Guide to MUD's: How to Get Started in the Text Based Gaming World

You have probably heard of Runescape. You have probably heard of Everquest. You probably know of someone who's played Warcraft. Each of these imaginative, interactive games immerse the player in a mystical realm of fantasy, magic, questing, demon slaying, and so forth, and millions of kids (and adults) from around the world have played them. But when matched up against these legendary successes, few have heard of Achaea, Aetolia, Meteor Magica, Alyria, or The Carrion Fields. Each of these games, however, offers nearly the same numbers of fantastic demon-slaying quests of magical grandeur.

Multi-User-Dimensions, as these games are most often called create the most unique "second life" communities in existence. In Achaea, there exist massive city-states, with wide and powerful outreaches, which are all lead... by players! After many years of training, philosophying as it may be called, meditation, and rhetoric, normal adventurers can grow to rule their own part of the world. Compare to RuneScape, in which players typically go off on their own to fight, train, cook, fish, and take up all the other adventurous endeveurs they may choose. But there is a big difference.

The difference between these adventures is entirely visual. MUDs can not really be "seen"... they are read, interpreted, and imagined. Instead of seeing a 3-D rendered version of a tree, one could find out that "A tall, majestic tree towers into the horizon here, casting dark shadow over everything with its massive green leaves." MUDs offer a different experience, focused more on interaction rather than visual effects.

So how does one get started in a MUD? There are typically many questions to begin with.

1. How do you want to play? Characters in a MUD actually get to, normally, choose to be good or evil. And there always has to be a balance of each to make things exciting!

2. What race do you want to be? What job shall you have? MUDs have many of the same options as other Role-Playing Games, with various classes, races, each unique and special.

After these, and other questions are answered, then you can begin the game. You will often start... in the middle of a strange "Room" as each area is called, and may be given no introduction. You will have to figure out how you can type in "I need to go potty!!".... but normally it's not that hard to "say I need to go potty." After this, one can often type in something simple, such as HELP to figure out the basic commands of the world. Then, once that it done, there is still plenty more... which is often left unexplained. Most importantly, though, in these games in player and player interaction. So learn how to talk with others, and do it! Find out more, take on quests, conquer evil, and have fun with your new second life!