MUD Wiki
Don't have an account?
Register
Advertisement
Register
in: Timelines of video games, Role-playing video games, Video game lists by genre,
and 4 more

Chronology of MUDs

Edit

This is a chronological list of notable MUDs with summary information.

Legend
Title Aradath
Founded 1984
Closed Sometime prior to 1991
Business model Aradath was part of Gamer's World, a monthly-subscription based site that cost $40 per month. A,U,S.I. had previously launched the system with one game (Galaxy) and then added Aradath to it a few months later.
Developer A.U.S.I. (Adventures Unlimited Software Inc.) was founded by Mark Jacobs. A.U.S.I would operate the site for a number of years and thanks to Richard Mulligan, its games were ported over to GEnie.
Publisher Any third parties that published the MUD. A blank entry indicates independent publication. "Independent" may also appear with a list of third parties to indicate that the MUD was independently published in addition to being published by third parties.
Setting A summary of the genre of the MUD's setting or, if applicable, the specific setting it is based on.
Style A summary of the style or styles of interaction the MUD focuses on.
Family The general family of MUD server software that the MUD is associated with, if any.
Codebase The codebase was in C and developed entirely by Mark Jacobs. It used the QNX operating system.
Mudlib It was not based on any other mudlib
Contributions Aradath and then Dragon's Gate had contributions from a number of people, including Dave Dickinson who help run, create, and expand upon the worlds created for the games. And Dragon's Gate had the invaluable aid/assistance of Darrin Hyrup without whom DGate may have not successfully run on GEnie and then later on the Internet. A number of other people helped as well but unfortunately, their names have been lost to time. I would be happy to add them.
Notes Aradath and its successor, Dragon's Gate are both mentioned in Raph Koster's Online World Timeline - https://www.raphkoster.com/games/the-online-world-timeline/
Title Founded Closed Business model Developer Publisher Setting Style Family Codebase Mudlib Contri­butions Notes
MUD1 1978 Free Roy Trubshaw, Richard Bartle Fantasy Hack and slash Essex MUDDL MUDDL The first MUD; see also British Legends
MAD 1984 1986 Free Bruno Chabrier, Vincent Lextrait BITNET Fantasy Hack and slash
Island of Kesmai 1985 2000 Subscription Kesmai CompuServe Fantasy Hack and slash, roguelike See also Legends of Kesmai
MUD2 1985 Free Richard Bartle Fantasy Hack and slash Essex MUDDL Successor to MUD1
MIST 1986 1991 Free Michael Lawrie et al. Cross-genre satire Hack and slash Essex MUDDL
AberMUD 1987 1987 Free Alan Cox, Richard Acott, Jim Finnis, Leon Thrane Fantasy Hack and slash AberMUD AberMUD AberMUD The first AberMUD
British Legends 1987 1999 Subscription Roy Trubshaw, Richard Bartle CompuServe Fantasy Hack and slash Essex MUDDL Commercial version of MUD1
GemStone 1988 Subscription Simutronics GEnie, AOL, independent High fantasy Hack and slash
TinyMUD 1989 1990 Free James Aspnes Cross-genre Social MU* TinyMUD TinyMUD
TinyHELL 1989 1990 Free Russ Smith et al. Cross-genre Social MU* TinyMUD
