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MUD AN ARCHITECTURAL COMPUTER GAME. The hand drawn scheme of the first large area computer network consisting of 4 nodes in 1969. 1.1.
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The hand drawn scheme of the first large area computer network consisting of 4 nodes in 1969 1.1
“Sequences of virtual entries and exits create a new kind of architectural promenade, and yield the possibility of exploring an extended territory. A vivid sense of space is produced simply by progression and branching. This is core trope of MUDs and MOOs, and of on-line games like Doom.” William Mitchell 1.2
“You are stood on a narrow road between The Land and whence you came. To the north and south are the small foothills of a pair of majestic mountains, with a large wall running round. To the west the road continues, where in the distance you can see a thatched cottage opposite an ancient cemetery. The way out is to the east, where a shroud of mist covers the secret pass by which you entered The Land.” “Elizabethan tearoom. This cosy, Tudor period room is where all MUD adventures start. Its exposed oak beams and soft, velvet-covered furniture provide it with the ideal atmosphere in which to relax before venturing out into that strange, timeless realm. A sense of decency and decorum prevails, and a feeling of kinship with those who, like you, seek their destiny in The Land. When you are suitably composed, you may enter that domain by stepping through an opening to the north; however, you are welcome to stay here for as long as you like, sipping tea and watching the world go by.” 2.7
The user experiences the space of the MUD episodically, room by room. Although the conceptual structure of the MUD may contain thousands of spaces, the user typically only ‘sees’ the space she is in. ‘Seeing’ means reading a description – usually only a few lines that outline the room’s contents and configuration.“ Peter Anders 2.8
Being one of the most popular computer activities, ‘Multi-User Dungeons’ or MUD in short, can technically be described as a game, but it is also a medium for communication and socialization. • Text is the only tool of interaction and communication between players and computer. • A virtual ‘grid’ is the medium of existence for the identities of MUD, and this grid is composed of virtual spaces that are completely defined and ordered by the text. 2.1
“MUDs bring two things to the computers that host them-increased telecommunications traffic from everywhere and increased use of computer memory. One of the most famous of the nonviolent MUDs, Islandia, a TinyMUD at the University of California at Berkeley, grew to more than 3,000 players, of which more than 1,500 were active, and the database had expanded to 14,900 rooms.” Howard Rheingold 2.3
“A MUD is not goal-oriented; it has no beginning or end, no 'score', and no notion of 'winning' or 'success'. In short, even though user of MUDs are commonly called players, a MUD isn't a really a game at all.” Martin Keegan MUD stands for ‘Multi-User Dungeoms’. MUCK stands for ‘Multi-User Character Kingdom’. MOO stands for ‘MUD Object Oriented’. MUF stands for ‘Multi-User Fight’. MUA stands for ‘Multi-User Adventure’. MUSE stands for ‘Multi User Simulation Environment’. 2.9
What makes MUD so critical for architecture and the conceptualization of space is, its role to display a first-degree immateriality. It is possible to approach to MUD as a study platform of a first level employment of absolute space, unbounded from the constraints. 2.10
In fact, this simplicity and absoluteness being unbounded from the material and historical constraints, makes MUD interesting both for the users, and also for the researchers. This is true for all the contemporary science-fiction cults, which on one hand employ the latest technology in their communication medium, and on the other, leaving the whole system as a gap for the mental construction of the viewer. As weaker the cult is, as more its impact is. Such science-fiction cults generate a structure cut off from all the systems that we are familiar with. All of the components it covers up, races, types and rankings are in a far and undefined system, which is open to mental construct. This approach is reflected very well in the opening scene of The movie ‘Star Wars’ which begins with the words “ALong Time Ago, In A Galaxy, Far, Far Away …”. This is the breaking of all the ties with the system that we are acquainted with. It is not “far”, but ”far, far away”. So it has no relation to what we have now. 2.11
“Mortis's Hammock The fabric of hammock gives as you climb in. You notice it has an unusual quality of stretchiness and tightness enabling it to make room for several bodies comfortably. You grab one of several down pillows and crawl under a black comforter imprinted with tiny grey skulls. [ Exits: down ] Contents: Pink Triangle, Mortis” “Aiken-Lugonn's Sumptuous Apartment Tastefully decorated in white with black, purple, and gold trim, Aiken's apartment is lavish without being...too ostentatious. Overstuffed pillows in the Royal colors lie scattered randomly on the cool marble floor. A Maxfield Parrish winterscape glows blue from the east wall in the golden light of the bioluminescent lamps hanging from the ceiling. A crystal decanter of brandy sits amidst a sea of papers on a high table in a corner, its matching glasses resting on high chairs. [ Exits: Comment Unfavorably on the Music, Comment Favorably on the Music, Sit down, Pour Some Brandy ] Contents: Gustavef, Aiken-Lugonn, The Comfy Sword”. 3.1
