Richard A. Bartle: September, 1994 interview

September, 1994 interview

9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Hi Richard, and all! Thank you, Richard for joining us tonight.
9-15,richard: that's "this morning" for me, not "tonight"!
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Hey, everybody, this is Richard Bartle <pointing to user 15> the BL Game Author or as he modestly puts it the co-author <g> Er, goodmorning care for a cup of coffee, Richard? Or is it tea?<g> We are going to be properly formal tonight/morning! So if you have a question type a ? and wait for me to call on you for your question. Similarly, if you have a comment type ! and again wait for me to call on you. The topic tonight is fairly open...Richard is here as guest speaker and will gladly answer most game related questions Remember after you are done speaking to type GA <means go ahead> to signal that you are finished and I can direct the next person to speak. Only type a ? or a ! once! You will be put on a list. Ready Richard?
9-15,richard: yes, I'm ready
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Ok, first up, Vixen, you had a question? GA Everybody else please be quiet!
9-11,vixen: Ok, are you going to come play with us when this is over,and do you play much BL yourself.?
9-15,richard: When this is over, I am going to go to sleep. It's 2:45am where I am. As for playing BL, hmm, well, no, I don't not really I pop in from time to time and see what's going on, but I don't play.
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Skitzo, question, GA
9-7,skitzo: ok,how long did it take you to program BL, and are you a wiz? GA
9-15,richard: How long did it take? Depends how you measure it. BL is actually the third version of a program called MUD. The first version took about 2 days to write, but was just a test for what was to come. The second version took maybe 2 months, on and off. I didn't write either of these. I wrote around 75% of the third version, ie. BL, and made it into a game rather than a place to wander around.
9-7,skitzo: i am just asking because i am learning how to program and i wanted to know how long a good game takes to program GA
9-15,richard: Well the core of the program was maybe 3 months, but I added to it all the spare time I ever had, so the full time was a lot longer. As for being a wiz, yes, of course I am - I even worked my way up from novice (but not on BL, on the original, pre-CompuServe version).
9-3,Logrus: a ? MUD was that mULTI-USER-DUNGEON?
9-15,richard: Yes, MUD=Multi-User Dungeon
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Timmy, question, ga
9-20,Timmy <The Target>: Is ANYONE willing to give any hints on how to get boat for dragon isle??? Im stuck, GA
9-15,richard: You know where the boat is?
9-20,Timmy <The Target>: No, i think you have to build it..?
9-15,richard: You are labouring under a massive misapprehension.
9-20,Timmy <The Target>: Boat starts in game at a reset??
9-15,richard: yes, it does. it's adjacent to a body of water. ga
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Alive, question, ga
9-6,Alive: Ok To Richard, Why did you make the MUDs and what is your daily job?
9-15,richard: I made BL (aka MUD1) because I'm a programmer and a gamer, and therefore I was just happy programming games. My daily job is programming games, too - the latest version of BL, which runs in the UK
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Aqua, question, ga
9-8,AquaDyne: Richard.....are there plans to expand BL, like MUD2...and... are you going to change the Maus puzzles again before I make wiz? GA
9-15,richard: there are no plans to expand BL, no: it's incapable of anything much more complicated than it is at the moment. That's why I wrote MUD2 from scratch. The maus puzzles will get changed when I next install a database, along with a whole load of graveyard puzzles that have been stacking up for about a year, but I can't put a game into production unless it's "worthwhile". This means I hve to wait for a whole load of little things to mount up before fixing it.
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: do you mean epitaphs, Richard?
9-15,richard: Yes, I mean epitaphs.
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Logrus, question, ga
9-3,Logrus: My question comes in two parts.
9-15,richard: oh-oh
9-3,Logrus: First, Richard, did you work on a MUD project at Essex University in England?
