0. Introduction
Within the last few years a completely new way to
meet people has emerged. Strangely enough, the meeting place cannot
be found by traditional geographical coordinates. It is a meeting
place in cyberspace, beyond our common physical space, fuzzily
called "Multi-User Dungeon", or "Multi-User Domain",
or sometimes "Multi-User Dimension". Fortunately, there
is a common abbreviation for all three names: one may use the
simple acronym "MUD".
MUDs are chosen here because they give a good example
of the new features offered by electronic networks. Usually one
considers the changed perception of physical space and time as
the essential feature of electronic networks, but although this
is true, in my opinion it is not the most innovative and qualitatively
new aspect. More important than being able to communicate faster,
and in an asynchronous and multimedia mode, is the new opportunity
of creating, experiencing and using new spaces, spaces accessible
by other partners in a communication process.
Let us start with a short description of a MUD, to
create an image which may be shared by the readers. Historically
the genealogical tree of the MUD can be traced back to role-playing
games. The name "Multi-User Dungeon" still reminds one
of the famous game "Dungeons and Dragons" played by
our children in Europe in the early 1990s. In the USA, these role-playing
games boomed earlier, in the late 1970s and 1980s. They were played
without a computer, i.e. in real life, by groups of youngsters.
With the spread of the PC to our private homes, computerized
adventure games entered our living rooms. One of them became famous,
and once again it was associated with dungeons: "Dungeon
of Doom". These adventure games usually put one player in
front of a computer screen and place him or her in a science fiction
or fantasy situation, as described in books with similar theme
(e.g. Tolkien 1975). He or she has the possibility to do certain
actions like moving from one screen picture to another, to interact
with pictures of monsters or people (simulated by the computer)
by fighting them, or talking to them, sometimes receiving answers
etc. In many adventure games, the player has to perform a special
task, e.g. to find a treasure, to redeem a princess, to fight
a dragon. Of course, there is the possibility of failing. In the
latter case the player's dead body appears on screen, and the
game is over.
The next stage of development was the spread of fast
electronic communication infrastructure. At about the same time,
and at several universities, trials started to expand the single-user
games to multi-user ones. One of the more recent products enables
our children, and of course adults too, to share interactively
a fantasy which was originally produced by Hollywood. TrekMUSE
was inspired by the TV series "Star Trek: The Next Generation".
Up to eighty hours a week, players participate in intergalactic
exploration and wars, through typed descriptions and typed commands
(Turkle 1995: 10). At present, more than one thousand MUDs can
be accessed from all over the world through the Internet. Not
all of them are adventure oriented. Some are designed for scientific
purposes (e.g. MediaMOO by Amy Bruckman at MITs Media Lab).
A MUD can be described as a multi-user game without
graphical representation, i.e. on a textual basis only, played
simultaneously via Internet by several players, each of whom can,
in real life, be located anywhere around the world. The game represents
a meeting place, a "domain", a social space where individuals
from all over the globe may communicate with each other, assuming
of course that they have access to the same electronic network.
After this short description, we should try to answer
the following questions: What is the purpose of MUDs? Do they
have any real value? Do they tell us anything about ourselves?
My investigation consists of three steps. I will
deal successively with the object, its structure, and its meaning.
Firstly, I will consider the ontological status of a MUD, to define
its special location within the "order of things"; secondly,
I will look for MUDs' special content, and structure it by means
of a method which is usually applied to the study of myths; thirdly,
I will briefly try to assess its possibilities and effects on
the societal individual, living in contemporary culture.
1. Ontological status: A "space between"
Maybe it is helpful when trying to understand MUDs
to find out their position within our common world. We may want
to know the answers to some questions, such as the following:
What degree of reality is demanded by MUDs? What is their relationship
to other human artifacts, private and social? What similarities
can be found between MUDs and technology, or between MUDs and
imagination? Let us first consider the location of MUDS
on a scale between the poles "purely
material" and "purely ideational". We can be sure
that they are not at one extreme or the other, but rather somewhere
in between. MUDs are neither purely material nor purely non-material;
they are not made of substance like a table, but they are not
purely mental like the theorem of Pythagoras. A MUD is a "something"
with a certain durability, created by human beings, which can
be experienced by others. It can be experienced as a structured
"something".
