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35-584: Multi-User Dungeon , or MUD (referred to as MUD1 , to distinguish it from its successor, MUD2 , and the MUD genre in general), is the first MUD . MUD was created in 1978 by Roy Trubshaw and Richard Bartle at the University of Essex on a DEC PDP-10 . Trubshaw named the game Multi-User Dungeon , in tribute to the Dungeon variant of Zork , which Trubshaw had greatly enjoyed playing. Zork in turn

70-462: A GM describes the game world and its inhabitants. The other players describe the intended actions of their characters, and the GM describes the outcomes. Some outcomes are determined by the game system, and some are chosen by the GM. This is the format in which role-playing games were first popularized. In contrast, many indie role-playing games experiment with different structures of play, such as sharing

105-521: A GM role through a visual interface called a GM toolkit , albeit with abilities limited by the available technology. Another standard concept in RPGs is the player character, a character in the fictional world of the game whose actions the player controls. Typically each player controls a separate player character, sometimes more, each of whom acts as a protagonist in the story. In contrast to player characters, non-player characters (NPCs) are controlled by

140-459: A UK-based network primarily for Commodore 64 users, licensed MUD1 and ran it from late 1984 until 1987, when CompuNet abandoned the DEC-10 platform they were using. Trubshaw and Bartle (with the assistance of Simon Dally) subsequently formed the company Multi-User Entertainment Limited, and proceeded to work on MUD version 4, also known as MUD2 (released in 1985). MUD2 was intended to be run as

175-411: A form of interactive and collaborative storytelling . Events, characters, and narrative structure give a sense of a narrative experience, and the game need not have a strongly-defined storyline. Interactivity is the crucial difference between role-playing games and traditional fiction. Whereas a viewer of a television show is a passive observer, a player in a role-playing game makes choices that affect

210-556: A loosely defined genre of computer and console games with origins in role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons , on which they base much of their terminology, settings, and game mechanics. This translation changes the experience of the game, providing a visual representation of the world but emphasizing statistical character development over collaborative, interactive storytelling. Online text-based role-playing games involve many players using some type of text-based interface and an Internet connection to play an RPG. Games played in

245-411: A real-time way include MUDs , MUSHes , and other varieties of MU* . Games played in a turn-based fashion include play-by-mail games and play-by-post games . Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) combine the large-scale social interaction and persistent world of MUDs with graphic interfaces. Most MMORPGs do not actively promote in-character role-playing, however, players can use

280-745: A role-playing game will generate specific characters and an ongoing plot. A consistent system of rules and a more or less realistic campaign setting in games aids suspension of disbelief . The level of realism in games ranges from just enough internal consistency to set up a believable story or credible challenge up to full-blown simulations of real-world processes. Tabletop role-playing games may also be used in therapy settings to help individuals develop behavioral, social, and even language skills. Beneficiaries commonly include young people with neurodevelopmental conditions, such as Autism spectrum disorders, attention-deficit hyperactive disorder ( ADHD ), and dyslexia . Role-playing games are played in

315-544: A service for British Telecom. In 1987, MUD1 was licensed by CompuServe , who pressured Richard Bartle to close down the instance of MUD1, better known as ' Essex MUD' , that was still running at Essex University. This resulted in the deletion of the MUD account that October. This left MIST , a derivative of MUD1 with similar gameplay, as the only remaining MUD running on the Essex University network, becoming one of

350-486: A wide variety of formats, ranging from discussing character interaction in tabletop form, physically acting out characters in LARP to playing characters virtually in digital media. There is also a great variety of systems of rules and game settings . Games that emphasize plot and character interaction over game mechanics and combat sometimes prefer the name storytelling game . These types of games tend to reduce or eliminate

385-465: Is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting . Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting or through a process of structured decision-making regarding character development. Actions taken within many games succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines . There are several forms of role-playing games. The original form, sometimes called

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420-599: Is generally acknowledged that the biggest challenge in the game is other players, and highly skilled players that have made wiz will actively test "mortal" players to ensure they have the required level of skill to complete, and then manage the game. Much of MUD2 ' s long-running appeal comes from its much-celebrated depth, and its wide-ranging gameplay, as it contains large elements of puzzle-solving and exploration, as well as elements of skill, chance, and humour. Roleplaying game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game , or abbreviated as RPG )

