<!-- MHonArc v2.4.4 --> <!--X-Subject: Re: [MUD-Dev] Pay Muds & Free Muds - working together, or against each other? --> <!--X-From-R13: "Quevfgbcure Oyyra" <U[TnatfNOE[DP.bet> --> <!--X-Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1999 18:01:30 -0700 --> <!--X-Message-Id: 012201beb14a$7084cc00$4301a8c0@munin --> <!--X-Content-Type: text/plain --> <!--X-Reference: Pine.LNX.4.10.9906071417020.377-100000#lostics,demon.co.uk --> <!--X-Head-End--> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <html> <head> <title>MUD-Dev message, Re: [MUD-Dev] Pay Muds & Free Muds - working together, or agai</title> <!-- meta name="robots" content="noindex,nofollow" --> <link rev="made" href="mailto:GMFangs#ASMRB,org"> </head> <body background="/backgrounds/paperback.gif" bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000" link="#0000FF" alink="#FF0000" vlink="#006000"> <font size="+4" color="#804040"> <strong><em>MUD-Dev<br>mailing list archive</em></strong> </font> <br> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] <br clear=all><hr> <!--X-Body-Begin--> <!--X-User-Header--> <!--X-User-Header-End--> <!--X-TopPNI--> Date: [ <a href="msg00586.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00588.html">Next</a> ] Thread: [ <a href="msg00565.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00511.html">Next</a> ] Index: [ <A HREF="author.html#00587">Author</A> | <A HREF="#00587">Date</A> | <A HREF="thread.html#00587">Thread</A> ] <!--X-TopPNI-End--> <!--X-MsgBody--> <!--X-Subject-Header-Begin--> <H1>Re: [MUD-Dev] Pay Muds & Free Muds - working together, or against each other?</H1> <HR> <!--X-Subject-Header-End--> <!--X-Head-of-Message--> <UL> <LI><em>To</em>: <<A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A>></LI> <LI><em>Subject</em>: Re: [MUD-Dev] Pay Muds & Free Muds - working together, or against each other?</LI> <LI><em>From</em>: "Christopher Allen" <<A HREF="mailto:GMFangs#ASMRB,org">GMFangs#ASMRB,org</A>></LI> <LI><em>Date</em>: Mon, 7 Jun 1999 18:01:25 -0700</LI> <LI><em>Reply-To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI> <LI><em>Sender</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev-admin#kanga,nu">mud-dev-admin#kanga,nu</A></LI> </UL> <!--X-Head-of-Message-End--> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-Begin--> <HR> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-End--> <!--X-Body-of-Message--> <PRE> Just FYI, as it is a bit premature for us to say a whole lot more, but given the context of the current conversation we thought it was appropriate to preannounce. We thought you should know that we have a started commercial company called Skotos Tech that is building a commercial text-based mud system that will have some graphic-enhancements. We have been in business since February, have already acquired commercial rights to the proven DGD driver from the former iChat, we have hired Mud-Dev member Par Winzell <zell#skotos,net>, and we are in the process of building a new mud-lib on top of DGD that among other things will make game development alot easier. We believe that there are a number of things that a graphic mud can't do, in particular, emotional context (try to get your UO character to bow sarcastically,) game worlds of enormous size and vitality, game worlds where all the players can play in the same "game" rather then autotomous instances of the game, and where the game size and number of players is actually relevant to the game play rather then being a nasty side affect. We plan to focus on those advantages as that is one place that graphic muds, due to the amount of time it takes to create unique graphics, can not compete. We plan on recruiting a number of programmers and game designers in the fall to work on three "flagship" muds, and we will also make our tools available to independent "associates" that want to use our system to create their own games under our quality-control standards and receive royalties. If things progress as we hope, we'll have betas for our flagship muds next spring and will release product to the public in September 2000. We also hope to have a new basic mud-lib for DGD based on our work that we will make available for non-commercial Muds that don't want to make commercial product but want to play with our tools. This list is probably not the right place to talk about business models, but I am open to talking with others about our business model for doing commerci al muds. We've done alot of research in this area but are quite open to learning from others and sharing what we've learned so far. Skotos Tech PMB 353 1563 Solano Ave. Berkeley, CA 94707-2116 The following is oriented toward explaining Skotos Tech to those that don't know what MUDs are, but you might find it useful to understand what we are up to. About Skotos Tech ----------------- Skotos Tech is an exciting new game company determined to bring an entirely fresh paradigm to the world of online gaming. Quality stories will be the key to the Skotos experience, not gory special effects. Through high-quality graphically-enhanced text-based games, Skotos plans to create a virtual community of gamers and storytellers from all over the world. Besides providing its own games, Skotos will also offer tools and services to world designers, authors, and programmers, so that they easily can create their own games and offer them to the Skotos online community. The central goal of Skotos is to produce a core set of games, forming a storytelling community. These games will be the natural evolution of MUDs and other text-based games, but they will be richer, with more consistency and integrity than anything currently available, and will feature a level of advancement that is only possible with the full resources of a professional company. Graphical clients will round out these games, providing a more immersive experience without overdominating the text. These core games will run the spectrum of genres, helping Skotos to create a wide and varied community. From romance to science fiction, Skotos Tech will cater to a variety of interests. The world of Skotos Tech will be much larger than just a small collection of core entertainments. Skotos will also feature games playing out specific story lines, with definite beginnings, middles, and endings. Events will intrude as players interact with each other to accomplish their own goals. These fixed-duration games will combine the best features of Live Action