9-15,richard: yes I did: that was the original MUD, and BL is practically identical to it this was around 1978/79, but BL didn't come until 1980
9-3,Logrus: Ahh, you see, around 8 years ago I plaid (played) MUD (and it was called just that... from Tokyo via a packet switching net (KDD) thru to Essex.
9-15,richard: yes, that's the one: MUD is what I always call BL; BL is a compuservisation
9-3,Logrus: Actually over ten years ago, and you say you worked on that original MUD?
9-15,richard: "well, we did have someone call from Tokyo, yes, I remember
9-3,Logrus: That was me. You truly remember??
9-15,richard: What was your persona name?
9-3,Logrus: I think I called myself... dang I have had so many..
9-15,richard: something short, starting with S I think... hard to remember
9-3,Logrus: Something m,edeavl (mid-evil)
9-15,richard: was that you in WiReD then?
9-3,Logrus: No im afraid not, I fell out of the MUD cicuit for a while, into LAN sipport now.
9-15,richard: hmm, well maybe there was morethan one, then anyway, I think maybe we ought to stop having a conversation and get back to the questions
9-3,Logrus: It had to have been 1982... I am thru thank you GA
9-15,richard: well if you remember JEZ and EGOR, you're the one I'm thinking of! ga
9-3,Logrus: oh yes!!! Ill be damned!
9-15,richard: ok skitz, your turn
9-25,skitzo: i cant figuere out that ghost on the stairs,any hints?
9-15,richard: the ghost on the stairs, yes, well that's one of the very few rooms that isn't one of mine. it's my co-author's Roy Trubshaw's. The poem is just that, a poem, it serves no purpose but to
9-5,Chaotic: annoy novices
9-10,Evaine: <g>
9-15,richard: help describe the room. Actually, it's a mis-quote, I think; the real A. A. Milne poem starts off "Halfway down the stairs", not up.
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Chaotic, question, ga
9-5,Chaotic: Thank you Val. Mine is a design question... There seem to be items such as the stove and dwarf king and queen that act like puzzles, but have no solution. Are these parts of puzles u never got round to installing? you said you have got to a point where the game could get no bigger...END
9-15,richard: it's not that it couldn't get bigger, it's just that it couldn't get much more functional. the stove is a hook upon which I intended to hang all sorts of goodies, but the dungeon definition language wasn't up to it; I couldn't make it do all these extra bits because it didn't have the functionality. The stove was one of the last things I added before deciding I really ought to rewrite everything. Still, it gives the wizzes something to hang their weird imagined rumours off of..!
9-5,Chaotic: Alas. And the Dwarf King and Queen?
9-23,CAMBER: wizzes? rumors?
9-15,richard: the DQ and DK are just mobiles, nothing special about them they just have a few more stam pts, that's all. ga
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Adrienne, you had a comment that we missed? GA
9-14,Adrienne: Re: Skitzo's question, about the stairs... I asked Richard the same question, about six years ago... and was told the poem was put there... to induce us Americans to read British poetry. <g> <GA>
9-15,richard: well... that was a reason why I didn't take it out!
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Alvin, question, ga
9-24,Alvin Seville: ok..in the maus..where the heck is the dance floor?!..
9-15,richard: what dance floor? ga
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Right next to the band of course
9-24,Alvin Seville: and is there a point in dancing on it? <G> No, in the maus it says GA
9-5,Chaotic: It makes me fell like dancin'/(gonna dance the night away...)
9-24,Alvin Seville: Chaotic; DONT get me started.. or I'll do bad disco songs <VEL>
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Joanna, question, ga
9-13,Joanna: I have a comment and a question... First.. just want to say THANK YOU to Richard.. for creating this wonderful place for all of us!
9-21,Shungnak---*: ditto!!
9-15,richard: oh, er, you're welcome
9-24,Alvin Seville: I third it
9-13,Joanna: My question might be hard to answer.. I'm wondering if Richard might know of any really obscure puzzles.. That maybe even the wizzes haven't found yet..
