Alison Bailey

12/05/02

I have been playing MUDs for more than seven years, and I have been writing stories about them for the same amount of time. My first completed short story was inspired by characters and events in a MUD. Stories based on the events in a game are not simply a transcription; that would be exceedingly dull, and would look something like this:

Suli parries Deverak's attack1.

Suli hums a haunting tune and begins to dance about.

Suli's slash injures Deverak.

Deverak hums a haunting tune and begins to dance about.

Deverak's stab maims Suli.

Deverak dodges Suli's attack.

One cannot write a story and leave it looking like that. An author must turn those game generated messages into meaningful prose if he or she wishes to have people read (and enjoy reading) his or her work:

Deverak’s blade swept in low and Suli deflected it easily, countering with a punch that he evaded before she finished the motion. Back and forth they danced, the only sounds coming from the chime of their blades punctuating the eerie melody of their respective Songs. He moved with the grace of leaves floating on the wind; he was never there when her blows would strike and attacked without pattern. Suli danced like mist rising off the sea; gracefully sliding away from the brunt of his attacks and her blade a constant whir of motion - giving no indication of when and where it might fall next.

The above is, in my opinion, much more entertaining and interesting to read. The transcript of events gives an author the outline for the story, but it remains the responsibility of the author to turn those lines of text into a description that brings the image to mind for the reader.

There are several advantages to writing from events that "actually took place" (in the imaginations of the players). The stories can often take on a greater sense of realism because all the characters involved have different personalities. It is sometimes difficult for a writer to get into the head of every character made for his or her story and make sure each has something unique about them. A character's speech, for instance, is something that makes him or her unique from the other characters. I notice in much of the reading I do that some writers tend to overlook little things such as speech patterns.

Setting is another factor which has already been provided in a story that is inspired by an MUD experience. The details are always mine, but the basic decision of whether something took place in a forest, in a city, near a lake, in someone's house, etc. is already made. It is then up to my imagination to create the details, such as the sharp little stones on the ground that get stuck in my character's boots. The history of the world is also something which is pre-defined by a MUD. Having a fantasy world with a history makes stories richer and more realistic (realistic here means the world is real and consistent within itself, not that it is a place that might actually exist on earth). For example, J. R. R. Tolkien's work is often praised because of the detail he put into creating his world; however, this was also something that he worked on for years and years, and not all who write have the time or inclination to devote such a massive effort.

All of the advantages listed come with their own disadvantages. An author's "artistic license" will be limited, because if a writer plans to truthfully portray an event, he or she is bound by the characters present, the setting, and the history of the fantasy world. There may also be a limited audience for this kind of writing: those who also participate in the game. For instance, these short stories do not always have a common appeal because only those who play the same game are "in the know." That is, they know the history, they know what it means to be an "elf" or a "mage" in the world, and they probably know the extended biographies of most (or all) of the characters involved. To open the story up to a wider audience would require a novel.

A major disadvantage to writing stories based on MUDs is that they often lack any semblance of a plot. As many events are simply spontaneous conversations, dances, hunts, or any other imaginable thing, they probably do not have any greater purpose than to entertain the people involved. Most people like a story to have a plot with a problem, the climax of the problem, and the resolution of the problem. Short stories of the variety found on MUDs often have no redeeming value except the beauty of their prose or the dubious value of exploring the minds and motivations of fictional characters. The stories of a MUD are not linear stories leading to a single end, but the stories of "every-day" lives that may include sword fighting, magic wielding, medieval costume balls, or conversations among friends.

Another form of writing in this setting is what I would call "derivative works." For example, I often write lengthy biographies for my characters. As characters usually begin at the "adventurer" age of eighteen, the events before then happen only in the creator's imagination. This allows the author greater freedom to shape the events, setting, and characters as he or she sees fit. Biographies also serve a useful purpose in the MUD world, because if someone is serious about attempting to accurately portray a character in role play, it is essential to have reasons, such as childhood events, for the character to do things or react in certain ways.

Playing MUDs (MUDing) shaped me as a writer in a variety of ways. My experience has made me much more aware of characterization and direction/motivation in my writing, even when it is completely based on my imagination rather than inspired by events in a game. In stories written prior to my MUDing days, I never gave much thought to the motivation of either my villains or my heroes, which is why my stories usually fell flat after the first two or three pages. The villains of my first attempts at writing usually tormented my heroes because that was just the way they were. However, from playing villains and interacting with villains in online games, I learned that villains usually have a goal and that they aren't usually "just born that way."

I have never been very good at planning a story out ahead of time and subsequently often have no idea where the story will end up. With a story based on a real event, I have a clear picture of its beginning and end, which helps to make a story much more coherent. MUDing has probably reinforced my tendency not to make story outlines because the most rewarding play comes from spontaneity, but playing out those events and writing stories about them has helped me sharpen my attention to those details. Even though I do not write them out in advance, I keep in mind that my story needs direction and having an end-point is as important as having a beginning. For example, in my pre-mudding days, I would begin a story that never got beyond the third page because I could never answer the "so what?" question, whereas the stories written after that could answer with, "to relate how a character developed," "to show the lesson this character learned," or "to tell other players what happened in an adventure."

I like to feel that my writing serves a purpose. I enjoy writing, but I tend not to finish a story if there is no immediate use for it. Not only does story writing enrich the role playing experience, but I know that other players of MUDs are likely to read the stories if I post them publicly on a web site related to the game. Most people who are part of a MUDing community understand the disadvantages and limitations of writing based upon events in the MUD and will enjoy the stories for what they are rather than expect novel-like authorial control and plots.

Writing stories based on my MUDing experiences has taught me to try for realism over convenience or personal preference. In the story that the excerpt above is taken from, my character Suli is defeated by the other character, Deverak. I would have preferred my character to do something miraculous to win, because I like her, I created her, and I want her to win; however, that would not have been a realistic portrayal of her abilities or of what really happened. In this situation, I had to accept my role as a supporting character in the event, rather than the main character of the outcome.

If I had never been introduced to MUDing and role-playing, I am not sure that I ever would have decided I wanted to be a writer. Before then, I rather fancied myself an actress-in-training, which is why role playing originally appealed to me. However, having experienced creating my own character, rather than using someone else's script and vision, I now value writing (creation) far more than acting. I cared little for grammar or word use before I started writing short stories, but afterward it became important to me to have good prose, so I learned about grammar and I started using a thesaurus. This inevitably affected my academic writing, which eventually encouraged me to major in English at college. As ridiculous as it may sound to those innocent of MUDing and role playing, I believe that it was a major factor not only in my writing, but also in helping to shape my goals for the future.