FurryMUCK | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Project community |
Engine | TinyMUCK |
Platform(s) | Platform independent |
Release | 1990 |
Genre(s) | Social MUD |
Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
FurryMUCK is one of the oldest and largest non-combat MUD-style games in existence. It was founded in 1990 [1] as an online gathering place for furry fans to meet and socialize in a virtual role-playing environment. [2] [3] Over time, FurryMUCK has become one of the central focal points for furry fandom, with a user base consisting of several thousand, with over 150 users regularly signed on simultaneously. [4]
Many furry fans state that their first exposure to furry fandom came from FurryMUCK. [5]
West Corner of the Park is the central meeting place within the MUCK. [6] It is held to a non-explicit rating [7] and is generally continually populated. Visitors will emerge into the Park. There also was a webcomic of the same name which is set on FurryMUCK, usually in the park. [8]
The first MUDs appeared in 1978, and provided a text-based virtual world focused on adventure. While the first MUDs were clearly focused on the game, things changed in 1989 when Jim Aspnes released TinyMUD. TinyMUD allowed users to focus on building and socialisation, rather than game playing. [9] It did not take long until TinyMUD had emerged as the "most popular MUD on the internet", [10] and a subculture of furry fans emerged within the system. These players "described themselves as anthropomorphic animals", and proved to be "somewhat controversial". [9]
With TinyMUD's success a number of alternative systems derived from TinyMUD's basic architecture emerged. [10] One of these variants was TinyMUCK, a program originally developed and released by Stephen White. [11] Piaw Na became interested in White's TinyMUCK in 1990, and decided to implement Forth as the programming language for development within the environment. The result was MUCK Forth (MUF), as implemented in TinyMUCK 2.0, which became the core to Na's short-lived AtlantisMUCK, which was launched in 1990. AtlantisMUCK grew to be "tremendously popular", but was shut down in August of that year. Nevertheless, by that time copies of Na's code had spread, [10] and by late 1990, FurryMUCK had been released using Na's version of TinyMUCK. [10] [12] According to Tina "Jahangiri" Smith, the founders of FurryMUCK were looking for a theme for their new MUCK, and "furries" emerged as an option. The aim was to combine furry fandom with the MUD's users — the former group needing a better method of communication, while the latter understood "high speed roleplay". [12] However, one early difficulty faced by the growing FurryMUCK community related to where to host the system. The original version of FurryMUCK was hosted at North Carolina State University until mid-1991, when it was forced to move. A new home was found at the University of California at Irvine, where it resided until November of that year. While at UC Irvine FurryMUCK was limited to 63 concurrent users. In November FurryMUCK moved again, this time to a server at Carnegie-Mellon University. It remained there until September 1992, when FurryMUCK was deleted and had to be restarted (with the loss of considerable work) at the University of Toronto. Toronto proved to be only a short-term home, and in October 1993, after a call for volunteers to host the system, it was moved to St. Norbert College. This time the address proved to be more stable, and FurryMUCK remained at St. Norbert until 1999, when it was finally relocated to a dedicated server. [12]
At times, FurryMUCK has undergone turmoil in response to Internet content legislative efforts. [13]
In spite of the many moves, FurryMUCK grew rapidly, and by 1995 was regarded as one of the "most successful MUDs". [9] A Wired.com article called FurryMUCK "the first anthropomorphic MUD.". [14] Four years later, in 1999, FurryMUCK had become "one of the longest-running and best-maintained social MUCKs online", [15] and it is still online today.
LambdaMOO is an online community of the variety called a MOO. It is the oldest MOO today.
A MUD is a multiplayer real-time virtual world, usually text-based or storyboarded. MUDs combine elements of role-playing games, hack and slash, player versus player, interactive fiction, and online chat. Players can read or view descriptions of rooms, objects, other players, and non-player characters, and perform actions in the virtual world that are typically also described. Players typically interact with each other and the world by typing commands that resemble a natural language, as well as using a character typically called an avatar.
In multiplayer online games, a MUSH is a text-based online social medium to which multiple users are connected at the same time. MUSHes are often used for online social intercourse and role-playing games, although the first forms of MUSH do not appear to be coded specifically to implement gaming activity. MUSH software was originally derived from MUDs; today's two major MUSH variants are descended from TinyMUD, which was fundamentally a social game. MUSH has forked over the years and there are now different varieties with different features, although most have strong similarities and one who is fluent in coding one variety can switch to coding for the other with only a little effort. The source code for most widely used MUSH servers is open source and available from its current maintainers.
