Abstract: This document lists and describes some terms and abbreviations
used in the computer game industry, and how these terms relate to
the Haven project
.
Copyright notes, author information etc can be found via a link at the bottom of the page. Availability: Public |
admin - 
An individual avatar or player of a virtual space who has been
granted special powers within the space in order to administrate some aspect
of it. Short, of course, for administrator.
anonymity -
A state in which your identity and past history is completely unknown.
In a virtual space, avatars are only anonymous under one of the following
circumstances: a) they are able to change identities easily, b) the avatar
is new to the space, or c) the space is so large that in any given group
of people, a given avatar is not likely to be known.
area -
A term for a collection of rooms that share a common theme, generally
by the same author. Areas usually also imply a collection of other statistics
and data beyond the mere description of the map. An Area file is the file
in which an area is stored: a template-based text file that may or may not
be compiled into binary data before use in a mud server.
ASCII -
In mud terms, shorthand for text-only display. When one refers
to ASCII graphics, one means crude graphics formed out of typographical
characters.
attributes -
The collection of tangible and intangible qualities that make up
an avatar.
audience - see the Credo for an explanation.
avatar - the player's representation in a shared environment.
The virtual incarnation of a participant in a virtual space; the
character, figure, or persona they inhabit the virtual space with and present
to the other participants.
bandwidth -
Connections over the Internet imply data transmission. But wires
can only handle a certain volume of data in a given time. The term for
this is bandwidth. In general, the bandwidth required by a server is the
average bandwidth usage per player, multiplied by the number of players
at peak usage times.
BSX MUD -
A type of mud written by Bram Stolks that supports simple graphics
on the X-Windows platform using a markup language.
cartoon -
A simplified and abstracted visual representation of something,
which selects specific elements to magnify and therefore emphasize.
character - a role assumed by a player in the context of a computer game, especially roleplaying games.
character advancement -
The common goal-oriented practice of increasing tangible attributes
and available commands for an avatar, usually as part of a game framework.
chat -
An embedded real-time communication system via the Internet. Muds
frequently embed chat systems within their framework, and for some muds,
chat is the whole point of existing.
chat box -
An interface method for presenting textual output in a graphical
environment, a chat box is a typically modal interface that aggregates
all the text output from the server into a scrolling text box. In many
graphical muds, a chat box serves to essentially display all the output
of the mud except for special effects and a graphical depiction of the
spatial relationship between avatars and the world.
chat room -
A chat room is a non-spatial environment wherein multiple participants
may type and have their text reflected out to all other participants. The
sine qua non of chat rooms is Internet Relay Chat, usually termed IRC.
churn -
Churn or churn rate is a term from service industries. It refers
to the amount of users of the service who are choosing not to continue
subscribing to the service, versus the amount of newly acquired users and
the amount of returning users. There are several different ways of measuring
churn, but in general, a positive churn rate indicates that your user base
is growing, and a negative one means that your base is shrinking. Clearly,
nobody wants to keep a negative churn rate for long, as it is unsustainable
and may result in shutting the service down.
client -
For the purposes of this book, a client is a piece of software
that connects to a server. It serves as front-end for the server’s output,
essentially a display mechanism. Generally, clients have very little smarts
to them. Clients do not have to be graphical—a common type of text-based
client are Telnet clients, which are implementations of a text-based client
that uses the Telnet protocol defined in an Internet RFC.
client-server -
A relationship in which piece of software is run remotely on a
server, but users do not interact with the server directly. Instead, they
connect via a client, a mediating piece of software that opens a remote
connection to the server and displays the server’s output.
closure -
Marshall McLuhan’s term for the act of filling in gaps and details
in an iconic or abstracted representation of something. When we see two
dots and a curved line as a face, we are committing an act of closure.
codebase -
The common term for the standardized code distributions of various
types of mud. When one refers to the Merc codebase, one means servers based
on the publicly released version of the source code.
