Posted by The Cyclone on August 9, 2000 at 03:24:29:

In Reply to: Discussion of the future of Muds, and how they effect us... posted by Not An Immortal on August 8, 2000 at 12:20:52:

> What I would like to know is….
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> 1) Approximately how many hours have you put into CF total, with
> all your characters? Is there any other form of entertainment that has
> taken near the number of hours as CF?

I've probably put in about 20 to 25,000 hours, in about
six and a half years of playing. I'm an OLD mud junkie,
played on the first few Diku attempts (The Underground,
Copper Diku, Black Knight) back in junior high and then
in high school. I remember when Carrion Fields came up.

Hmmmm... No, no other activity has taken up as much time.
Not even close.

>
> 2) Have you ever tried any of the graphical pay muds that are out
> there? Ultima Online, Asheron's Call, Everquest, etc? Do you think any
> of them could ever replace what CF means to you?

Sure, being the junkie that I am, I tried a few of them...
and found them all lacking, for reasons already cited- the
text-based format is wonderful for intelligent people with
vivid imaginations. It's much like reading a good fantasy
novel wherein the story is never static. Replace? No.
Satisfy a different crowd? Yes.

>
> 3) Do you think text-based muds will be able to continue to compete
> in the coming years? Will they evolve enough to continue attracting new
> players?

Again, I would stress that the evolution of these games lies
entirely in our individual approach to them. They are not in
true "competition" with graphical MUDs and games like that,
since, as many of us forget when we whine and bitch at the IMMs,
that mudding, TRUE mudding, is *free entertainment*. I'm a
college student, and my parents don't pay my way. I don't have
tons of free cash to go spend on entertainment sources, so
mudding is a great outlet for time that might be spent
in front of the TV. Tune in, turn on, and get KICKED out of
college, or turn on, log on, and exercise your imagination.

> 4) When you think of your life 5 years from now, do you imagine
> yourself still playing mud-type games?

Hard to say. There are periods when mudding really doesn't interest me, and
I find myself really getting into other things. When I get past my crappy
GRE's and into curriculum that really falls into my major, I will probably
be more interested there. But high school, working a couple years, and then
this period, mudding has been a great way to kill time.
Short answer: probably, but not half as much as I do now.

> 5) If you had the time, and money/hardware was not a factor, would
> you spend 8 hours a day playing CF in its current form? Would you
> play one of the graphical Pay-muds? Or would you divide your time between
> them, depending on your mood?

I couldn't. Hardware and money aside, I have too much other stuff to do, what
with class and work, social commitments,(yes including a woman). Even if I were
rich and out of school, there's too much exciting stuff in this world to get out
and do, rather than mudding. If I had a shitty apartment, no real social contact,
no job, no school, and a terminal illness, hell yes. I'd mud 16 hours a day.
Mudding is one of the greatest forms of escapism.

>
> 6) Have you ever forced yourself to quit mudding, only to lose
> control of yourself at some point and find yourself back? Do you or others
> ever look at CF as an addiction or Illness? Have you ever lost a close
> relationship/job/class because you could not pull yourself away from the
> game?

Hmmmm.... it comes and goes in periods. I've never forced myself to quit, but often
I'll lose interest. The above "hours played" total would be much higher, but for one
entire year, almost, I just didn't feel like it. I believe any form of escapist
entertainment is an addiction. If I don't feel like brooding for *another* four hours
about how fucked up our society is, or listening to NPR about people being slaughtered
in Northern India, I can go MUD, and vent a little stress by leaving the mundane, ugly
part of our world behind for a while. When I go back, I'm not any more de-sensitized
toward it, but I can approach it with a better outlook, since it's not all building up
in my head.
>
> 7) Have you ever seriously considered ways to make mudding a paying
> career or job? Have you ever mudded while working, even though it might
> get you in trouble?

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