Editing Multi-user dungeon (section)

{{Short description|Video game genre}}
{{About|a type of online computer game|the first game called "MUD" or "Multi-User Dungeon"|MUD1}}
{{use mdy dates|date=November 2021}}
[[File:Actsmudgnome.png|thumb|upright=1.35|A screenshot of a MUD]]
{{VG Role-playing}}

A '''multi-user dungeon''' ('''MUD''', {{IPAc-en|m|ʌ|d}}), also known as a '''multi-user dimension''' or '''multi-user domain''',{{R|bartle-acronym|hahn-acronym}} is a [[Multiplayer video game|multiplayer]] [[Time-keeping systems in games#Real-time|real-time]] [[virtual world]], usually [[Text-based game|text-based]] or [[storyboard]]ed. MUDs combine elements of [[role-playing games]], [[hack and slash]], [[player versus player]], [[interactive fiction]], and [[online chat]]. Players can read or view descriptions of rooms, objects, other players, and [[non-player character]]s, and perform actions in the virtual world that are typically also described. Players typically interact with each other and the world by typing commands that resemble a [[natural language]], as well as using a character typically called an [[Avatar (computing)|avatar]].<ref name=":022">{{Cite book |last=Salamone |first=Frank A. |title=Encyclopedia of Religious Rites, Rituals, and Festivals |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2004 |isbn=0-415-94180-6 |editor-last=Levinson |editor-first=David |location=New York |pages=300}}</ref>

Traditional MUDs implement a [[role-playing video game]] set in a [[fantasy]] world populated by [[List of species in fantasy fiction|fictional races and monsters]], with players choosing [[character class|classes]] in order to gain specific skills or powers.  The objective of this sort of game is to slay [[monster]]s, explore a fantasy world, complete quests, go on adventures, create a story by [[roleplaying]], and advance the created character. Many MUDs were fashioned around the dice-rolling rules of the ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' series of games.

Such fantasy settings for MUDs are common, while many others have [[science fiction]] settings or are based on popular books, movies, animations, periods of history, worlds populated by anthropomorphic animals, and so on. Not all MUDs are games; some are designed for [[#Educational MUDs|educational]] purposes, while others are purely [[#Talkers|chat environments]], and the [[Turing completeness|flexible nature]] of many MUD servers leads to their occasional use in areas ranging from [[computer science]] research to [[geoinformatics]] to [[medical informatics]] to [[analytical chemistry]].{{R|hansen|boring|cruickshank|schaefer}}  MUDs have attracted the interest of academic scholars from many fields, including [[communication]]s, [[sociology]], [[law]], and [[economics]].{{R|turkle|grimmelmann|castronova-mmorpg}}  At one time, there was interest from the United States military in using them for teleconferencing.{{R|shefski}}

Most MUDs are run as hobbies and are free to play; some may accept donations or allow players to [[Virtual Asset Sales|purchase virtual items]], while others charge a monthly subscription fee. MUDs can be accessed via standard [[telnet]] clients, or specialized MUD clients, which are designed to improve the user experience. Numerous games are listed at various web portals, such as [[The Mud Connector]].

The history of modern [[massively multiplayer online role-playing game]]s (MMORPGs) like ''[[EverQuest]]'' and ''[[Ultima Online]]'', and related [[virtual world]] genres such as the social virtual worlds exemplified by ''[[Second Life]]'', can be traced directly back to the MUD genre.{{R|castronova-mmorpg|stuart-mmorpg}}  Indeed, before the invention of the term MMORPG, games of this style were simply called [[#Graphical MUDs|graphical MUD]]s.  A number of influential MMORPG designers began as [[:Category:MUD developers|MUD developers]] and/or players{{R|taylor}} (such as [[Raph Koster]], [[Brad McQuaid]],{{R|guru3d}} Matt Firor, and [[Brian Green (game developer)|Brian Green]]{{R|greenmud}}) or were involved with early MUDs (like [[Mark Jacobs (video game designer)|Mark Jacobs]] and [[J. Todd Coleman]]).