community relations (CR) - 
Also called Online Community Relations, or OCR. Refers to the support
given to the players outside of the normal play of the game. Normally Web-based
and can include use of Web page news postings, message boards, Chat programs
for live help, and download sections for information and software applications
pertaining to the game.
contextual exit -
In a room-based environment, exits are logical connections between
rooms. By convention, most exits represent spatiality by representing cardinal
directions. A contextual exit is one where the exit does not represent a
cardinal direction, but rather a subtler sort of spatiality, such as “towards
the church” or “into the room.”
continuous map -
This is a sort of map where the virtual world is represented on
a coordinate space, as opposed to using a node-based (e.g. room-based) system
with exits that merely mimic spatiality. A room-based system can contain
continuous maps within each node (as in the example of EverQuest).
cool media -
Marshall McLuhan terms media that require a high degree of closure
cool media.
corpse -
On most muds, when an avatar dies, a new object is created and
left behind at the location of the avatar’s death, to represent the avatar’s
corpse. Of course, the avatar is also generally reincarnated immediately.
This leads to the interesting phenomenon of a given player having two bodies
(or more, if they are unfortunate enough to die a lot) at once.
cross-gender play -
The phenomenon of a player using an avatar of a different gender
than their gender in real life. One often speaks of avatars being “male
presenting” or “female presenting” in order to clarify that one cannot assume
that the avatar’s gender matches that of the human behind it.
downtime - progress restriction by introduction of mandatory delays in gameplay.
exp, xp - a popular way to measure progress in computer games, particularly roleplaying games.
FP - first person. This is a game that is seen through the eyes of a character, usually with a 3 dimensional environment.
FPS - first person shooter. A FP game that has action (shooting/killing) as it's main ingredient. Doom is arguably the first real FPS and one of the most important games in computer history. Other important entries include the successors Quake, Quake II and Quake II Arena, and titles such as Half-Life, Unreal and the entire Tomb Raider series (TR is actually third person, but it is otherwise completely in line with first person shooters except for having a slight puzzle angle). FPS games typically lack other challenges than twitch and shoot skills.
fps - frames per second, a way to measure the quality of graphics in an application. By itself it says nothing of the rendering quality however - to be meaningful it must be paired with other data. Low frame rates (low fps numbers) are always bad though. Below 30 fps is visibly flickering. The human eye is not capable of making use of frame rates above c 70 fps.
gamemaster (GM) -
A person with special administrative game powers assigned to assist
players in the game by solving problems. Normally assigned or associated
with the Customer Service department.
interest gamemaster (IGM) -
A person with special game administrative powers assigned to create
and manage special events, scenarios, storylines, quests, adventures and
the like. Normally assigned or closely associated with the Live Team and,
sometimes, Customer Service.
level - another way of measuring progress and power of a character in computer games, usually coupled with experience points (earn a certain number of experience points to advance to the next level)
live team -
The developers (programmers, artists, server code specialists,
designers, etc.) assigned to the game after it has been made available
to the public. A Live Team most often concentrates on two areas: A) Fixing
bugs and design exploits to keep the game balanced and fair, and B) adding
new content and features over time.
massively multiplayer game (MMG) -
A game in which a minimum of 128 simultaneous players may interact
within the same game world in real time.
massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) - Typically persistent worlds (limited persistence) with capability for up to several thousand simultaneous users in each world.
MOB - "mobile", a term for computer controlled entities in early MUDs
MUD - multi-user dungeon. An early form of online gaming, still alive. MUDs are text based, similar to early adventure games like zork .
multiplayer game -
A game that allows 2 or more people to play the same game in the
same game session or period. May be turn-based or real-time, and can include
such styles as games-by-email and trivia games in which thousands may be
answering the same questions, but are not interacting on a personal level.
