[shevegen]

> "I cannot seem to find the interest I once had in them"

Hmm. My peak MUDding days were from 1995 to 2001.

I still do MUD occasionally but I spend much less time. I have become a casual MUDder.


> "It's almost like a close, childhood friend moving off to another country, never to return again. "

Yes. So is it with many hobbies.

> I've been playing muds for the better part of 10 years or so. I remember having an absolute blast in
> the first few years. When I'd get tired of a particular mud, I'd try out another, and then return to
> my home mud after a short break. That worked for quite a while.

I never was like that because in my opinion most MUDs are unplayable.

I always favoured role-playing centric MUDs. That means, all the MUDs that displayed
hitpoints automatically in numbers were out of the question. I can not choose from
many MUDs thus.

> Now, however, I can barely play any mud for a month without it feeling like a chore.

Depends on the players involved. If there are good roleplayers, it NEVER gets boring.

It does get boring if less and less players play a MUD though.

> It's gotten to the point that I have very little interest in mudding any more. This isn't
> the result of hard feelings toward any particular mud, player-base, or mud admin.
> It's just as it is. I almost feel like I've lost my favorite pair or shoes or something.

Understandable. You lost interest in MUDding. Time to move on.

> In saying all that, do any of you players feel like you've "outgrown" text muds?

Hmm partially. I am older now than I used to be too so I just can't spend as
much time. Also there are less players in general.

I remember on my main MUD, we used to have around 70 players in peak
times in 1999.

Nowadays, we have around 15 players in peak times.

That's just barely working ...

> In my case, it isn't only text muds; I can't even develop an interest in graphic gaming.

I never played these. They did not interest me. They are focused on leveling.

What is the interest in that? I never understood it.

> Though, I've never had an interest in the latter even at the peak of
> my mudding career.

Me neither.

> Is there anything that can be done on an admin level to hold the
> interest of long-term players?

You need to cater to as many different playing styles as possible. But
you also need to ensure that players do not drive off other players.

There are players who cheat and multiplay and admin is inactive
because they are so detached from the game play already, so
frustrated and unwilling to invest time, that things just fall
apart.

Also you need to give players something new every once in a
while. The MUD needs to grow and evolve. And with admin
that is disgruntled, this barely works at all.