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Multi-User Dungeons/Domains (MUDs)
Multi-user dungeons/dimensions/domains (MUDs) are a text-based form of multiplayer online computer game. MUDs combine elements of Dungeons and Dragons-style role-playing games with Internet-based chat. Although somewhat overshadowed in recent years by the profusion of graphical video games, MUDs still maintain a following among children and adolescents and are notable for emphasizing social interaction and imagination in computer game play.
Overview and History of Muds
MUD originally stood for multi-user dungeon, and most early MUDs were essentially computer versions of the popular high school dice-based role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons from the 1970s. Both types of games immersed players in a Tolkien-esque fantasy world of the imagination. The first Multi-User Dungeon was programmed by Essex University students Roy Trubshaw and Richard Bartle in the late 1970s. Building on the foundation of earlier singleplayer text-based computer games, they created a virtual space in which a user logs on, creates or opens a character, and then reads descriptions of places, objects, and others in the fantasy world. To interact, the player types words or commands. As a typical fantasy MUD game progresses, players work together to fight monsters and find treasure, thereby advancing their characters and gaining more experience and power. After its creation, the fantasy adventure-style MUD dominated for the next 10 years.
Following fantasy MUDs, other types began to appear, such as science fiction adventure-themed MUDs and MUDs with the adventure component completely removed. This latter type of MUD, called TinyMUD by creator James Aspnes in 1989, stressed social interaction over combat and gave users the power to extend the virtual world of the MUD using a simple programming language.
Numerous MUDs currently exist, with a wide variety of themes popular with children and teens. As of September 2005, the portal website, MUD http://Connector.com, lists more than 1,800 different MUDs, including ones based on specific fictional universes (e.g., Harry Potter, Star Wars), MUDs based on general fictional themes (e.g., horror, superheroes), religious MUDs, historical MUDs, educational MUDs, and purely social MUDs.
Children, Adolescents, and Muds
Pioneering MUD scholar Sherry Turkle suggests that it is not uncommon for children as young as 8 and 9 to play MUDs, featuring grade school favorites such as Barbie. Indeed, an examination of the MUDs listed on MUD http://Connector.com reveals a number of MUDs focused on fictional universes popular with children and especially adolescents. In addition, related forms of adolescent computer games are now taking place on Web message boards (e.g., “play-by-post gaming”). Few studies have focused specifically on this young segment of the user population, but a notable exception is the work of Amy Bruckman, who began a social MUD for children called MOOSE Crossing in the mid-1990s.
MOOSE Crossing was created to allow children age 13 and under to construct virtual worlds in a supportive community environment. Kids who enter this MUD can create virtual objects such as magic carpets and imaginary pets and build virtual rooms and cities, using a basic programming language. Visitors to MOOSE Crossing may also interact with other users from around the world. Bruckman's work on the effects of MOOSE Crossing suggests that this type of MUD teaches children creative writing, computer programming skills, and a constructionist approach to community building, in addition to being more intellectually engaging than graphical media.
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