Playing in the MUD

Sometime in 1995 my friend Alex taught me something that would change my life.

We - as nerdy middle schoolers - were new to the internet and were constantly looking for ways to use it to connect with others who shared our hobbies.

At the time, these were primarily:

D&D (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd edition)
Computer games related to the above, such as SSI "Unlimited Adventures"
Magic: The Gathering, then in its infancy

One afternoon, he called me over to his house to show me something he'd discovered on his computer. The sequence of steps, which I quickly memorized, were:

Connect to the internet using dialup
Open the Netscape Navigator web browser
Type in www.excite.com
In the search bar, type "3 Kingdoms", then click the first link that appeared
Click the link that said "Log on to 3-Kingdoms"

After performing the last step, a program called Telnet opened.

A large and detailed ASCII graphic greeted us.

Alex typed in a character name and a password, and materialized in the town of Pinnacle. A doorway had been opened.

Alone, together

At the time, I had no idea what Telnet was, what a MUD (multi-user-dungeon) was, or really even how to do much on the internet besides stumble through the links on the major web portals. All I knew is that Alex had somehow found a way to play something that looked an awful lot like real-time D&D over the internet, in text, with dozens or hundreds of strangers.

I watched him play for a couple hours. He showed me how the game worked, and some of the basic things to do. Later that night at home, I dialed up and logged in myself. I wish I remembered the name of my very first character. I had quite a few in those early days, frequently starting over for reasons that I can't recall.

One of my early characters was named Joykiller, after a punk band that I'd just heard about from a music zine. I have a distinct memory of another player saying that he hated me because his girlfriend's name was Joy. Oh the drama!

I played 3 Kingdoms (or 3K) a lot as a teen and during my early 20's. I met some cool folks who were definite influences on me (mostly good), and I aim to write more about that in the future.

3K is shockingly expansive game, with a great community of players and a thoughtful and dedicated volunteer staff. And...it's still going strong, after more than 30 years. I still log on occasionally, and sometimes I even stay a while. There are always more things to do, but I mostly return for the friends and for the memories.

A past that never died

3K and MUDs in general feel like an echo of the old web that has somehow still persisted in this incredibly niche medium. Many of the smaller MUDs have closed down over time, but those that remain still have basically the same vibe, except that we, the players, are all older now.

What if all we really needed from the internet were these kinds of small and stable communities? Things change around the edges: new people join, and some stick around. Old timers take long breaks, and then return without warning, resuming as if they'd never left.

Against all odds, maybe you *can* go home again.

~nullish