This is a bit off topic, but I’m just wondering what the experience of playing a MUD is like?
Varies wildly. The format’s very old and requires relatively little specialist knowledge (if you can code a Telnet client, you’ve solved probably the most difficult technical problem in creating a crude MUD server, although it can of course get way more complicated), and there are open-source libraries all over the place, so MUDs have been made that cater to every playstyle you can imagine, as long as it kinda-sorta works with text output and command-based keyboard input. There are games that’re focused on exploring the world and poking things to see what jumps, and there are games that’re all about roleplaying and lore, and there are games that are pretty close to a multiplayer Progress Quest. There’s a famous article by the developer of MUD that goes into these divisions in somewhat more detail.
If you’re looking for a lore-heavy game with a good roleplaying community around it, but with gameplay depth and room to explore, that narrows down your options quite a bit; the RP side of the MUD universe is associated mainly with the MUCK and MOO families, which tend to be less gamified and more closely resembling a network of IC chat rooms with props and some spatial structure to them. There are some exceptions, though; a few years ago some games with heavy RP aspirations attempted to form a subgenre of sorts under the banner of RPI (Roleplaying Intensive), but unfortunately the initiative seems to have largely collapsed under the collective weight of the egos involved. Some of the games persist, as do others with similar goals but no direct involvement: Armageddon, a Dark Sun pastiche of sorts, is one of the larger and more resilient. (I’m involved in a similar project, on a much smaller scale.)
If Armageddon and its cousins are a little too lore-heavy and/or serious for you, I’ve also had a lot of fun playing Discworld MUD. Haven’t touched it in years, though, so I can’t comment on its present state or any recent changes.
Varies wildly. The format’s very old and requires relatively little specialist knowledge (if you can code a Telnet client, you’ve solved probably the most difficult technical problem in creating a crude MUD server, although it can of course get way more complicated), and there are open-source libraries all over the place, so MUDs have been made that cater to every playstyle you can imagine, as long as it kinda-sorta works with text output and command-based keyboard input. There are games that’re focused on exploring the world and poking things to see what jumps, and there are games that’re all about roleplaying and lore, and there are games that are pretty close to a multiplayer Progress Quest. There’s a famous article by the developer of MUD that goes into these divisions in somewhat more detail.
If you’re looking for a lore-heavy game with a good roleplaying community around it, but with gameplay depth and room to explore, that narrows down your options quite a bit; the RP side of the MUD universe is associated mainly with the MUCK and MOO families, which tend to be less gamified and more closely resembling a network of IC chat rooms with props and some spatial structure to them. There are some exceptions, though; a few years ago some games with heavy RP aspirations attempted to form a subgenre of sorts under the banner of RPI (Roleplaying Intensive), but unfortunately the initiative seems to have largely collapsed under the collective weight of the egos involved. Some of the games persist, as do others with similar goals but no direct involvement: Armageddon, a Dark Sun pastiche of sorts, is one of the larger and more resilient. (I’m involved in a similar project, on a much smaller scale.)
If Armageddon and its cousins are a little too lore-heavy and/or serious for you, I’ve also had a lot of fun playing Discworld MUD. Haven’t touched it in years, though, so I can’t comment on its present state or any recent changes.