Hybrid: A game with both solo home play and online play capabilities, but with no or limited elements of persistence. Most often refers to retail games of the likes of an Unreal, Age of Empires, Half-Life or Rainbow Six. As of this writing, Hybrids are generally not MMGs and are limited to 64 or less players per game session or world. Bioware’s NeverWinter Nights, due to be released in early 2002, may cause a need for this definition to be rewritten.
online game -
Any game playable via a modem and/or remote network connection,
including modem-to-modem and Internet network connections, but specifically
excluding Local Area Network-only game sessions.
quest - problem solving or achievements that controls flow of events
performer, performance - see the Credo for an explanation.
persistence -
See also the elements of persistence in Persistent World above.
Persistent elements may be modified over time during game play, but the-then
current state of the persistent element reacts consistently to all current
observers. For example, if a player demolishes a house, other players in
the immediate area also see a demolished house. Players who pass by the
house later on also see a demolished house.
persistent world (PW) - persistent world, data sets that permanently
change as a result of player actions.
Also called a Persistent State World. A game in which several elements
retained on remote servers, and the current state of which is the same to
all observing players. Examples may include geographic terrain such as
mountains, lakes, caves and rivers; player character attributes and skills;
player object inventory items such as clothing, armor and weapons; terrain
objects such as buildings and trees, and; non-player characters. PWs are
most often also MMGs.
PnP - pen and paper, pen and paper roleplaying as defined by TSR's Dungeons and Dragons products and all systems that followed them. Particularly (computer) roleplaying games inherit much of their nature from PnP roleplaying.
publishing - making a created piece of media or content available to other [consumers].
PvE - player vs. environment, gaming where players cooperate in contest with the environment.
PvP - player vs. player, gaming where players compete directly against each other.
reset - The act of shutting down and restarting a world server or system.
Depending on the application this may mean the world state is returned to
a starting state or to a last saved state. The Haven framework uses the terms
world reset for a reset that returns state to a known start state and the
term server reset for a reset that returns to a last saved state.
RPG - role playing game. A context where participants assume roles of imaginative characters, typically developing the characters during the course of a long adventure.
RTS - real-time strategy. A genre of resource management/conflict games made popular by WarCraft and its successors, including Command & Conquer, Age of Empires and StarCraft, some of the most successful games ever released.
scribing - creating media in some form, putting it "on paper" or saving it.
server -
Sometimes called "dimension," "shard" or "world." In PWs and MMGs,
this actually refers to a number of server computers linked together to
form the hardware infrastructure on which the game operates, generally in
a contiguous fashion. Most MMGs and PWs have two or more servers, each representing
a distinct but nearly identical iteration of the game.
shard - one instance of the game universe in an online game. The term comes from Ultima Online.
sim - simulation, simulator. Several different types of simluations have been very successful, including SimCity and many flight/space simulators. Since simulation is a feature more than a genre, it is usual for games to be both a sim and either strategy or action at the same time. Some sim games are very unique, such as the Sims and the Creatures series. Civilization is one of the most successful sims. Among space/flight sims, the Wing Commander series and Microsoft Flight Simulator deserve mention.
subscription -
A regular fee paid to the publisher or developer of an online game
in exchange for continued access to play the game. Most often used for MMGs
and PWs.
xp - see exp.
denotes a definition taken from Jessica Mulligan's Biting the Hand
article You Said a Mouthful (
http://www.skotos.net/articles/BTH_08.html
).
denotes a definition taken from Raph Koster's book excerpts glossary
(http://www.legendmud.org/raph/gaming/book.html
).
Where nothing else is indicated, the entry is by the author of this page.
Indicators apply from the place where they appear until the end of the
entry, unless another indicator appears before that point.
The list has managed to come up with its own jargon. Here are some of
the current buzzwords:
Cooperative role-playing: Refers to a specific kind of RP where each
player's personal 'storyline' is paramount. All players are aware
of, and sensitive to, the needs of each player for their story, and
all actions are completely consensual. This is a type of play often
found on MUSHes.
