If you've never played a MUD before, then you will find Medievia's guided newbie (new player) tutorial a wonderful introduction to the world of multiplayer text games. You are given the option of taking or refusing this tour at the time of character creation, so more experienced players can jump right into the real gameplay.
With the new player tour, you begin your adventure in Medievia with a rather surreal but extremely useful conversation with an intelligent coyote. He serves as your guide, and under his careful watch you can execute an extensive series of commands, learning all the basic in's and out's of MUD play. Also included are a lot of Medievia-specific commands and concepts, which prepare you greatly for the coming journeys.
Those who know their way around MUDs may find this tutorial a bit dull, and may wish to skip it altogether and rely on the game's thorough help files for any commands that may be unfamiliar.
Once you complete your tour with the coyote, you can begin your adventure in Medievia in the training zone called "Refuge." Nearby is the Adventurer's Guild, in which you can purchase a series of useful documents such as a newbie handbook, a guide to the land of Medievia, and information on what to do should you die. All the documents are presented as "brochures," and this is a highly successful way of making help files more "in character," and preserving the sense of roleplay.
In Refuge, you are given a series of objectives and goals that you must complete in order to begin development of your character. By researching and exploring to complete these objectives, you will find yourself with nearly all the knowledge you need in order to proceed with your life in Medievia. Anything you can't easily discover on your own is written in detail on a series of signs sprinkled around the Refuge area.
Old and New MUDders alike will note the striking WHO list at any given time. There are hundreds of active players in Medievia, and 99% of the names on the WHO list are very appropriate, serious names that are in keeping with the game's theme. This suggests that the admin keep a tight reign on the kinds of names their players assume, which is great. By cutting down on the potential silliness a few troublemakers can cause, Medievia's admin have promoted the Fantasy atmosphere and sense of roleplay.
Go To Page: 1 2
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Dina Ely's Online Text Games topic, please visit the Discussions page.