It will come as no surprise when, as a first rough
attempt to describe MUDs, I link the attribute "virtual"
to this kind of reality. This does not mean that a MUD is immaterial.
Its material basis consists of electrical energy, in the form
of different voltages and currents allocated to electronic components.
This represents the ultimate "causa materialis". The
physical essence of the MUD is not substance, not material components,
but the electric charges, currents and voltages. It is not concrete,
but it is matter.
Now let us proceed one step further and investigate
the "shaping" of the MUD. If I apply the ancient pair
of descriptors, "matter" and "form", to the
MUD, I am once again brought back to the familiar, but vague,
"betweenness". A MUD is built of a material substratum,
and shaped by human ideas. However, at this point, by the application
of traditional concepts the description becomes inaccurate. The
term MUD seems to contain various strata of description, as indicated
below.
* On a technical level (if we take the perspective
of construction), we know that a MUD is nothing more than a computer
program, running on a server in a network, which may be accessed
by several persons simultaneously. This program controls the flows
of electrical energy inside the computer.
* If we try a geographical approximation of the MUD
as a place, we can often refer to it as a two or three-dimensional
grid structure. Each node of the grid carries a certain description
which makes sense to the players. Here we may use the classical
difference of "form" and "content". While
the grid could represent the form, the description could be understood
as content. We see that the separation of the two aspects is complete.
* If we look at the type of mediation, we see the
MUD just as texts which are conditionally switched and changed.
More modern computer games are no longer text related, but use
three-dimensional animated graphics; sometimes they represent
the player inside the graphical surface as a so-called "avatar",
and the player himself can look at the scene from his personal
angle of view. The software resides on each PC locally, while
the control of the graphics is done via INTERNET. (Mediamatic
(1996: 6) describes the word "avatar" thus: "The
word originates from Sanskrit and literally means "descent"
- in the Hindu religion, the descent of a god into the world of
human beings, analogous to the Christian concept of incarnation.
One could say that Jesus was an avatar of God").
So far we have drawn a picture of the MUD as being
static, but in fact it is not necessarily invariant over time.
It may be changed by chance, by single persons or groups with
"higher abilities". If the players have become Wizards,
after a kind of initiation process, they may change some locations
of the MUD, create new ones, or may ultimately change the rules
of the game.
From the point of view of player actions, a MUD means different types of spaces ordered according to the degree of activity of the player:
* a space of perception
* a space of action
* a space of (a particular kind of) interaction
* a space of formation
* a space of creation
These five types are arranged by the level of penetration
of the virtual sphere, in other words by the level of influence
to be exerted by each player.
The space of perception is passively "observed"
(actually by reading texts on screen), the only activity is the
change of place (e.g. by typing "go north" on the keyboard).
In the netters' jargon this change of place is called "browsing".
A picture is built in the mind's eye of the observer. At that
moment at the latest, the difference between virtual and mental
space comes to the fore. The virtual space is perceptible not
only to the individual, but simultaneously by other subjects as
well. "Intersubjective" experience is possible. Thus
the space has a separate, different and independent existence
from the subjective thoughts of a person, independent of the existence
of any particular person watching the MUD. Here is the essence
of the difference between (on the one hand) MUDs and virtual reality,
and (on the other hand) interactive media like telephone, telex,
e-mail, and IRC, or one-way mass media like broadcasting, especially
TV. Any of the latter can create a special, observable, ascertainable
place between the users, which remains in existence without the
participation of some of these users, although some rudimentary
glimpses of "space in between" can be found there as
well (e.g. the telephone exchange or the postmaster of a mailing
list). News groups and the home pages of the WWW represent to
a higher extent the place in between. You may follow some threads
of discussion at a time much later than the messages were written
originally. Different to MUDs is the kind of interaction: MUDs
work synchronously, while news groups (like e-mail) and WWW usually
function in an asynchronous way. Thus the possibility of interactive
immersion is heavily restricted.