Genesis LPMud 1989 Free Lars Pensjö, Carl Hallén, Jakob Hallén, Lennart Augustsson, Johan Andersson, Anders Chrigström, Ronny Wikh, Stas van der Schaaf, Tony Elmroth, Dave Richards, Thornsten Lockert, Felix Croes et al. Medieval fantasy Roleplaying LPMud LPMud, CD CD LPMud, CD gamedriver and mudlib The first LPMud
TinyTIM 1990 Free Jason Scott Sadofsky et al. Cross-genre Social MU* TinyMUD, MUSH
BatMUD 1990 Pay for perks B.A.T. ry Fantasy Hack and slash, player versus player LPMud LPMud
NannyMUD 1990 Free Mats Persson, Thomas Padron-McCarthy, Fredrik Hübinette et al. Fantasy Hack and slash LPMud LPMud 1.1.2, LPMud 2.4.5, LPMud 3.1.2
FurryMUCK 1990 Donation-supported Furry Social, roleplaying MU* TinyMUCK
Shattered World 1990 Free Geoff Wong et al. Medieval fantasy Roleplaying LPMud LPMud 2.4.5, SWLPC SWLPC
Darker Realms 1990 Free Medieval fantasy Hack and slash LPMud LPMud 2.4.5, LPMud 3.1.2 LPMud 2.4.5
LambdaMOO 1990 Free Pavel Curtis et al. Xerox PARC, independent Cross-genre Social MU* MOO LambdaCore
MicroMUSE 1990 Free Cross-genre Educational, social MU* MUSH, TinyMUSE TinyMUSE Arguably first educational MUD
Lost Souls 1990 Pay for perks Michael Rice, Rebecca Willey, Matthew Sheahan et al. Medieval fantasy Hack and slash, roleplaying LPMud LPMud 2.4.5, LPMud 3.1.2, Amylaar, LDMud Ain Soph
Tubmud 1990 Free Medieval fantasy Hack and slash, roleplaying LPMud LPMud 2.4.5, Amylaar, LDMud Tublib First MUD hosted in Germany
Ancient Anguish 1991 Donation-supported Balz Meierhans, Olivier Maquelin et al. Fantasy Hack and slash LPMud Amylaar Loch Ness
Armageddon 1991 Donation-supported, freebie marketing Dan Brumleve, Nasri Hajj, Santiago Zorzopulos, Cat Rambo et al. Post-apocalyptic low fantasy Roleplaying DikuMUD DikuMUD
DartMUD 1991 Donation-supported Jonathan Clemens et al. Fantasy Hack and slash, roleplaying LPMud LPMud First use of ASCII hex system
DikuMUD 1991 1991 Free Sebastian Hammer, Michael Seifert, Hans Henrik Staerfeldt, Tom Madsen, Katja Nyboe Fantasy Hack and slash DikuMUD DikuMUD DikuMUD Refers to the first DikuMUD at freja.diku.dk 4000
Discworld MUD 1991 Free David Bennett, Craig Richmond, Sean A. Reith, Evan Scott, Derek Harding, Jake Greenland et al. Discworld Hack and slash, roleplaying, social LPMud LPMud, MudOS, FluffOS Discworld Discworld mudlib, FluffOS
Dragon's Gate 1991 2006 Subscription Darrin Hyrup GEnie, AOL, Mythic Realms, independent Fantasy Hack and slash, roleplaying
Elendor 1991 Free Lord of the Rings Roleplaying, social MU* MUSH
NANVAENT 1991 Free Roger Dubar et al. Medieval fantasy Hack and slash LPMud LPMud, MudOS, FluffOS Discworld
PernMUSH 1991 Free Pern Roleplaying, social MU* MUSH
Star Wars MUSH 1991 Free Star Wars Roleplaying, social MU* MUSH
StickMUD 1991 Pay for perks Pekka Timonen, Niilo Paasivirta, Otto J. Mäkelä, Tero Vaananen et al. Medieval fantasy Hack and slash, player versus player LPMud LPMud, LDMud LPMud 2.4.5, StickLib
Tapestries MUCK 1991 Free Furry Roleplaying, social MU* TinyMUCK
Xyllomer 1991 Free Fantasy Roleplaying LPMud LPMud, DGD CD First public DGD MUD
SlothMUD 1992 Free Fantasy Hack and slash DikuMUD 0.0 Gamma Diku MUDL scripting language http://www.slothmud.org/mudl/reference/| As of January 2013 SlothMUD will be 21 years old
