[KaVir]

And even if you make it, you can't stop there. Attracting mudders is like pouring water into a leaking bucket, if you don't keep adding new content, you'll eventually end up with an empty mud.

The IRE games were also based on an established idea with a proven record of success - an earlier mud called Avalon. IRE's graphical mud was perhaps more innovative, but it went bankrupt before it even came out of beta.

Innovation is risky business. The safer bet is to take the tried-and-true and give it a polish.



That's what happened on a couple of the older muds I used to play - I had to keep logging on to pay my rent, or I'd lose all my gear. After a few months of that I couldn't face it any more, so I gave everything away rather than see it vanish - and as it was my gear that made my character special, I felt there was no point going back, so I deleted my character as well.

On the other hand, I also used to play a mud which didn't have rent. I've not actively played there since early 1995, but I still have my character, and log on to chat every so often.

I agree with your other points though, particularly regarding the value of player-generated content, which I feel is an area that has considerable potential. But when it comes to convincing players to hang around, I prefer the carrot to the stick.