As an action space, a MUD offers individual or "collective"
(by means of virtual, computer-generated actors) activities, like
the appropriation of a (virtual) object or the selling or buying
of a weapon.
As an interaction space, a MUD enables the user ,
of course in a very restricted way (compared to real life where
bodily interactions are essential), to meet and speak to other
inhabitants of the MUD, and to be addressed oneself.
As a space of formation, a MUD allows people to change,
to influence, and to shape the "virtual" framework;
finally, as a space of creation, a MUD is a place in which new
rooms and spaces may be created or destroyed, and alternative
communication/transport technologies can be installed.
Via this space of interaction (which is different
from the space experienced in real life) a social space can be
built up which can be meaningful for our everyday life, especially
in a situation where a growing part of our work and leisure activities
are linked to the computer. However, one still has to be careful.
There should be a thorough investigation into the changes in interaction
patterns and personal relationships which might occur if we no
longer share a common bodily presence, but use abstract "dummies"
instead of our physical bodies.
On the other hand, by abolishing most of the side
conditions of common human practice, new variants of "reality"
are possible. The laws of nature could be changed, the rules of
interaction could be replaced by others etc. A necessary condition
for the virtual worlds is their "linkability" to the
sensory perception of the person who operates in this virtual
reality. If this "linkability" is present, alternative
experiences may be had. For example, one could immediately feel
the forces between the atoms or molecules in a virtual reality
representation of chemical structures, one could dive into the
universe and observe planets from different perspectives, one
could walk into the human body and look for information before
doing surgery etc.
2. Features offered by MUDs
This chapter is devoted to the content of MUDs, as
found in hundreds of variants via the Internet (for your personal
experience try http://www.absi.com/mud/mud1.html).
For me, from the perspective of social science, MUDs
are particularly interesting because they represent free creations
of human beings, restricted only by the medium and the access
to the technology. Because of time constraints in designing, constructing
and shaping the MUD, there is nevertheless some limitation on
the elements the users want to transport into virtual reality.
I think that MUDs can thus be seen and used as indicators of the
cultural context out of which they were born, and thus as an instrument
for the investigation of this context. On the other hand, from
the perspective of the user one can interpret a MUD as a societal
laboratory where alternatives may be experienced and tested.
The central questions for me are what kind of objects,
properties and relations are transferred into virtuality, and
for what reason, what kind of filtering procedure is used, what
the relation is between the human being and the MUD, what functions
are offered by the MUD, what role they play in the life of a person,
and, finally, what the role and effect of the relationships created
via MUDs are.
What is actually transported into virtual reality?
Although there is a wide range of different things, a lot of the
MUDs offer certain well-defined basic features to the ordinary
user. These features will be listed and commented on below. Later
on I will look for features which are offered to the experienced
user, the so-called Wizard.
3. Universally accessible MUD features
a) Allocation of an identity
Each user has to choose a name by which she can be
identified. The procedure is similar to the log-in procedure at
a terminal. In many MUDs, the person logged in is allocated to
some collective body as well, like a guild or a professional organization.
The users are able to "look around". By
typing "look" on the keyboard they can read a verbal
description on the screen. By typing "who" they are
informed who else is sharing the same "place".
Usually the users may move freely within a kind of
three-dimensional space (the directions are the four points of
the compass plus "up" and "down")
The users can exchange (written) messages and thus
communicate with each other.
The users can perform certain actions, like grasping
an object or taking a weapon.
Using these five features is the basic requirement
for being recognized by others as an active player, i.e. an individual
(human) associated with a certain domain of perception and action
(moving around, acting physically, and communicating symbolically).
Thus the individual has to decide what actions he chooses and
can be held responsible for them. To a certain degree, a player
self-determines his fate in a predetermined environment.