default: send_to_char("Thats not something you'd want to put in your mouth.\n\r",ch); break; case ITEM_POTION: send_to_char("Potions cannot be tasted, you'll have to quaff it.\n\r",ch); break; case ITEM_FOOD: act("You take a small bite of $p.",ch,obj,NULL,TO_CHAR); act("$n takes a small bite of $p.",ch,obj,NULL,TO_ROOM); if(obj->value[3] != 0) /* poison */ { which = number_range(1,3); if(which == 1) send_to_char("A bitter taste floods your mouth!\n\r",ch); else if(which == 2) send_to_char("An acidic taste fills your mouth!\n\r",ch); else send_to_char("A disgusting taste fills your mouth!\n\r",ch); act("$p is poisoned!",ch,obj,NULL,TO_CHAR); act("$n spits out a bite of poison $p!",ch,obj,NULL,TO_ROOM); return; } 3.2
“A similar policy exists on LambdaMOO, where the 'Architecture Review Board', an association of players originally appointed by the Wizards and now elected by the LambdaMOO community, is empowered to decide whom the Wizards shall bestow greater building privileges upon: “To get a larger quota, you need to talk to some member of the Architecture Review Board. They will take a look at what you've done with the objects you've built so far and decide whether or not they think it would be a net gain for the LambdaMOO community if you were to build some more things.” ” 3.3
Each creative activity for the virtual world of MUD consists of two phases of definition process. One is the coding, where the creator defines the characteristics and features of the item, identity or the space that will be created. The other is the construction of the literal definition for the object or space to exist. In the digital world, design becomes once again a cooperative work of engineers and architects. Designer is confronted with a hard task. Creating the virtual space is a design activity, and coding the space, as a part of the larger system requires engineering skills and mathematics for coding. 3.4
“Click, click through cyberspace; this is the new architectural promenade.” William J. Mitchell MUD is a good example to display the characteristics of the virtual space and successful to transform architectural space into its absolute form. Internet will contribute to the construction of the features of the virtual space. Besides MUD, other computer games donate this identification. Finally, experimental projects on the digital production or the parametric design approaches may exhibit constructive results to understand the transformation of architectural space. All of these examples utilize the same medium of existence, that more or less, causes a distinction from the conventional norms of what is physical. Such distinction gives birth to a new form of space understanding, production and perception. 3.5
Structure and organization • grid-iron plan • equal rooms • teleporting and bugs: non-physical connections • “Adding to the difficulty of mapping, some rooms can’t be mapped logically because a MUD may contradict itself. For example, in real-life we expect reversibility. If I leave a space by going west, I should be able to return by going east. As a rule this is true of MUDs, however in DreamMOO, such an attempt at re-entry may unexpectedly lead to a third room.” • Peter Anders • Net rejects geometry • hypertext • computer games – they do not need roofs 4.1
Dynamic form • every node of information is under attack • continuous mutation of space • parametric design – control of parameters and algorithms • hybrid productions • banners and web page design • Marcos Novak – Navigable Music • MUD in continous mutation 4.10
Scaleless quality • no scale • Rooms of MUD, either generated by the original designer, or added to MUD world by a user, are ‘point spaces’, which is the only scale, indicating both the minimum and maximum in MUD. They do not have a magnitude or scale . • digital data storage – sizeless file drawers • Net scale 4.11
Mobility in virtual space • mobility is only possible bw point spaces • sub-spaces – illusion • mobility for cases HTML, VRML, XML, SGML • euclidean space representation in VRML – an exception • mobility - not an ‘activity’ but an ‘instant occasion’ • ways of obtaining information about the condition of the space 4.12
Being inside • When the software is not functioning, web pages on the Internet or rooms of a MUD, exist in the software code not as an active item, but just as a passive bit of data. It becomes active only when the code about this particular space starts to work, or in other words, when an identity comes inside. • being inside is the only preposition • web pages and other computer games • virtual space is a potential domain 4.13
Familiar concepts for virtual space • publicity and privacy • MUD homes • “Many of the places in cyberspace are public, like streets and squares; access to them is uncontrolled. Others are private, like mailboxes and houses, and you can enter only if you have the key or can demonstrate that you belong. … And sometimes, as with movie theatres and hotel rooms, you have to pay to get in. But software walls-once erected-can be breached, locks can be broken, privacy can be violated, and turf can be trespassed upon, so cyberspace already has its outlaw hackers and phreaks and posses of lawmen chasing them, its viruses and Trojan horses, and its burgeoning mythology of transgression and retribution-those colorful tales of Acid Phreak and Phiber Optic, Clifford Stoll (the electronic sleuth) ….” • William Mitchell • entrance and exits • inner organization of the space 4.14
This study supports the idea and claim that the space concept offered by the MUD may open the gates for a new approach to the conceptualization of the architectural space, dispatched from its material qualities and restrictions, to an absolute form, which is constructed in the mind, as not a dream in the mind, but activated on the silicon chips. 4.15