Event: A system design alternative to polling loops. Objects generate
events, which are processed in their proper order by the event
handler. This is frequently clearer and far more efficient,
especially with large numbers of objects. Examples are a torch
generating an event to burn out in two hours, or a spell generating
an event for an earthquake to occur in four seconds.
The following is a compilable example of generic event-handling code in
C courtesy of Adam Wiggins.
---<begin code>---
#include <stdio.h>
typedef float Tick; /* Time counter type */
/* Defines for event types */
enum { EVENT_ALPHA = 0, EVENT_BETA, EVENT_GAMMA, NUM_EVENTS };
/* The event structure itself */
typedef struct SEvent
{
int Type; /* EVENT_x */
Tick RipenTime; /* time at which event ripens */
void *Data; /* any extra data to be passed to the callback function */
struct SEvent *Next; /* next node in the linked list of events */
} Event;
/* Defininiton for the callback function type */
typedef void (*EventCallback)(void *);
#define EVENT(x) void (x)(void *)
/* Event function prototypes - these should be defined somewhere else, like
so:
EVENT(EventAlpha)
{
code to execute on event completion;
}
*/
EVENT(EventAlpha);
EVENT(EventBeta);
EVENT(EventGamma);
/* Master list of event callbacks, by type */
EventCallback EventCallBacks[NUM_EVENTS] =
{ EventAlpha, EventBeta, EventGamma };
Event *EventList = NULL; /* Master event list */
Tick GameTick = 0; /* Current game time */
/* Call this to add an event "time" ticks into the future */
void AddEvent(int type, Tick time, void *data)
{
Event *newEvent, *e, *prev;
/* Sanity checking */
if (time <= 0)
return;
/* Create the event */
newEvent = (Event *)malloc(sizeof(Event));
newEvent->Type = type;
newEvent->RipenTime = GameTick + time;
newEvent->Data = data;
/* Descend the list until a later event is found */
for (e = EventList; e && e->RipenTime < newEvent->RipenTime; e = e->Next)
prev = e;
/* Insert the new event before that event */
newEvent->Next = e;
if (prev)
prev->Next = newEvent;
else
EventList = newEvent;
}
/* Call the function below during your update loop */
/* The parameter is how many game ticks have passed since the last update */
void EventUpdate(Tick ticks)
{
Event *e, *next;
int update = 0;
GameTick += ticks;
/* Execute each event that is due to ripen */
for (e = EventList; e && e->RipenTime <= GameTick; e = e->Next)
{
(*EventCallBacks[e->Type])(e->Data);
update = 1;
}
/* Second pass, delete all ripened events */
/* This part is done in a seperate pass in case one of the event callbacks
adds a new event, to avoid munging up the event linked list */
if (update)
{
for (e = EventList; e && e->RipenTime <= GameTick; e = next)
{
next = e->Next;
free(e);
}
EventList = e;
}
}
---<end code>---
Faucet->Drain economy: A virtual economic system wherein there is an
ongoing influx of new items into the game (usually via a reset model)
and a hopefully corresponding outflow, usually accomplished through
object attrition involving equipment damage, rent fees, etc. It is worth
noting that traditionally, designers have been unable to easily come up
with a big enough drain to handle all the 'water.' This is as opposed to
a "Closed economy" in which an attempt is made to close the loop,
creating new objects only when old ones are used up. [Raph K]
Fixed random seeding: Using a fixed value (such as a character's
unique ID, or the character's position in XYZ space) to seed the
random number generator, assuring that the same random number will
always be rolled if the circumstances are exactly the same, but
requiring no storage. This allows parts of the world or its
behaviour to be dynamically generated from the seed value as
needed, and yet to have each "new copy" be the same as all the
others because the seed value hasn't changed.