If the user is able to act in this environment in
an effective way (the meaning of efficiency is defined by the
given rules of the MUD) she can change her social position. In
many MUDs the role of Wizard is possible. For Wizards, extended
features of the MUD are feasible. These features correspond to
the basic functions but offer increased scope and functionality.
Wizards can play tricks on others with respect to
their identity, as they each have more than one at their disposal.
They may transform themselves into other beings, i.e. persons
or animals.
Not only are Wizards able to "look around",
they can also exploit "knowbots"
or control other inhabitants of the MUD, in order to collect information
on the movements of others etc.
Wizards can not only move from one location to a
neighboring one, but also "teleport", or ride a flying
dragon to another location in the MUD.
Wizards can communicate with each other by unusual
means. They may be able to listen, undetected, to confidential
dialogs of others. By doing this they may obtain a high score.
In addition to performing common actions, Wizards
have permission to change the appearance of the MUD. They can
construct their own private rooms where nobody except themselves
(or somebody who is initiated) can go. Pushed to the extreme,
a Wizard can change the rules of the MUD itself, and thus becomes
invincible.
In my opinion it is evident that the MUD is a kind
of mirror of the external world, but a unique one. The mirroring
of the three dimensions of physical space is only one aspect of
the MUD. More important is the emotional charge of the virtual
space. Some "rooms" can only be used by a particular
Wizard, and so the "objective" space is structured by
social values and by laws. Social values (the rules of the MUD)
guide the actions of the players, who have to make something of
their "lives". They are rewarded by an increase in their
personal power.
It is not easy to survive in a MUD. In addition to
the other players, there are a lot of dangers originating from
witches, fairies, dwarfs, goblins etc., which are electronic creatures.
They behave randomly in order to be unpredictable.
The degree of immersion (i.e. the feeling of being
completely involved in playing the MUD) is very high. There are
students who refuse nourishment for several days, and do not sleep
for this period, just to be present in a MUD. Some colleges have
thus stopped or restricted student access to certain MUDs.
4. MUDs and myth
What could be the methodological basis for interpreting
these facts? Several scientific approaches are possible. As we
have seen, there is a systematic correspondence between the MUD
and real society, more than by mere chance, and this is the reason
that I could try to use social-science theories. On this basis
I could look for peculiarities, similarities and differences,
for instance, by using methods like Marxist political economics,
or neo-classical economic theory. However, one would immediately
become aware that MUDs run only a very limited economy. There
is a kind of money, namely the score. One can "earn"
it increased by successfully completing a dangerous adventure
(killing a dragon, rescuing a princess etc.). Apart from this,
however, there is little similarity to an economy: the continuity
of real production is missing, there is no reproduction of the
labor force, no production of material goods, no class struggle,
no metabolism, no environmental pollution.
As we have already seen, the script of a MUD is similar
to a fantasy story. This branch of prose (one typical representative
is Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings") describes an early
type of society, on the level of heroic sagas of early German
or Greek history. This suggests considering ways of investigating
myths as an appropriate method for analyzing a MUD.
To me this idea looked promising, because myth research,
in spite of all the variety in detail, is based on a common problem
area which can be found in any society, be it ancient or contemporary.
If we take Cassirer's findings for granted, it is not surprising
that the mythological consciousness is the first form of societal
consciousness (Cassirer 1994: 3ff). The common problems are the
question of the origin, the continuity, and the end of society,
as well as the birth, sexuality, and death of the individual.
Instead of being oriented towards pure thought (as has happened
since the Enlightenment), myths describe the human experience
in terms of the body, of emotions, and sensuality. Physical objects
seem to have personality, and they offer a meaning or power to
the people. All these mystical charges have been explained away
by modern science.
Reinwald (1991: 85) describes the founding myth of
a society as the answer of human beings exposed to the experience
of death, of sexuality, and of shortage. This myth implies a description
of the space-time order, of human kinship or relationship, and
of the technology of production. All these are mediated by a go-between
(a shaman and/or a clown), who is a being between the gods and
the humans. His existence constitutes a field of power which sheds
particular light on society.
