NarniaMUCK

In a world with graphical MMOs, Mucks and their ilk are a dying breed. But they offer something that Final Fantasy, Guild Wars, and Sims don't: organized role playing.

Reading through some of the players' histories just now, I saw that Caerca had been RP'ing informally on a fan site. My daughter has been RP'ing similarly with her friends on some instant message thing, inspired by a web comic where all the characters speak in texts. I think organized role playing is a niche, not a huge niche, but not a tiny one either.

So that's some thoughts I've had on mucks in general lately. Discussion questions: What is the future of mucks? of NarniaMUCK? Of online organized role play?

Yeah, I have a sister who does "instant message role-play" which is kind of fun. MUCKs I think add a lot more you can do with that idea, and a place where you can find friends of similar interests who want to do it with you.

I think MUCKs, especially ones like ours, which take place in a world that is already established, also open up a whole new realm of fanfiction, which is a pretty interesting idea.

The ability to not lose your own interpretations of the story. For example, in an MMO, the developers decide what Lucy looks like. In the MUCK, we go with the description Lewis gives, leaving more to the imagination. When I read Lucy's description, I might be imagining she looks like my RL cousin, whereas someone else may imagine she looks like their RL younger sister.
There is also a lot more room for creativity. In an MMO, you are stuck with 4 or 5 prefabbed eyes and 2 or 3 prefabbed mouths, and all you can do is make combinations thereof. In a MUCK, I am only limited by my ability to describe what I look like.