I've been a player of text-based MUDs for about five years, and I've always been fascinated by them. Despite the fact that the majority of MUDs today are simply carbon copies of another, uninspired and lifeless, there are some real gems, some of which even have subscription fees. I've tried my hand at writing a MUD from scratch once before, and it turned out decently with me working by myself, but I'm strongly considering trying again and investing much more of my time into the project. Seeing that I do not have as much free time as I used to, and that I continually need income, one of the first questions that popped into my head was; what is the chance that I could generate money from a MUD? Of course, the first thing I did was ask myself whether I would pay for a MUD or not. The answer I came up with would be "no", unless it is very well made and the monthly fee is low, or there is an optional one time fee for access to more features. Even given those stringent requirements, I can't imagine it could be that difficult to design a MUD that is more unique than the current crop. Nearly every "top 20" MUD I've played runs off a codebase I've seen before, with the same interface, the same "Adventurer's School", and the same boring gameplay system. Programming is a different matter, but that's the only thing I need to worry about is that aspect of the game (no sound or graphics, of course). Since game design is for another forum, let's assume I do in fact create a MUD that is enjoyable and unique, and a breath of fresh air for the average MUD gamer. At this point, I really don't know if anyone would pay anything for it, as there ARE a handful of well-made, free MUDs like Achaea that are already very deep. Would a $5 fee for progressing past a certain level, or $10 per 3 month subscription fee be reasonable? Is it hopeless to even begin this endeavor with profit in mind?

I'm sure people would pay, if you find the right people, and offer them something unique. I'd say you need to give the business model more thought though. Most of the MUDs that are profitable these days are letting people play for free but selling certain items and perks. A subscription fee tends to drive away a large proportion of the audience, and MUDs rely on a community even more than an MMORPG would because MUDs tend to be more social. Therefore, instead of thinking of a non-paying player as a drain on your finances, maybe think of them as independently-provided content for your paying players to consume.

There are some muds who allow the players to add onto the world. For instance, in a mud running the pennmush engine (or any of the other hundred derivatives of tinymush) players can create items and give them unique abilities. A careful owner system keeps players from doing anything malicious. Perhaps this can only be open to paying players. There are many obstacles to overcome, of course. It would be much more involved than a probably dangerous "give me $20 and I'll make you a wiz" system. I think people might pay for the priviledge of adding onto the world - if there are enough other players to enjoy their work, and you can keep malicious players from destroying the game.

The question isn't "Are players willing to pay for MUD's?" Instead, you should ask yourself: "Is the number of players willing to pay for a MUD growing, shrinking, or remaining constant?"

Unless someone (maybe you, but it could be anyone) starts a massive effort to re-acquaint gamers with MUD's and to educate the new gamers about MUD's, I don't see the market growing anytime soon. I predict that best you (or anyone else without a fat marketing/PR budget) could accomplish would be to pull paying players from some other MUD.

MUD's will be around forever, and it's possible they will see a resurgence. On the other hand...films from the silent era are still around too, and have very devoted fans...not a lot of silent films are getting made these days, though, nor likely are they ever to be made in any real quantity again.

-David

The market has already shown that it isn't interested in typing (be it a MUD or a text adventure). There will always be a small market but it isn't going to suddenly expand - in general people don't like typing.

However, don't underestimate the benefits of catering well to a small audience over trying to compete with a couple of thousand others for the majority audience. Just don't expect a $50,000 turnover.

I suppose that's kind of what I expected. I didn't plan on making a lot of money from this, but a source of income is still a source of income, even if it's small.

Kylotan and Deyja brought up some interesting points about pay structure, but I'm not sure about implementing them. The idea of paying money for specific perks or items is one that sounds good, but, in practice, doesn't work out so well. I know because I've tried it in an earlier online game of mine; I made various powerful items available to players for a small fee, and quickly, a select few players with a lot of money became overwhelmingly dominant. I imagine that would be the case on a larger scale with a MUD as well, so I would tend to stay away from a system like that.

On the other hand, granting players the ability to add on to the world for a small fee, or granting them a one-time bulk set of features or perks could very well work. I understand what has been said about subscription fees and how they might discourage players, so perhaps one of these two suggested systems would work. I've never used any of the codebases mentioned, however, so I'm wondering how exactly the player would have the ability to add on to the world if they were allowed to.

Quote: Original post by Kylotan
However, don't underestimate the benefits of catering well to a small audience .......

Indeed, go for the small audience.

On the issue of generating extra revenue I would avoid selling extra power. In a small game community will be important and selling power will be divisive. What would be better would be to sell access to secret areas, maybe just for a limited time.

For example, the user can visit the oracle and pay a real money fee. The oracle will then inform them that if the go to the edge of a lake (with up to four companions) and utter a magic phrase, something of value will be revealed.

The player gets his mates and does as instructed and a boat appears. It carries them into the fog until they reach a magic island. The oracle appears and informs them they have X time on the island. It is like a shopping mall dash.... they fight unusual monsters or hunt for treasure before they have to leave. Nothing too powerful but stuff you can't find elsewhere.

Then when they return the game starts to generate rumours about their adventures and their fame increases. - The get unique stuff rather than over powered stuff.

Quote: Original post by zircon_st
The idea of paying money for specific perks or items is one that sounds good, but, in practice, doesn't work out so well.

Achaea and Medievia are counter-examples. Both pay well enough to sustain the owners as full-time jobs, and both allow free play with purchasable perks. Not all the perks have to be powerful in game terms; they can be status symbols, for example.

Look: http://www.achaea.com/credits.htm

No doubt this page changes from time to time, but at the moment they're selling luxury food! Changing what is on offer probably reduces 'shopper fatigue' and reduces the risk of the game being eventually flooded by certain items. It also makes those items more desirable (ie. more likely to bring you revenue) because you never know if they'll ever become available again. It's very cunning. :)

You say you've played Muds for 5 years, but only scratched the surface of creating one?
Muds are an expensive investment of time, either playing or creating. It's around the
clock maintenance, 24hrs a day. It's a type of micro-management that I try to avoid.
In my opinion, the amount of time you put into it is not profitable.