Shattered World
| Shattered World | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Geoff "Dredd" Wong and project community |
| Engine | SWLPC |
| Platform(s) | Platform independent |
| Release date(s) | 1990 |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy MUD |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
Shattered World is a long-running MUD founded in August 1990, and is the first Australian LPMud.[1]
Game characteristics
Shattered World is set in a medieval fantasy world with a player-run legal system and economy.[2] "Guilds" are found as an alternative to character classes.[3] Player characters may choose from eight races: humans, aracheans (fast, poisonous giant spiders), archons (demons of darkness), draconians (winged dragon-spawn), galandrians (golden masters of psionics), grmkels (large slug-like creatures with a deadly stare), mephits (small demons of fire) and tritons (giant rulers of the seas).[4]
Economic model
Shattered World has drawn attention for the success of its "Loans Standard" economic model. In this design, all businesses are player-owned, and players may set prices to any level desired, with the only central control imposed being on the amounts banks may loan, yet the system has produced reasonably stable prices since the 1990s. In the wake of Ultima Online's economic crash, this stands out as a remarkable accomplishment. The necessity that the system lack "faucets" that produce money ex nihilo means that newbies must start the game completely destitute, however, and this raises concerns as to whether this model could be made to scale successfully to larger player-bases.[5][6]
Publications
Shattered World developed, maintains, and operates using the SWLPC programming language, an LPC derivative forked from LPMud 2.4.5.[7] SWLPC was originally distributed privately,[1] but was later made publicly available.[8] Its primary maintainer is Geoff "Dredd" Wong.[9]
References
- 1 2 Mulligan, Jessica; Patrovsky, Bridgette (2003). Developing Online Games: An Insider's Guide. New Riders. pp. 452–453. ISBN 1-59273-000-0.
1990 [...] Shattered World, the first Australian LPMud, opens. "This MUD is the source of a private-distribution LPMud server used by a handful of spin-off MUDs in the US." —George Reese
- ↑ Rice, Thomas (2001). "Shattered World MUD". Shattered World. Retrieved 2010-04-18.
- ↑ Rice, Thomas (2001). "Guilds". Shattered World. Retrieved 2010-04-18.
- ↑ Rice, Thomas (2001). "Races". Shattered World. Retrieved 2010-04-18.
- ↑ Wong, Geoff (2003-07-22). "A Working Mud Economy". Imaginary Realities.
- ↑ Bartle, Richard (2003). Designing Virtual Worlds. New Riders. p. 567. ISBN 0-13-101816-7.
- ↑ Reese, George (1998-09-15). "LPMud FAQ". Internet FAQ Archives. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
Shattered Worlds, on the otherhand, derives from LPMud 2.4.5.
- ↑ Wong, Geoff (2006-11-25). "SWLPC Distribution". SourceForge. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
- ↑ Wong, Geoff (2001-11-07). "Shattered - Mud and Scripting". Shattered World. Retrieved 2010-04-18.