Fluidity of Identity: Referring to the difficulty of positively identifying
a single person who takes many guises in a game world. Any particular
action against one of those guises is fairly ineffective; they choose
another and continue. This makes it very difficult to pin down
trouble makers. ATtempts at identifying people based on their hostname
(site deny/allow), e-mail address (email registration), credit card number
(for commercial ventures), or just asking really, really nicely are all
easily circumvented, especially when it is easy to create new characters
or
accounts (that is, the process is short and automated). This frequently
makes it difficult to implement 'real world' solutions to in-game problems
such as psychotic killing sprees. Once you catch someone and lock them
away
or put them to death in RL, they are gone. When you do this on most muds,
they just log on two seconds later with another character.
Full world reset, aka "groundhog day" muds: Muds wherein resets occur
globally, simultaneously (sf reset and repop). [RaphK]
Functional roleplaying: A kind of gaming, whilst GoP motivated, is heavily
tailored to the in-game reality. There's no thee's or thou's, or even
pretension of IC/OOC separation, but an awful lot of attention is spent
by the player in working his character thru the game realities rules as
it controls and affects his character. Examples would include
negotiation of reputation and influence systems, votes, political systems,
clans and guilds and other similar structures, etc. Appearance is not
the key. Function is. [JCL]
Global namespace: Referring to the fact that most muds rely on characters
(and sometimes other objects) are given a single and unique name.
Typing 'who' on most muds gives you a list of these; if you see
someone named Bob you know that he is the only Bob in the world, and
can't be confused with anyone else. This is as compared to a system
of generated descriptions to which players can attach proper names
as they please, which may or may not overlap or match up with the
names assigned by other players.
GoP: Short for 'game-oriented play' or possible 'goal-oriented play'.
This is usually a competitive style of play usually oriented around
the accumulation of various resources (money, power, combat ability).
Levels: For the purpose of keeping discussions generic, this term may be
used as an abstract measurement of a character's ability, skill or
expertise whether the game system is level-based or skill-based.
Eg: "If a low level character tries XXX a high level character..."
The precise details are not of interest as opposed to the impact and
result of the undefined imbalance.
Lockless server or DB:
Events request objects from the DB.
If the object is not in the cache, the DB loads the object.
The DB replies to the event with a read-only shared reference to the
object.
The event is added to the "interested parties" list for the object.
If the event attempts to modify the object, a new local, event-specific
copy of the object is made, and the changes are made to that. A copy
of the original reference however is still kept.
The event (loosely) attempts to keep track of what members of the
object it referenced.
During the execution of an event. all external IO is buffered and held.
Upon the event terminating it compares its copy of the original object
(the local reference) with the object that's actually in the DB (may
have been changed by events committing during the current event's
execution). Some intelligence is attempted here to only compare those
values etc which were referenced by the event.
Should the original copy and the current-in-DB copy compare OK, then
the event commits, the IO is released, and all its changes in its
written-to copies are committed atomically. This is the
Compare&Commit, or C&C.
If the C&C fails, the event is thrown away, all the copies are released,
the IO is discarded, and the event is rescheduled to try again.
There is also some background intelligence here where the DB watches
the objects that are affected by event's C&C'ing, and will signal the
other events that are members of those object's interested party list
that they may be invalidated by the other event's C&C and so should
kill themselves and reschedule.
ref: DEMOS and the DOME project (JCL)
Markup language: An internal set of codes used by a server to generate
semi-dynamic messages. An example is "%c dives %I %o" which might result
in "Bubba dives behind the wall", "A woman dives into the pool", or
any number of other strings.
mud or MUD: It is not an acronym. It is a collective term for all the
types of games discussed on this list, including both RP and GoP.
[NB: Another description may be found at the list's homepage
<URL:http://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev/> ]
Mule: Character created on goal-orientated muds those sole purpose is to
supplement a player's primary character by supplying services such as
equipment repair. Mules usually have skills that cannot be obtained
without creating a new character but are perceived to be undesirable to
play. For example, an alchemist class could be considered unenjoyable
to play but due to their special ability to repair equipment, the regular
players create mule alchemists just to access that ability.
