Today marks the thirtieth anniversary of the creation of MUD (Multi-User Dungeon), a game that gave rise to a thousand different MUD iterations and eventually the vast, hyper-lucrative MMO genre.
On October 20, 1978, Roy Trubshaw, a programmer at the University of Essex, and Richard Bartle (pictured right) launched MUD -- a game that proved revolutionary in its ability to create an overarching, text-based world that (relatively) large numbers of players could share simultaneously.
Proving the dedication this sort of game can spawn, *MUD *is still running in various forms throughout the world. It may not have the flashy graphics or millions of players that current market leaders like World of Warcraft boast, but a thirty-year lifespan is an incredible achievement.
Richard Bartle penned something of a short retrospective on his blog in celebration of the milestone that's well worth a read if only for the historical significance.
Image: RenZephyr/Flickr
