So, like many others, I've been drawn into the facebook game scheme once or twice. I like the underlying ideas of some of these games, but I don't like how cutthroat the games are in respect to progress. Having to manage real life time to play a game is sort of ass-backwards.

SO!

Since none of these really boast superior graphics, I was thinking it would be cool to take some of those concepts and put them in a mud, allowing independent sandbox-style play.

As a standalone game, it would probably allow a lot more freedom in design. Not worrying about who has what, or any real rules.
As an addon to an existing game it'd be pretty cool. Could definitely add a little extra something to do.

Instead of bashing on mobs, you could put a completely different spin on a game. Raise a pet dragon that does the fighting for you. Feed it items you've found or made to influence its growth. Make it armor. Whatever :P

Jesse Schell's TED talk - Touches on Facebook a bit and delves into the psychology of why these facebook games like Farmville are so successful. Anyone pondering this path might find it useful, or they might not! :tongue:

There is always IdleRPG for just this purpose. Not via a text-based telnet format, but still, same concept.

If you don't like having to deal with game mechanics and grinding, you could always play a MUSH. IdleRPG always struck me as kind of… pointless.

I like the pet idea. Sort of a multi user Tomogatchi game :smile:

As pointless as manually raising integers? :3

Other ideas for idle-type content.. most of these would probably require a personal sandbox of some sort… Which would be cool, since you don't see that sort of thing outside of playerhomes that often. GW2 homeplane was pretty groovy.

Construct a village from raw materials. If each "building" is inserted onto a grid plot, with pre-described and arranged rooms. Buildings could use nearby world-resources, or those provided by the player, to create their own goods. Could probably take it further and do some AI work to make a functioning town with independent PC attributes that fluctuate based on… whatever. That would be cool to see. I guess you could theme it any way you wanted. Office, farm, suburbs, fief. Whatever. "Lord" mud. Your own serfs!

Investment banking, though I've heard of a few muds with this already. Tir Na Nog had/has it, I think…

Research-type stuff. Abilities and bonuses based on lengths of time. Probably not time played, just regular time. The WoW XP bonus for being logged off might be an example of this. Could adjust it to count hours played, time since played, overall time played, time since created…. you know. Stuff.