455-425: Is nominally a roleplaying game , with a strict set of rules, character classes and levels. Characters progress up a ladder of 11 levels until they reach the traditional MUD goal of wiz ( wizard or witch ). Characters move between locations, or game rooms, using compass directions, and basic commands such as GET LONGSWORD , GET DIAMOND , KILL DWARF WITH LONGSWORD . Points are scored by dropping treasure in

490-518: Is possible for one to make their persona a 'Protected Persona' (PP) by using the VOW command in the tearoom (the starting room), but Protected Personae cannot obtain Wizdom, can still be killed by anything besides a player, and un-protecting a PP (willingly via UNVOW in the tearoom, or automatically upon reaching 102,400 points) costs 2/3 of one's points. The game's levels are laid out as follows: It

525-409: Is the role of a gamemaster, a participant who has special duties to present the fictional setting, arbitrate the results of character actions, and maintain the narrative flow. In tabletop and live-action RPGs the GM performs these duties in person. In video RPGs, many of the functions of a GM are fulfilled by the game engine . However, some multi-player video RPGs also allow for a participant to take on

560-556: The ARPANET . In 1983, Essex University allowed remote access to its DEC-10 via British Telecom 's Packet Switch Stream network between 2 am and 7 am each night. MUD became popular with players around the world, and several magazines wrote articles on this new trend. Between 1984 and 1987, MUD was hosted on the DEC-20 of Dundee College of Technology which was one of the few institutions to allow outside access. In 1984, Compunet ,

595-465: The retronyms tabletop role-playing game or pen and paper role-playing game are sometimes used, though neither a table nor pen and paper are strictly necessary. A LARP is played more like improvisational theatre . Participants act out their characters' actions instead of describing them, and the real environment is used to represent the imaginary setting of the game world. Players are often costumed as their characters and use appropriate props, and

630-405: The tabletop role-playing game (TRPG or TTRPG), is conducted through discussion, whereas in live action role-playing (LARP), players physically perform their characters' actions. Both forms feature collaborative storytelling . In both TTRPGs and LARPs, often an arranger called a game master (GM) decides on the game system and setting to be used, while acting as a facilitator or referee. Each of

665-645: The authors of MUD1 , the C++ reimplementation of MUD1 was deposited within the archives of Stanford University for historical purposes. In 2020, the full source code for the PDP-10 implementation of MUD1 (as of 1986) was released on Github (with permission from the authors), under the GPL v3 license. Computer Gaming World in 1993 called British Legends on CompuServe as a "typical text-based multi-player role-playing game" with an emphasis on magic. MUD2 The game

700-436: The definition of role-playing games. Although some amount of role-playing activity may be present in such games, it is not the primary focus. The term role-playing game is also sometimes used to describe other games involving roleplay simulation , such as exercises used in teaching, training, academic research, or therepeutic settings. Both authors and major publishers of tabletop role-playing games consider them to be

735-493: The first of its kind to attain broad popularity. MIST ran until the machine that hosted it, a PDP-10 , was superseded in early 1991. MUD1 ran under the name British Legends until late 1999 and was retired along with other software during CompuServe's Y2K cleanup efforts. In 2000, Viktor Toth rewrote the BCPL source code for MUD1 to C++ and opened it alongside MUD2 on British-legends.com. In 2014, with permission from

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770-399: The game. Just like its predecessor, MUD2 features permadeath , with one's persona being deleted if killed in combat (whether by a mobile or another player), but most environmental deaths (besides some such as the aforementioned Touchstone) merely cause one's persona to lose points and return the player to the title screen. If one wishes to play without being killed by other players, it

805-525: The games' communication functions to role-play so long as other players cooperate. The majority of players in MMORPGs do not engage in role-playing in this sense. Computer-assisted gaming can be used to add elements of computer gaming to in-person tabletop role-playing, where computers are used for record-keeping and sometimes to resolve combat, while the participants generally make decisions concerning character interaction. One common feature of many RPGs

840-503: The late 1990s due to competition from online MMO RPGs, role-playing video games , and collectible card games. However, TTRPGs experienced a resurgence in popularity between the mid-2010s and early 2020s due to actual play web series and online play through videoconferencing during the COVID-19 lockdowns . The tabletop format is often referred to simply as a role-playing game . To distinguish this form of RPG from other formats,

