Lumen et Umbra: re-imagining a world between light and shadow
September 30, 2025
Learn how Simone, AKA Niymiae, rebuilt the Italian game Lumen et Umbra from its Diku roots into a one-of-a-kind hack-n-slash MUD with ARPG influences.
ReadAuthor: Andruid
About
Andruid (she/her) is a writer, roleplayer, storyteller, and nerd who tries to live by Bill and Ted wisdom, i.e. "Be excellent to each other." She created Writing Games to share lessons learned and to introduce new players to the world of text-based games. Learn more.
Too many MUDs, not enough players?
August 20, 2025
We've all heard it, but is it true? And does that mean it's a lost cause to make a new MUD in 2025? Andruid shares her two cents.
MudVault: a new way to discover MUDs
August 18, 2025
Asmodeus, creator of MudVault and admin of Dark Wizardry, is building tools to make MUDs easier to find, fairer to rank, and more fun to play - all while keeping the focus on user experience.
GoMud: a lightweight engine for building text-based worlds
July 21, 2025
Volte6, creator of GoMud, talks about the new engine, what it's like to make a project open-source, and lessons learned along the way.
Federation 2 Community Edition: from hauling cargo to shaping the galaxy
June 29, 2025
Federation 2: Community Edition is a player-run revival of a space trading MUD. Jonathan (“Cosmo”) shares how it came back from the brink - and why it's still special 30+ years later.
Bridging virtual worlds: past and future of the InterMUD chat network
June 12, 2025
Long before Discord, MUD devs were building their own cross-game chat networks. From experimental setups to modern web protocols, this post dives into the sometimes dramatic history of InterMUD - and why some games are still keeping it alive today.
LociTerm MUD client and the legacy of The Last Outpost
June 8, 2025
Discover how RahjIII built LociTerm - an accessible, browser-based MUD client - to keep The Last Outpost and other games playable on any device.
A picture worth a thousand rooms: the Worldmap project by Hades_Kane and Grieffels
May 22, 2025
Discover how Hades_Kane and Grieffels built a worldmap system that lets you quickly make areas from PNG files. Includes screen reader support, in-game editing, and more.
3 Years of Writing Games: a look back
March 16, 2025
To celebrate Writing Games' third anniversary, I present compelling insights and key takeaways from all the year 1 interviews in a single post!
Text-based adventure games: from Zork to AI Dungeon
February 15, 2025
Learn about the history and evolution of text-based adventure games, from the classic Zork to the modern AI Dungeon platform.
MUDing mistakes and surprising lessons learned
December 3, 2024
In this installment, I describe a text game blunder I made and the lessons I took away from the experience about mistakes, reputation, and trust in MU* games.
How long should room descriptions be when building a MU*?
September 18, 2024
New MU* creators and builders often want to know how long their room descriptions should be. Find out in this post.
Making a MUD vs. creating a game: is there a difference?
August 26, 2024
So you're making a MUD: does that also make you a Game Creator? Is there a difference? Find out in this installment of Ask Andruid.
AI-written content in online RP games: “it’s ruining my experience”
August 4, 2024
What can you do if your fellow players are using AI to do their writing in your favorite text-based roleplaying game? Read on for some food for thought.
Draped in wealth: 10 luxury furs and leathers worn by the elite
July 29, 2024
A hand-picked list of luxury furs and leathers used throughout history. For writers and world-builders looking to craft wealthy characters and settings.