Northern Crossroads 1992 Free Fantasy Hack and slash DikuMUD
Nuclear War MUD 1992 Free Post-apocalyptic cyberpunk Hack and slash, player versus player LPMud MudOS LPMud 2.4.5
Empire 1992 2010 Free Farhaj Hashmi et al. Medieval fantasy Hack and slash, player versus player, roleplaying DikuMUD DikuMUD
Genocide 1992 Free Fantasy Player versus player LPMud LPMud, MudOS, Amylaar First "pure PK" MUD
Holy Mission 1992 Free Fantasy Hack and slash LPMud LPMud LPMud 2.4.5
AmberMUSH 1992 2009 Free Jennifer Smith et al. Amber Roleplaying MU* TinyMUSH
Infinity (LPMud) 1992 Free Peter William Friedman, Bill Mackiewicz et al. Cross-genre Hack and slash, social, player versus player LPMud LPMud 3.1.2, LDMud LPMud 2.4.5
JediMUD 1992 Free Jeremy Elson et al. Cross-genre Hack and slash DikuMUD CircleMUD
Medievia 1992 Pay for perks Michael A. Smith, Anthony Rowley, Michael Krause et al. Fantasy Hack and slash DikuMUD Merc MSP
MUME 1992 Free Philippe Rochat, Claude Indermitte, Pier Donini, David Gay, Gustav Hållberg et al. Lord of the Rings Hack and slash, player versus player, roleplaying DikuMUD DikuMUD Mudlle
3Kingdoms 1992 Pay for perks Cross-genre Hack and slash LPMud LDMud
Nightmare LPMud 1992 2005 Free George Reese et al. Fantasy Hack and slash, roleplaying LPMud MudOS Nightmare Nightmare Mudlib
Northern Lights 1992 Free Anna Eklund, Gjermund Sørseth et al. Medieval fantasy Hack and slash AberMUD Dirt
Ragnarök 1992 Donation-supported Medieval fantasy Hack and slash LPMud LPMud LPMud 2.4.5
The Shadow of Yserbius 1992 1996 Subscription Sierra On-Line The Sierra Network, The ImagiNation Network, AOL Fantasy Hack and slash, graphical
MorgenGrauen 1992 Free Medieval fantasy Hack and slash LPMud LDMud MorgenGrauen MorgenGrauen Mudlib
Diversity University 1993 2006 Free Jeanne McWhorter et al. Modern Educational MU* MOO First educational MOO, arguably first educational MUD
BioMOO 1993 2001 Free Gustavo Glusman, Jaime Prilusky et al. Modern Educational MU* MOO File Utilities Package, intermoo GNA Network
Infinity (AberMUD) 1993 Free Fantasy Hack and slash AberMUD AberMUD
BayMOO 1993 Free Tim Keanini et al. Modern Social, Educational MU* MOO
MediaMOO 1993 Free Amy S. Bruckman et al. Modern educational MU* MOO
Sojourn 1993 1996 Free Kris Kortright, Tim Devlin, John Bashaw et al. Forgotten Realms Hack and slash DikuMUD Sequent
Muddy Waters 1993 Free Historical fantasy Hack and slash LPMud CD CD
DragonSpires 1994 1997 Pay for perks Dragon's Eye Productions Fantasy Social, roleplaying, graphical
LegendMUD 1994 Free Raph Koster, Kristen Koster, Rick Delashmit, Sherry Delashmit et al. Historical fantasy Hack and slash DikuMUD DikuMUD
Realms of Despair 1994 Free Derek Snider et al. Fantasy Hack and slash DikuMUD Merc 2, SMAUG SMAUG
Sociopolitical Ramifications 1994 Free Martin Gauffin, Henrik Isacsson et al. Furry Roleplaying, social MU* TinyMUCK
The Two Towers 1994 Free Lord of the Rings Hack and slash, roleplaying, player versus player LPMud MudOS TMI-2
Dune II 1994 1996 Free John Robertson et al. Dune Roleplaying, social MU* TinyMUSH
