Category: Interviews & Guests

Interviews and guest content with fellow game creators, storytellers, and roleplayers.

Images of games listed on MudVault, a new way to find and play MUDs.

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.

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GoMud's demo page with PLAY button and the title of the post.

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.

Grid map of planets and the text, "Federation 2: Community Edition".

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.

Faded chat log in the background and the text: The past and future of InterMUD chat.

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.

Title of the post overlaying The Last Outpost's ASCII intro screen featuring a castle.

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.

Sample worldmap continents painted pixel by pixel.

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.

A chocolate cake on a platter with a 3-shaped candle and the text: "3 Years of Writing Games: a look back".

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!

The title of the post laid over blue hexagons: "Designing game websites and systems: an interview with Blu and Roadspike."

Blu and Roadspike: on designing game websites and systems

July 24, 2024

Blu and Roadspike, two longtime members of the MUSH community, talk about their past games and lessons learned.

The Shattered MU runic symbol on a textured background.

Shattered MU: beyond monsters and magic

July 2, 2024

Tat, creator of Shattered MU (a post-apoc game), talks about the importance of community and shares her guidelines for game design.

AresMUSH logo with roman helmet and spear and the text: AresMUSH: The next-gen server platform for building MU* games.

AresMUSH: the next-gen server platform

May 19, 2024

Faraday talks about why she created AresMUSH, as well as some of the core tenets that went into its development.

A superhero mask and the title: "Excelsior! A roster-only Marvel superhero MU*"

Excelsior: new stories in a unique Marvel universe

May 4, 2024

Manu (Power) and Lae (Mind) share their experiences running Excelsior: a roster-only MUSH set in a unique Marvel universe.

The yellow-and-teal Python logo and the text: Evennia the open-source MU* creation system written in Python.

Evennia: a modern way to create MU*s

April 13, 2024

Learn about Evennia, the Python MU* creation system, from Griatch, the developer who's been working on the project for more than a decade.

A visual representation of a network, shaped round like a globe but giving the suggestion of an eye.

The Network: only the finest quality programming

March 25, 2024

Clockwork, mastermind behind The Network MU, shares lessons learned from years of creating and running online roleplaying games.

A player in a virtual environment and the text: Striking a balance: simulation vs. storytelling.

Striking a balance: simulation vs. storytelling in text-based roleplaying games

March 20, 2024

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Guest author Brandon Cross offers advice for MUD developers on how to use storytelling vs. simulation to create a more immersive game.

Two rugged landscapes with a dawning sun between them and the text: "Concordia MU: Write your own destiny."

Concordia MU: Write your own destiny

March 11, 2024

Spes, owner and co-creator of Concordia MU, talks about the many hats she wears and what she sees as her most important role in the game.

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