Which of the presented categories are relevant to
a MUD? How are these categories assimilated? What particular answers
does a MUD offer to the above problems? By looking at the type
of problem-solving offered by MUDs, I will try to make the differences
from real life and other types of society more transparent, and
to gain insight into particular contemporary tendencies for dealing
with (or circumventing) some problems. I will list some of the
most important problem categories below.
Birth and death
Let us start with one basic experience, the death
of the individual. As in real life, dying is there, but it is
not an irreversible fate for the mudder (MUD player). To
her, more than one life is offered, particularly if she has high
scores (gained by coping in an excellent way with the difficulties
of virtual life). Rebirth is possible. Having consumed all your
available lives, "virtual death" (an oxymoron) is, as
you may easily experience yourself, very unpleasant and embarrassing,
because it is connected with a real loss of power within the virtual
community, and exclusion from a social group with which the mudder
has become intimately related.
Gender relations
Coping with sexuality seems to be one of the more
interesting features of electronic communication. The rather strict
separation of the male and female roles in real life is reduced
by "gender swapping" (Bruckmann 1993). Because of the
anonymity of the mudders with respect to their real-life identities
it is possible to experience the game as a member of the other
sex, or to play the role of an asexual being. There are still
discussions going on as to whether the opportunities opened up
by this type of media will reduce the differences between the
sex-defined roles of real life, or if the prejudices against and
preoccupations with the opposite sex will be increased. Becoming
acquainted with the experiences and relationships of the opposite
sex certainly seems to be a positive learning experience.
Shortage
Shortage is usually produced by the rules of the
MUD. There is shortage in scores, in particular dexterity and
abilities (powerful spells), and in certain objects (powerful
weapons). Although the contemporary technology of production (electronic
data processing) makes copying a very easy task, it is not used
in MUDs for making life easier. In fact, shortage, connected with
a certain value system for overcoming it, is one of the main driving
forces of the activities in a MUD.
Space and time
The Kantian transcendental categories, space and
time, are handled in a completely different way in a MUD. While
the "reality" of space is transferred to the MUD, time
is left to the "real" situation. Of course, as the degree
of immersion becomes higher, the physical time measured by a clock
does not count any longer; emotional time will take over, and
the subjective feeling will be controlled by the actions from
within the MUD. However, there is still no "objective"
accounting of time other than real life.
The concept of space in a MUD is rather elaborate.
Although other measures of distance could be used (emotional distance,
closeness of concepts etc.), MUDs apply the Euclidean space by
arranging possible rooms, squares, woods, bridges, castles etc.
along a rectangular three-dimensional grid. In their first encounter
with a new MUD, mudders usually draw a three-dimensional map of
the MUD on a sheet of paper in order to find their way more easily.
Standard transportation technique is "walking", by typing
specific characters(u, d, n, s, e, w for up, down, north, south,
east, west respectively) and thus moving to the next node of the
grid. For Wizards, more advanced technologies are available, such
as riding a dragon, teleportation, using secret doors, staircases,
or "running rooms". It is evident that the space and
the means of transport which can be used depend on the score the
user has reached. The social hierarchy shapes the topology of
the virtual space.
Family relationships
It is interesting that ties of blood between individuals
do not seem to play any role. Relationships between the players
depend on their own free choice. It looks like an echo of the
contemporary trend of real life towards greater autonomy of the
individual. As in real life, the autonomy cannot be realized without
some "material" infrastructure offered to the players
by the MUD. Without the features and functions listed above, the
individualization could not happen. People can become individuals
if, and only if, there are networks for them to satisfy their
material or immaterial needs. Thus the MUD illustrates the necessity
of infrastructure supply - a must for a society where individuals
should be able to interact and cooperate. The infrastructure has
to be built to counter the danger of isolation, fragmentation,
and decay of society.
Production technologies
Because of the ability to create goods without cost in virtual space, production technology plays an inferior role compared with real life. Nevertheless personal abilities are important. The solving of a riddle or a mystery is essential for survival, as is technology for fighting, transportation, and communication. The individual usually has to find out the path the programmer has devised for the game. In many cases it is important to find out the options in the program, although there is not so much room for the ordinary player to be innovative and creative. Creation is a task reserved for Wizards.
