Online Text Games and How to Win
When it comes to online text games, MUD games (short for Multi User Dungeon) are the most popular choice out there.
Ranging from hardcore fantasy MUDs to intriguing sci-fi adventures and vampire worlds, text games are not only varied in type and style, but also in possibilities.
Much has changed since the first MUD was created by Roy Trubshaw in 1987.
Numerous online text games have spawned over the last three decades, and with the amount of internet users increasing every day, more and more people are discovering the marvelous world of MUD games.
So what do these games have to offer, and how do you win and succeed in them? Since there are so many of them out there, different text games have different focus and varying popularity.
Some focus solely on chatting, others on hack-and-slash, some on interactive fiction, some on player versus player combat, etc.
The most popular MUD games have managed to combine all of the above elements into online text games with almost unlimited potential, vast amounts of paths to take, tons of entertainment, incredible fictional detail and in short - endless possibilities.
Let me give you some examples.
In my 10 years of playing online text games I have been brawling mountain lions, attempted to manufacture poisonous goose drumsticks for assassination purposes, recovered lost trinkets for women in need, been the first to discover a never-before-seen island, broken in to forbidden property, composed rituals to speak with the spirits, gained entry to the Order of the Death God, reached a level of experience which removed my characters need to eat or sleep, and much more.
Some of the experiences I've had were small achievements and some were of much bigger value to me and the people I played with.
And this is where the winning comes in! Since the top-tier MUD games out there offer possibilities and experiences like no other online text games, there is so many ways in which to win and succeed.
Say you like leveling your character, and you are playing in a fantasy MUD.
Some MUD games offer rewards for reaching certain levels, like getting greater powers, becoming a dragon or getting rid of some penalty.
So you decide to achieve a certain level, like level 100, and you dedicate a big amount of time and effort to gain the experience needed you reach your goal (by killing creatures, complete quests, explore new areas, etc).
In many games, reaching a goal would mean "The End! Would you like to play again?", but that is normally not the case in MUD games.
Once you've reached your goal to become level 100, you have the freedom to choose between multitudes of new goals, or invent some yourself.
I mean, you've just "won" and reached your goal, but it doesn't have to end there.
Perhaps your next goal would be to explore all the areas of the game, room by room, and reach the highest explorer rank possible.
Done! Have you always wanted to know it would be to lead a city, or an organization of evil murderers? Brush up on your political skills or backstabbing tactics and win over the people and the position you are striving for.
In short, most top-tier MUD games come with numerous opportunities and possibilities for your character to play out.
Set yourself a goal, achieve it and experience that great feeling of "winning something".
Want to win again? Just set yourself another goal and win, win, win.
And you can do this over and over and over and...
Yeah, isn't it great?
Ranging from hardcore fantasy MUDs to intriguing sci-fi adventures and vampire worlds, text games are not only varied in type and style, but also in possibilities.
Much has changed since the first MUD was created by Roy Trubshaw in 1987.
Numerous online text games have spawned over the last three decades, and with the amount of internet users increasing every day, more and more people are discovering the marvelous world of MUD games.
So what do these games have to offer, and how do you win and succeed in them? Since there are so many of them out there, different text games have different focus and varying popularity.
Some focus solely on chatting, others on hack-and-slash, some on interactive fiction, some on player versus player combat, etc.
The most popular MUD games have managed to combine all of the above elements into online text games with almost unlimited potential, vast amounts of paths to take, tons of entertainment, incredible fictional detail and in short - endless possibilities.
Let me give you some examples.
In my 10 years of playing online text games I have been brawling mountain lions, attempted to manufacture poisonous goose drumsticks for assassination purposes, recovered lost trinkets for women in need, been the first to discover a never-before-seen island, broken in to forbidden property, composed rituals to speak with the spirits, gained entry to the Order of the Death God, reached a level of experience which removed my characters need to eat or sleep, and much more.
Some of the experiences I've had were small achievements and some were of much bigger value to me and the people I played with.
And this is where the winning comes in! Since the top-tier MUD games out there offer possibilities and experiences like no other online text games, there is so many ways in which to win and succeed.
Say you like leveling your character, and you are playing in a fantasy MUD.
Some MUD games offer rewards for reaching certain levels, like getting greater powers, becoming a dragon or getting rid of some penalty.
So you decide to achieve a certain level, like level 100, and you dedicate a big amount of time and effort to gain the experience needed you reach your goal (by killing creatures, complete quests, explore new areas, etc).
In many games, reaching a goal would mean "The End! Would you like to play again?", but that is normally not the case in MUD games.
Once you've reached your goal to become level 100, you have the freedom to choose between multitudes of new goals, or invent some yourself.
I mean, you've just "won" and reached your goal, but it doesn't have to end there.
Perhaps your next goal would be to explore all the areas of the game, room by room, and reach the highest explorer rank possible.
Done! Have you always wanted to know it would be to lead a city, or an organization of evil murderers? Brush up on your political skills or backstabbing tactics and win over the people and the position you are striving for.
In short, most top-tier MUD games come with numerous opportunities and possibilities for your character to play out.
Set yourself a goal, achieve it and experience that great feeling of "winning something".
Want to win again? Just set yourself another goal and win, win, win.
And you can do this over and over and over and...
Yeah, isn't it great?
