The Happy Memories of Rolling Around in MUD

August 16, 2026

I ran across someone who, like me, used to be a Game Master/Immortal back in the day of MUDs. We had a bit of a nostalgia trip. Then we had a good laugh discussing what we'd do in a modern game.

Back then, I designed entire realms, quests, and of course, equipment. I'd not expect a game like World of Warcraft to allow the power we had then. If it took a bunch of old Game Masters and gave them a free subscription in exchange for so many hours of community morale boosting, gave us so many perks to hand out each day, and enabled whatever our character was with a few specialized and fun skills, I imagine it would be quite the boost to the game. A boost that really wouldn't cost them anything.

Combine our creative, on-the-fly thinking and planning with modern game dynamics and graphics...it makes me want to game. Sadly, modern digital games are missing that magic. When going up and engaging with a Game Master was a real roll of the dice. We had so much power at our fingertips.

Part of the fun of the game was experiencing how we'd choose to use it. I got euphoric just witnessing the players' giddiness. Another thing I enjoyed was seeing players who'd normally rarely roleplay suddenly sink fully in character. It was such a delight.

It's hard to believe it's been about thirty years ago. A few years less for some. That was quite a time for being on the internet. Everyone was doing things for the love of it, and the vast majority were very literate. There are times when I really miss those days a lot. I definitely miss being a Game Master/Immortal. We didn't just have power. We had a responsibility to the game and to the players. We created individualized magic, and also swift, individualized repercussions. The world lived because we were invested in ensuring the players had a most fantastic and memorable time that could be unexpectedly flipped on its head at any given moment. It's too bad so many generations of gamers will never get to experience that magic. We didn't have graphics. We had words and our imagination. They are very fond memories.