Allocation of social rank
Another interesting decision of MUD programmers is
the application of the achievement principle. Although the structure
of the MUD society looks rather prehistoric, meritocratic principles
are implemented, in contrast to early societies where social rank
was acquired by birth. All that counts is personal achievement
(measured by the score). Meritocracy does not prevent the existence
of social hierarchies, but these are not fixed forever, and may
change
In a special MUD, the Berlin-based TubMud, two structures have
evolved in parallel: the hierarchy of Wizards
and the hierarchy of Clans. God, the highest Wizard
of all, appoints deputies (Archwizards and elder Wizards),
who help with testing new program features for the administration;
this creates an autocratic hierarchy. The clan hierarchy, however,
is based on elections and majority rule.
Field of power
As we have already mentioned, becoming a Wizard plays
an important role in a MUD. Thus we meet again the hero of the
myth. Once more we can see a difference from ancient real societies.
The hero in a MUD, although willing to make sacrifices, does not
do so for the community, but for himself only - once again a result
of the surrounding real life society, where egotism plays an important
role. The field of power in a MUD has thus changed from that of
real ancient societies.
Somewhat ironically, one can state that within the
MUDs, which use the most modern of technology, inside electronic
networks, multimedia and the Internet, created by so-called "value-free"
science and the highest possible degree of rationality, human
power, passion, desire, and emotion break through the purified
surface and show up again. Perhaps it shows that one should not
try to reduce humans to rational reasoning alone. The inner side
of cyberspace opens up to the chance of experiencing these often-repressed
features of life vividly and cooperatively. In this space one
is no longer restricted to cognitive processes and the realm of
pure thought, but can act out a wide range of emotions, fantasies
and desires. Turkle (1995) describes several of cases where the
players experienced the MUDs as fruitful psycho-therapy.
However, some important questions still remain open.
Why is it necessary to shift such activities to cyberspace, rather
than use the immediately and directly available offerings of real
life? Should a strategy of change, directed at society and everyday
life, be preferred to passive role-playing? Are MUDs just a way
of keeping people occupied, and to prevent them from being politically
active?
One partial answer from psychology could be as follows.
Myths create spheres of meaning, which might be seen as a collective
pool for the sublimation of individual emotions. In contrast to
myths, MUDs have to be actively managed and shaped by the power
of human imagination. They could thus represent an expansion of
our common reality. A psychoanalytical point of view suggests
attaching great significance to the (technically supported) possibility
of transforming imagination into reality (more precisely: virtuality)
by being able not only to imagine another space, but to live in
it, and experience the realized fantasies in an interactive way.
It seems that never before in the history of representational
practices have the boundaries between "reality" (that
is interactively constructed reality) and imagination shaken in
such vast dimensions, nor will they be in the future.
List of References
Bruckman, A., Gender Swapping on the Internet, Proc.
INET'93, EFC-1/EFC-6, 1993
Cassirer, E., Philosophie der symbolischen Formen,
Zweiter Teil, Das mythische Denken, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft,
Darmstadt 1994
Leyde, I., Technische und soziale Strukturen virtueller
Welten am Beispiel von TubMud, Technische Universitt Berlin,
Fachbereich 13, Informatik, Franklinstra_e 28/29, D-10587 Berlin,
Bericht 1994-38
Mediamatic, Are the People the Gods of the Algorithms?
Editorial, in: Mediamatic 8#4, Spring 1996: 6
Reinwald, H., Mythos und Methode, Wilhelm Fink Verlag,
M¸nchen 1991
The Waite Group, Playing God - Creating Virtual Worlds
with REND386, Corte Madera 1994
Tolkien, J. R. R., Der Herr der Ringe, 3 volumes,
Hobbit Press im Ernst Klett Verlag, Stuttgart 1975
Turkle, S., Life on the Screen - Identity in the Age of the Internet, Simon and Schuster, New York etc. 1995