Cybersex, also called computer sex, Internet sex, netsex and, colloquially, cyber or cybering, is a virtual sex encounter in which two or more people have long distance sex via electronic video communication and other electronics connected to a computer network.
The furry fandom is a subculture interested in anthropomorphic animal characters. Examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, speaking, walking on two legs, and wearing clothes. The term "furry fandom" is also used to refer to the community of people who gather on the internet and at furry conventions.
Elendor is a free online text-based multi-user game that simulates the environment of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. Users create characters by determining species, sex, culture, description, history and then role-playing with other users within the setting and atmosphere of Tolkien's world. For the purposes of consistency, the game accepts The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion and to a lesser extent the other works of Tolkien as canonical materials. The time frame is shortly before the onset of the main events of The Lord of the Rings with Bilbo having gone to Rivendell. The game is run on a MUSH server using a variant of PennMUSH.
BatMUD is a medieval fantasy MUD, established in 1990. BatMUD is Finland-based and operated and owned by a non-profit organization, Balanced Alternative Techniques ry, officially registered 1994 in Helsinki, Finland.
Ancient Anguish, abbreviated AA, is a fantasy-themed MUD, a text-based online role-playing game. Founded in 1991 by Balz "Zor" Meierhans and Olivier "Drake" Maquelin, it opened to the public on February 2, 1992. It is free-to-play, but has been supported by player donations since 1994.
Discworld MUD is a popular MUD, a text-based online role-playing game, set in the Discworld as depicted in the Discworld series of books by Terry Pratchett.
Furcadia is a free-to-play MMOSG/MMORPG or graphical MUD, set in a fantasy world inhabited by magical creatures. The game is based on user-created content with emphasis on world building tools, exploring, socializing, and free-form roleplaying. Furcadia hosts a large volunteer program called the Beekin Helpers, allowing players to help with community moderation, welcoming new players, handling in-game technical support, running in game events, creating art for the game itself, accessing and updating the game's website, and bug hunting. Furcadia holds the Guinness World Records title for the longest continuously running social MMORPG and in addition to being one of the first games to heavily encourage modding and let users build virtual worlds for themselves, it was also one of the first freemium online games. In 2008, Furcadia was reported as having over 60,000 players.
LPMud, abbreviated LP, is a family of MUD server software. Its first instance, the original LPMud game driver, was developed in 1989 by Lars Pensjö. LPMud was innovative in its separation of the MUD infrastructure into a virtual machine and a development framework written in the LPC programming language.
A mob, short for mobile or mobile object, is a computer-controlled non-player character (NPC) in a video game such as an MMORPG or MUD. Depending on context, every and any such character in a game may be considered to be a "mob", or usage of the term may be limited to hostile NPCs and/or NPCs vulnerable to attack.
"A Rape in Cyberspace, or How an Evil Clown, a Haitian Trickster Spirit, Two Wizards, and a Cast of Dozens Turned a Database into a Society" is an article written by freelance journalist Julian Dibbell and first published in The Village Voice in 1993. The article was later included in Dibbell's book My Tiny Life on his LambdaMOO experiences.
MU* is an abbreviation which refers collectively to a family of text-based multi-user virtual world servers comprising:
A MOO is a text-based online virtual reality system to which multiple users (players) are connected at the same time.
TinyMUCK or, more broadly, a MUCK, is a type of user-extendable online text-based role-playing game, designed for role playing and social interaction. Backronyms like "Multi-User Chat/Created/Computer/Character/Carnal Kingdom" and "Multi-User Construction Kit" are sometimes cited, but are not the actual origin of the term; "muck" is simply a play on the term MUD.
Genocide is a MUD, a text-based online game, focused exclusively on player-killing. Founded in 1992, it was influential as the first such "pure PK" MUD, and has met with positive critical response. Genocide's ideas influenced a number of MUDs that emulated its pure player-versus-player orientation.
3Kingdoms, abbreviated 3K, is a MUD, a text-based online role-playing game, founded in 1992.
This is a glossary of terms common in MUD multiplayer virtual worlds.
1990 [...] FurryMUCK opens. It features avatars who are anthropomorphic animals.
FurryMUCK While LambdaMOO gets all the press, Furry is both the most famous and most infamous among people who actually play MUDs. A large and devoted clientele enjoy its theme of anthropomorphic animals—"furries."
[...] or be a sleek, post-pubescent otter on FurryMuck, where you can have Netsex with a fish.
Like the Discworld MUD, FurryMUCK regularly has over 150 players online [...]
The largest social nexus of FurryMUCK is the West Corner of the Central Park.
The wizards frequently have to scold people who have wandered into G-rated West Corner of the Park on sex-based escapades.