Object: Because most of the servers discussed here are
object-oriented, the word object is being used in its general
programming sense to include characters, locations, inanimate items,
and so forth, rather than referring to only inanimate items as is
typical in some mud servers.
PK, player-killing: The intentional killing of a player character by
another player, with or without the first player's prior knowledge,
agreement, or consent. [JCL]
Psychological disinhibition: The term for when people act less inhibited
than normally because of circumstance. All behaviours online tend to become
less inhibited, and the greater the absence of identity cues for the
people
you are interacting with, the less inhibited the behaviours tend to get.
[RaphK]
Realism: This is not necessarily correspondance to the real world, but
rather refers to internal consistency. In many cases using the
working of real world systems (physics, for example) is a good
example for how to build a consistent system for a game world.
To quote:
"This is, of course, partially my invention, to suit the gaming world
we are working on, and is not intended to mirror Real Life - just to
borrow enough bits and pieces from it, so that it is recognized as
somewhat structured (rather than totally whimsical) to the player."
- Holly Sommer
Repop: See Reset.
Reset: Usually a function called in a mud at irregular intervals, the
purpose of which is to put back the game, or some fragment of the
game or game world into a known state. Typically this might mean
locking an opened door, or resurrecting an NPC that was killed by a
player and putting him back to guard the door, Resets and repops
are common on games that promote repetitive actions for advancement.
Skill net: A single layered skill web. Skills are directly weighted to
each other. See skill web (NY)
Skill tree: A skill system where skills have a single parent and
several children. A skills at the bottom of the tree being very
specialised. Skills higher up the tree will affect the value of
skills further down.
Skill web: a non-hierarchical two layered skill system wherein each
skill is weight-related to an arbitrary number of attributes, and
the improvement of skills therefore automatically improves related
skills. Examples of skills might be rowing and flycasting, examples
of attributes, strength (upper arm) and precision (forearm).
[Note: I triple weight my skill web, so that there are direct
connections to the condition of the character's body and mind, and
so that the resilience of same are improved by conditioning. Nathan Y]
[Note 2: The web is modelled after a simple neural net design I found in
Dr. Dobbs' Journal. Nathan Y]
Verb binding: Attaching verbs to an object, such as 'fly' to a
jetpack. The command essentially does not exist when you don't have
the jetpack.
Virtual sociopath: a player who shows no empathy towards any other players
and therefore is a willing killer of them) but who is perfectly normal
in real life--someone whose disassociation from others only occurs in
an online setting, because of their lack of empathic connections to
other players. See "psychological disinhibition." [RaphK]
World state: a mud which saves world state is one in which there is
persistence not only of characters but also of objects other than
characters. Worlds which do not save world state (such as muds derived
from Dikus) only save character data and the world itself (other than its
static map) is not persistent over reboots. A snippet from my website:
--->
The "middle layer" referred to is the one of the three layers of
significance in a virtual world: that which is the static database, that
which is the play of data on said static database, and that which is the
dataset of players themselves. Depending on the method of state-saving of
the mud, they may save one, two, or all three of these things. As an
example, a classic Diku saves only the third layer: players. Ultima Online
saves both players and the environment. A typical MUSH saves players, the
environment, and also the actual map and setting which holds the
environment, since MUSHes allow dynamic alteration of the static data.
Some
early muds did not save any of the three, and thus were not truly
"persistent."
<---
[RaphK]
This text was written by Olof Ekström except where indicated. For more information about the author of this page, see Olof Ekström's personal information in the Project Profiles document. Where noted above , definitions are borrowed from other original sources. Consider these loans temporary. They will be replaced with my own definitions as soon as possible. The original FAQ for the MUD Dev mailing list as well as the mailing list archive can be found at http://www.kanga.nu/FAQs/MUD-Dev-L/ and http://www.kanga.nu/archives/MUD-Dev-L/ respectively.
Copyright © 2001-2002 Olof Ekström/Extro System. All rights reserved.
Bälinge/Uppsala, Sweden, July 2001-February 2002