They really seem like the wrong target audience for this genre. You're more likely to have better success in marketing to their mothers. Based on what I know the teen masses love to play, you'll have the change the genre a *lot*. Once you evolve it far enough, though, its really no longer a MUD, right?

Hmmm. You know, I think there are only a few things holding MUDs/ MUD Community back:

1). The MUD community.
2). The MUD community.
3). The MUD community.

Of course, those are the same reasons MUDs haven't died out entirely.

While I whole-heartedly support the notion of writing custom clients and servers, ditching telnet and branding a MUD through its UI, giving the game a nice window-wrapping, etc, I cannot support the idea of removing the input/command line or removing the scrolling output while still attempting to classify the game as a MUD.

Whatever the case, good luck with your endeavors, Plazmi. Oh, one last note: It will be a long while before my favorite MUD closes its doors, and here's why: They have a superb game that their small, curated community absolutely loves; the MUD is also run as a business - that means the owners will do everything in their power to keep it running. Strong user community, niche target audience, commercial - three ideas to keep *your* favorite MUD afloat, and you won't even have to change the UI. :-)

04-28-2013, 11:58 PM	#106
ArchPrime Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Home MUD: Archons of Avenshar Posts: 72	Re: Do MUDs need to be "brought into the 21st century" No, actually I didn't. However, whatever you 'think' might be more visually appealing to today's teenagers may very well not. The concept of appeal is wholly subjective. And, at the end of the day, if the 'gameplay' sucks, then no beautiful graphics will keep players around any longer than the initial "holy cow, this is a beautiful game!" stage. Its been a long while since I have been a teenager, and as a matter of fact, I have two of my own. And, they have friends. They all play games. I will tell you for sure that the teenagers who love FPS type games aren't interested in reading the amount of text required of MUDs. Any teen who has grown up with a console controller in their hand really won't give two ***es about MUDs. On the flip side, the teens that love to read and roleplay/cosplay actually do enjoy MUDs, regardless of needing to read walls of text. How well do you know your intended audience? I'm not sure why you're so hung up on today's teenagers(as a whole). They really seem like the wrong target audience for this genre. You're more likely to have better success in marketing to their mothers. Based on what I know the teen masses love to play, you'll have the change the genre a lot. Once you evolve it far enough, though, its really no longer a MUD, right? Hmmm. You know, I think there are only a few things holding MUDs/ MUD Community back: 1). The MUD community. 2). The MUD community. 3). The MUD community. Of course, those are the same reasons MUDs haven't died out entirely. While I whole-heartedly support the notion of writing custom clients and servers, ditching telnet and branding a MUD through its UI, giving the game a nice window-wrapping, etc, I cannot support the idea of removing the input/command line or removing the scrolling output while still attempting to classify the game as a MUD. Whatever the case, good luck with your endeavors, Plazmi. Oh, one last note: It will be a long while before my favorite MUD closes its doors, and here's why: They have a superb game that their small, curated community absolutely loves; the MUD is also run as a business - that means the owners will do everything in their power to keep it running. Strong user community, niche target audience, commercial - three ideas to keep your* favorite MUD afloat, and you won't even have to change the UI. :-)