Role-Playing Games (LARPs) and text adventures in a way previously unseen in the online world. And that's just the start of Skotos' online gaming experience. Skotos Tech will also offer tools for creating online games and will act as a service provider to developers. These games, produced by external developers, will be available through the Skotos servers. The best storytellers, game authors, and programmers will be invited to become associates at Skotos Tech, offering their games in exchange for a percentage of revenues. Externally developed games will be rigorously tested to ensure that they meet Skotos' standards of quality before they become part of the Skotos family. But, Skotos is doing more than just creating a nexus of online games. Skotos Tech is creating a true community. Skotos users will be able to interact with each other not just in the games, but also in other online forums. They will be able to register e-mail addresses and web pages, both for themselves and their characters in the various on-line games. Skotos Tech gamers will be able to share the accomplishments of their characters, as well as their own interests, drawing together the players of all the Skotos Tech games into one community of storytellers and gamers. Skotos Tech is currently in its initial stages of development. Its initial funding is through Alacrity Ventures, and is being incubated at Alacrity's management center. The initial release of Skotos Tech is planned for September, 2000. Watch www.skotos.net for more information. If you are interested in joining our team or becoming an associate, mail jobs#skotos,net. _______________________________________________ MUD-Dev maillist - MUD-Dev#kanga,nu <A HREF="http://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev">http://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev</A> </PRE> <!--X-Body-of-Message-End--> <!--X-MsgBody-End--> <!--X-Follow-Ups--> <HR> <!--X-Follow-Ups-End--> <!--X-References--> <UL><LI><STRONG>References</STRONG>: <UL> <LI><STRONG><A NAME="00565" HREF="msg00565.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Pay Muds & Free Muds - working together, or againsteach other?</A></STRONG> <UL><LI><EM>From:</EM> Ross Nicoll <rnicoll#lostics,demon.co.uk></LI></UL></LI> </UL></LI></UL> <!--X-References-End--> <!--X-BotPNI--> <UL> <LI>Prev by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00586.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Game Economies</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00588.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Game Economies</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Prev by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00565.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Pay Muds & Free Muds - working together, or againsteach other?</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00511.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Pay Muds & Free Muds - working together, or against each other?</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Index(es): <UL> <LI><A HREF="index.html#00587"><STRONG>Date</STRONG></A></LI> <LI><A HREF="thread.html#00587"><STRONG>Thread</STRONG></A></LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> <!--X-BotPNI-End--> <!--X-User-Footer--> <!--X-User-Footer-End--> <ul><li>Thread context: <BLOCKQUOTE><UL> <LI><STRONG>Re: [MUD-Dev] Pay Muds & Free Muds - working together, or againsteach other?</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM> <ul compact> <ul compact> <ul compact> <LI><strong><A NAME="00535" HREF="msg00535.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Pay Muds & Free Muds - working together, or againsteach other?</A></strong>, Ross Nicoll <a href="mailto:rnicoll#lostics,demon.co.uk">rnicoll#lostics,demon.co.uk</a>, Sat 05 Jun 1999, 15:58 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00547" HREF="msg00547.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Pay Muds & Free Muds - working together, or againsteach other?</A></strong>, Matthew Mihaly <a href="mailto:diablo#best,com">diablo#best,com</a>, Sun 06 Jun 1999, 19:22 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00557" HREF="msg00557.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Pay Muds & Free Muds - working together, or againsteach other?</A></strong>, Caliban Tiresias Darklock <a href="mailto:caliban#darklock,com">caliban#darklock,com</a>, Mon 07 Jun 1999, 00:53 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00565" HREF="msg00565.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Pay Muds & Free Muds - working together, or againsteach other?</A></strong>, Ross Nicoll <a href="mailto:rnicoll#lostics,demon.co.uk">rnicoll#lostics,demon.co.uk</a>, Mon 07 Jun 1999, 15:17 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00587" HREF="msg00587.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Pay Muds & Free Muds - working together, or against each other?</A></strong>, Christopher Allen <a href="mailto:GMFangs#ASMRB,org">GMFangs#ASMRB,org</a>, Tue 08 Jun 1999, 01:01 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </ul> </ul> <LI><strong><A NAME="00511" HREF="msg00511.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Pay Muds & Free Muds - working together, or against each other?</A></strong>, Caliban Tiresias Darklock <a href="mailto:caliban#darklock,com">caliban#darklock,com</a>, Fri 04 Jun 1999, 23:35 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00517" HREF="msg00517.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Pay Muds & Free Muds - working together, or againsteach other?</A></strong>, Matthew Mihaly <a href="mailto:diablo#best,com">diablo#best,com</a>, Sat 05 Jun 1999, 01:29 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00518" HREF="msg00518.html">RE: [MUD-Dev] Pay Muds & Free Muds - working together, or against each other?</A></strong>, Koster, Raph <a href="mailto:rkoster#origin,ea.com">rkoster#origin,ea.com</a>, Sat 05 Jun 1999, 01:33 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00523" HREF="msg00523.html">RE: [MUD-Dev] Pay Muds & Free Muds - working together, or against each other?</A></strong>, Ross Nicoll <a href="mailto:rnicoll#lostics,demon.co.uk">rnicoll#lostics,demon.co.uk</a>, Sat 05 Jun 1999, 04:48 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </ul> </LI> </UL></BLOCKQUOTE> </ul> <hr> <center> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] </center> <hr> </body> </html>