875-438: The number of players in a LARP is usually larger than in a tabletop role-playing game, and the players may be interacting in separate physical spaces, there is typically less of an emphasis on tightly maintaining a narrative or directly entertaining the players, and game sessions are often managed in a more distributed manner. Tabletop role-playing games have been translated into a variety of electronic formats. As early as 1974,

910-845: The other players takes on the role of a single character in the fiction. Several varieties of RPG also exist in electronic media, such as multiplayer text-based Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs) and their graphics-based successors, massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). Role-playing games also include single-player role-playing video games in which players control a character, or team of characters, who undertake(s) quests. Role-playing video games may include player capabilities that advance over time using statistical mechanics. These electronic games sometimes share settings and rules with tabletop RPGs, but emphasize character advancement more than collaborative storytelling. Some RPG-related game forms, such as trading/collectible card games (CCGs) and wargames , may or may not be included under

945-470: The point threshold and surviving the touchstone). Wizzes are effectively granted limitless power over the world itself, with powers including the ability to add more content to the world (areas, mobiles, items, etc), freely manipulate objects in the world (including the personae of logged-in players), and can freely destroy anything (or anyone) if they so desire - of course, this does come with the responsibility to use one's acquired Wizdom to assist with managing

980-464: The program easier to maintain. Richard Bartle , a fellow Essex student, contributed much work on the game database, introducing many of the locations and puzzles that survive to this day. Later that year Roy Trubshaw graduated from Essex University, handing over MUD to Richard Bartle, who continued developing the game. That same year, MUD1 became the first Internet multiplayer online role-playing game as Essex University connected its internal network to

1015-460: The responsibility for creating setting details and NPCs among all players. The first commercially available RPG, Dungeons & Dragons ( D&D ), was inspired by fantasy literature and the wargaming hobby and was published in 1974. The popularity of D&D led to the birth of the tabletop role-playing game industry, which publishes games with many different themes, rules, and styles of play. The popularity of tabletop games decreased in

1050-546: The room known as the swamp, performing certain actions, killing an NPC , or killing another player. The game also includes magical powers, which are gained through a mystical artifact known as The Touchstone. The small side effect of this is that touching the Touchstone may kill the player, with the likelihood of death decreasing as players get higher in level, but death is always possible. In order to make Wiz, one must also complete seven of eight tasks (in addition to reaching

1085-517: The same year as the release of Dungeons & Dragons, unlicensed versions of it were developed on mainframe university systems under titles such as dnd and Dungeon . These early computer RPGs influenced all of electronic gaming, as well as spawning the role-playing video game genre. Some authors divide digital role-playing games into two intertwined groups: single-player games using RPG-style mechanics, and multiplayer games incorporating social interaction. Single-player role-playing video games form

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1120-408: The story. Such role-playing games extend an older tradition of storytelling games where a small party of friends collaborate to create a story. While simple forms of role-playing exist in traditional children's games of make believe , role-playing games add a level of sophistication and persistence to this basic idea with additions such as game facilitators and rules of interaction. Participants in

1155-420: The use of dice and other randomizing elements. Some games are played with characters created before the game by the GM, rather than those created by the players. This type of game is typically played at gaming conventions , or in standalone games that do not form part of a campaign. Tabletop (TTRPG) and pen-and-paper (PnP) RPGs are conducted through discussion in a small social gathering. In traditional TTRPGs,

1190-423: The venue may be decorated to resemble the fictional setting. Some live-action role-playing games use rock paper scissors or comparison of attributes to resolve conflicts symbolically, while other LARPs use physical combat with simulated arms such as airsoft guns or foam weapons . LARPs vary in size from a handful of players to several thousand, and in duration from a couple of hours to several days. Because

1225-517: Was inspired by an older text-adventure game known as Colossal Cave Adventure or ADVENT . MUD1 was written in the domain-specific programming language Multi User Dungeon Definition Language (MUDDL). Its first version was written by Richard Bartle and Roy Trubshaw in BCPL . It was later ported to C++ and used in other MUDs such as MIST . In 1980, Roy Trubshaw created MUD version 3 in BCPL (the predecessor of C ), to conserve memory and make

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