Editing Multi-user dungeon (section)

=== Other early MUD-like games ===
In 1978, around the same time Roy Trubshaw wrote ''MUD'', Alan E. Klietz wrote a game called ''Scepter'' (Scepter of Goth), and later called ''Milieu'' using Multi-[[Pascal (programming language)|Pascal]] on a [[CDC Cyber]] 6600 series [[Mainframe computer|mainframe]] which was operated by the [[Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium]].{{R|wisner2}}  Klietz ported ''Milieu'' to an [[IBM XT]] in 1983, naming the new port ''Scepter of Goth''. ''Scepter'' supported 10 to 16 simultaneous users, typically connecting in by modem. It was the first commercial MUD;<ref>{{cite book 
| last = Bartle | first = Richard | author-link = Richard Bartle 
| title = MMOs from the Inside Out 
| publisher = Apress 
| year = 2016 
| isbn = 978-1-4842-1724-5
| pages = 31
| quote = in 1983, Klietz formed a company, GāmBit, with Bob Alberti and two others to commercialize Sceptre.
| title-link = MMOs from the Inside Out }}</ref> franchises were sold to a number of locations. ''Scepter'' was first owned and run by GamBit (of [[Minneapolis, Minnesota]]), founded by Bob Alberti. GamBit's assets were later sold to [[Interplay Entertainment|Interplay Productions]].{{R|klietz}}<ref>{{harvnb|Bartle|2003|p=13}}, "Around the same time that Roy Trubshaw began work on what was to become MUD1, Alan Klietz wrote Sceptre of Goth on the CDC Cyber run by MECC (the Minnesota Educational Computer Consortium)."</ref>

In 1984, Mark Peterson wrote ''The Realm of Angmar'', beginning as a [[clone (computer and video games)|clone]] of ''Scepter of Goth''. In 1994, Peterson rewrote ''The Realm of Angmar'', adapting it to [[MS-DOS]] (the basis for many dial-in [[Bulletin board system|BBS]] systems), and renamed it ''[[Swords of Chaos]]''. For a few years this was a popular form of MUD, hosted on a number of BBS systems, until widespread Internet access eliminated most BBSes.{{Citation needed|date=January 2009}}

In 1984, [[Mark Jacobs (video game designer)|Mark Jacobs]] created and deployed a commercial gaming site, ''Gamers World''. The site featured two games coded and designed by Jacobs, a MUD called ''Aradath'' (which was later renamed, upgraded and ported to [[GEnie]] as ''[[Dragon's Gate]]'') and a [[4X game|4X]] science-fiction game called ''Galaxy'', which was also ported to [[GEnie]]. At its peak, the site had about 100 monthly subscribers to both ''Aradath'' and ''Galaxy''.  GEnie was shut down in the late 1990s, although ''[[Dragon's Gate]]'' was later brought to [[America Online|AOL]] before it was finally released on its own. Dragon's Gate was closed on February 10, 2007.{{R|dragonsgate}}

In the summer of 1980, [[University of Virginia]] classmates John Taylor and [[Kelton Flinn]] wrote ''Dungeons of Kesmai'', a six player game inspired by ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' which used [[roguelike]] [[ASCII]] graphics. They founded the [[Kesmai]] company in 1982 and in 1985 an enhanced version of ''Dungeons of Kesmai'', ''[[Island of Kesmai]]'', was launched on [[CompuServe]]. Later, its 2-D graphical descendant ''[[Legends of Kesmai]]'' was launched on [[AOL]] in 1996. The games were retired commercially in 2000.{{R|dogkesmai}}

The popularity of MUDs of the University of Essex tradition escalated in the United States during the late 1980s when affordable [[personal computers]] with 300 to 2400 bit/s [[modems]] enabled role-players to log into multi-line [[Bulletin Board Systems|BBSs]] and [[online service providers]] such as [[CompuServe]]. During this time it was sometimes said that MUD stands for "Multi Undergraduate Destroyer" due to their popularity among college students and the amount of time devoted to them.{{R|mudsociety}}

''[[Avalon: The Legend Lives]]'' was published by Yehuda Simmons in 1989. It was the first [[Persistent world|persistent game world]] of its kind without the traditional hourly resets<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bartle|first1=Richard|title=Richard A. Bartle: Reviews - UK|url=http://mud.co.uk/richard/imucg4.htm|quote=When you leave the game, objects can be kept for when you restart (eg. that weapon you commissioned from a smith), and you restart in the room from which you quit. This means some objects can be kept unavailable for long periods if their owner isn't playing. There are no resets.|access-date=June 7, 2015|archive-date=December 28, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151228220559/http://mud.co.uk/richard/imucg4.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> and points-based puzzle solving progression systems.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bartle|first1=Richard|title=Reviews – UK|url=http://mud.co.uk/richard/imucg4.htm|website=www.mud.co.uk|quote=Experience is obtained by visiting new places, wandering around exploring, and even by simply chatting. This contrasts with the usual MUA scheme where points are obtained for finding treasure or performing specific tasks.|access-date=June 7, 2015|archive-date=December 28, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151228220559/http://mud.co.uk/richard/imucg4.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Avalon introduced equilibrium and balance (cooldowns), skill-based player vs player combat and concepts such as player-run governments and player housing.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bartle|first1=Richard|title=Reviews – UK|url=http://mud.co.uk/richard/imucg4.htm|website=www.mud.co.uk|quote=Almost anything can be bought, including houses, shops, taverns, animals, weapons, food and drink. Personae may use certain skills to create objects, eg. potions, which can be sold to other players for use on their adventures.|access-date=June 7, 2015|archive-date=December 28, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151228220559/http://mud.co.uk/richard/imucg4.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>