What!? No Pictures?? When less is so much more... (Online Games in general)

Member Name: ladybahnsidhe

Product:	Online Games in general
Date:	10/02/01 (83 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interactive adventure, roleplaying, combat and skill systems -- a chance to pretend you're the hero you always wanted to be

Disadvantages: Well... no pictures. But you'll never miss them.

I always find myself repressing a chuckle when I read the latest video and pc game reviews with their raves of superior graphics and unmatched special effects. Don't get me wrong. I'm a graphic designer. I adore well-done graphics. But when I play pc games, I play online MUDs and RPGs -- text-based adventure and roleplaying games.

Text-based?? The first reaction I hear from many video game afficianadoes is -- What? No graphics?? To which my answer is -- oh, yes! The best graphics, the ones my mind supplies. No graphical game, however technologically advanced, can match the pictures in my head, and that's the graphics engine used in text based games.

Imagine this...

You are on a low hill in the southern hillocks several miles north of the Border. The landscape ripples in all directions, a moving panorama of green and gold. To the northwest, the southern marshlands shimmer slightly and far to the south the grass takes on unnatural hues as it approaches the poisonous effects of the Border.

A nomadic warrior crests the hill and rushes you, spear drawn and aimed at your midsection!

Or this...

A soft breeze whispers in the air, carrying with it the scent of spring flowers and new grass. White railings carved with intricate scrollwork surround the wooden floor of the gazebo. Beyond the railings, the carefully tended park extends in all directions, a haven of serenity in the busy city.
Lyseria Whitelynx leans against the railing, looking out over the park.

Those are two of the literally thousands of scenes in which my various characters have stood, acted, spoken, fought, lived and loved. Text adventure gaming offers all the advantages of graphical games - social interaction, adventure, romance, danger. You can form alliances, make enemies, slay and be slain, romance a queen, become a mermaid or an elf or a centaur or... the choices depend on the game you choose.

BUT! Your vision of the
land is a collaborative effort between you and the writer. You are not confined to choosing an 'avatar' to represent you and present your appearance to others. You make your own description, using words to flavor it and influence others. You use words to describe your actions and gestures. No animated photo can replace the picture my mind generates when I read:
Samoril's lip curls in disdain as his gaze passes over you.
In fact, when I played a few of the more popular graphical MUDs, the pictures detracted from the experience greatly. That's NOT what I pictured things as looking like.

Disadvantages? Well, you don't have pictures. If you're a person who needs pictures to fuel your fantasy, text-based is not for you. If your reading, typing and writing skills are poor, you'll find most text-based MUDs are hard going. They WILL take up far more of your time than you ever planned on. If you end up on a pay-for-play game, it will cost you money. And undoubtedly, the pay-for-plays offer higher quality than many of the freebie MUDs.

If, however, you are the kind of person who regularly says, "The book was better.", then head on over to The Mud Connector (www.mudconnector.com) and pick a MUD. You'll never know how good the graphics can be till you try gaming without them.

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