Costello 1995 Freebie marketing Costello Publications Fantasy Educational LPMud MudOS Ain Soph
LinguaMOO 1995 Free Cynthia Haynes, Jan Rune Holmevik et al. Modern Educational MU* MOO
The Ruins of Cawdor 1995 1996 Subscription Sierra On-Line The Sierra Network, The ImagiNation Network, AOL Fantasy Hack and slash, graphical
Accursed Lands 1996 Free Post-apocalyptic low-fantasy gothic horror Roleplaying LPMud MudOS Lima
BurningMUD 1996 Free Fantasy Hack and slash DikuMUD DikuMUD
DragonRealms 1996 Subscription Simutronics GEnie, AOL, CompuServe, Prodigy, Microsoft Gaming Zone, independent Fantasy Hack and slash, roleplaying, player versus player
Materia Magica 1996 Pay for perks Ingenii Interactive Medieval fantasy Hack and slash, roleplaying DikuMUD
MOOSE Crossing 1996 2007 Free Amy S. Bruckman et al. Modern Educational MU* MOO
Realms of Kaos 1996 Pay for perks UAN Entertainment Fantasy Hack and slash, graphical
Legends of Kesmai 1996 2000 Subscription Kesmai independent, AOL, GameStorm, EA Fantasy Hack and slash, graphical, roguelike Tile-graphics version of Island of Kesmai
Threshold 1996 Pay for perks Frogdice Fantasy Roleplaying LPMud LPMud, LDMud TMI-2
TorilMUD 1996 Free Kris Kortright et al. Forgotten Realms Hack and slash DikuMUD Sequent
Achaea, Dreams of Divine Lands 1997 Pay for perks, subscription Iron Realms Entertainment Fantasy Roleplaying Rapture ATCP
Alter Aeon 1997 Pay for perks Dennis Towne et al. Medieval fantasy Hack and slash DikuMUD DentinMUD
ifMUD 1997 Free Liza Daly et al. Interactive fiction Social MU* PerlMUD Hosts the XYZZY Awards
Darkness Falls: The Crusade 1999 2006 Subscription Mythic Entertainment GameStorm, AOL, Centropolis Entertainment Fantasy Player versus player
Nightmist 2000 Donation-supported Jonathan Leighton-Hoggett, Simon Crowder Fantasy Hack and slash, graphical
RuneScape 2001 Subscription, pay for perks Jagex Fantasy Hack and slash, graphical
TriadCity 2001 Pay for perks SmartMonsters Cross-genre Hack and slash, roleplaying
Wyvern 2001 Free Cabochon Inc. Fantasy Hack and slash, graphical, roguelike
God Wars II 2002 Free Richard Woolcock et al. Dark fantasy Player versus player DikuMUD Gladiator Pits II Gladiator Pits II, MSDP
Chronology of role-playing video games
Role-playing video games
  • 1974–1985
  • 1986–1987
  • 1988–1989
  • 1990–1991
  • 1992–1993
  • 1994–1995
  • 1996–1997
  • 1998–1999
  • 2000–2001
  • 2002–2003
  • 2004–2005
  • 2006–2007
  • 2008–2009
  • 2010–2011
  • 2012
  • Unreleased
Tactical role-playing games
  • to 1994
  • 1995–1999
  • 2000–2004
  • 2005–2009
  • 2010–2012
  • Unreleased
    • Other subgenres
  • Roguelikes
  • MUDs
    • See also
  • History of role-playing video games
  • List of Dungeons & Dragons video games
  • List of massively multiplayer online role-playing games
  • List of Super Famicom and Super Nintendo role-playing games
  • Timeline of role-playing games
    • This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Chronology of MUDs.
    The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with MUD Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA).
    Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
    Advertisement

    Fan Feed

    More MUD Wiki