Virtual worlds

From AdamWiki

I've built or helped build a number of virtual worlds. Most are gone now. Things do not last long in cyberspace. I was one of the staff on a MUSH called Haven: The Free City. When the game was closed down for technical reasons, Steph and I decided to move our tabletop role-playing game to the net and FiranMUX was born.

FiranMUX

Steph and I have become experts in managing a large project staffed by volunteers. It took 2-3 years to get FiranMUX to the point that we could open to players and we haven't stopped developing since. It's codebase is one of the most complex examples of MUSH softcode built to-date and it ranks in the top five most active MUSHes on the net. Like any other successful project, it has its detractors. We know Firan has its flaws, but it makes a lot of players happy and we consider it a great success.

The strength of Firan lies in the community of players and staff we've built. Strong communities of good players rarely form by accident. Steph and I have cultured a virtual community through a half dozen channels including on-game discussion channels, web forums, email bulletins, a web page, and annual "real life" get-togethers. The last FiranCon was attended by 70 players.

Firan is an enormous engine of connected game systems that was challenging to architect. Changing one piece of a small system can have unexpected repercussions across the game. I've learned that social systems can be engineered through code, despite the common wisdom to the contrary, but it's usually harder than it's worth.

One of Firan's contributions to MUSH gaming is encouraging dynasties of families within the game. I'm not saying Firan did it first, but I think we popularized it. It's possible to play an adult character that other characters remember running around in swaddling clothes. The third generation of Firan characters is currently on our roster, available for play. The family ties and history is one of the appeals of our game.

Nomic

Nomic is a funny little game that is about changing the rules of the game. I've always had a fascination with it. I put together NomicMUSH, an experiment that ran for half a year or so before we let it die off. In late 2004, I build WikiNomic, another experiment of Nomic played via a wiki like the one this web page is on.

The Future?

I'm not sure what I'll do next. People ask me if Firan will still be around in 8 years. I don't know. I counter by asking them if they're committing to playing the game for the next 8 years. Steph and I have some goals we want to accomplish with the game, some large-scale story arcs we would like to complete, and once those are done, who knows?

I've toyed with the idea of stripping everything "Firan" (thematically) out of the game and rebranding it as an fantasy-Egyptian game or a feudal-European game. It would be a relatively small amount of work and could create something with fresh opportunities.

I'm also considering ways to host democratically-run role-playing games online.

Time will tell what I do next.