9-15,richard: yes, we call those 'bugs'. ga
9-13,Joanna: rofl! ok.. just thinking that maybe there was some obscure things <not even puzzles.. maybe commands>... that we wouldn't know about <g> ga
9-15,richard: there are some sillies which people don't try very often, but no major puzzles. there might be ways of doing things that people don't always know about, eg. RIDE CARPET, SIT CARPET, BEAT CARPET all do different things sillies are when the game traps something and gives a message to let you know it knows, but doesn't necessarily understand
9-5,Chaotic: I heard U used to be able to make wiz byy "k medicine w ls" instant wiz, instant fod! True?
9-15,richard: well, you were a mortal wiz, and you had to be a novice. it took points off you, but didn't check that if you went negative it should reset to 0. the negative points were treated as a very large positive number, hence wizdom.
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Vixen, question, ga
9-11,vixen: Ok kind of techincal sorry. what language is BL written in? What platforms does it run on and is there anything close in a home version. And what does a license cost??? whew
9-15,richard: BL is written in BCPL. It runs only on DECsystem-10 mainframes (which they don't make any more), and the only thing close to a home version is when I get around to producing one for MUD2. We did have a CMB64 home version, single-user, and there was nearly a PC version of that CBM game, but nothing came of it. As for licence, well CompuServe have a world exclusive for BL (if memory serves me right), so there's no immediate possibility of granting BL licences.
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Ok, Koshka, you're next, ga
9-17,Koshka: Thanks <g>. Richard, a simple question but one that I've been curious about for awhile. Is it totally serendipidous that MUD2 completes the acronym that we are more familiar with for fantasy games: Multiuser Dungeons and Dragons = MUDD = MUD2
9-15,richard: no, that's not true: BL is MUD version 3, and MUD2 is MUD version 4. When I was writing MUD2, the players of MUD in the UK called the new program MUD2, the original (ie. BL) being MUD1. However, strictly speaking they should be MUD3 and MUD4 respectively. The D for Dungeon, by the way, is not because there's a dungeon in MUD/BL, nor because of D&D. Rather, it's because there was a Fortran version of what came to be known as ZORK doing the rounds when MUD was named, and this Fortran program was called DUNGEON. We could have called it MUA for multi-user ADVENTURE, but we chose DUNGEON for the acronym. ga
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Mjolna, your next, ga
9-20,Mjolnar: OK I have two questions First How many room are there in total in this version of BL?
9-15,richard: how many rooms? er, er, er hmm, it does actually have a count in the definition file, but I don't remember what it is off-hand, and some of the "rooms" are dead rooms or wiz-only rooms. There's about 400.
9-20,Mjolnar: Second are there any other spell available other than the one listed by the command spells?<GA> I think those are the only spells. the wizzes have extra powers, but these
9-15,richard: aren't spells. ga
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Iroq, question, ga
9-18,iroquois: there is a bump in a chute with the lever is the a way to slow down to enter offshoot if there is one
9-15,richard: hmm, sorry for taking my time to reply here, I was having trouble figuring out what you meant. the reason I was having trouble was because you were asking about something that isn't in the game, ie. an off-shoot from the sliding stuff. there is no off-shoot: it's one-way. (there goes another neat idea!) ga
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Chaotic, ga
9-5,Chaotic: Isn't thtere a fork in the chute? I thot thats what he menat.
9-15,richard: no, there isn't a fork
9-8,AquaDyne: sen 5 if you drop the druid golden fork in the chute, there will be one <g>
9-24,Alvin Seville: sen 8 whoopsie!
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Logrus, question, ga
9-3,Logrus: Richard, back to the good ol' days... Does the Essex University MUD still exist, and is it still FREE. That was 12 yeasr ago. GA
9-15,richard: MUD only runs on DECsystem-10 mainframes, and there are very few people who still run them. Essex University got rid of theirs about 5 years ago, at long last so no, I'm sad to say that they don't run MUD there any more
9-3,Logrus: Where are there others MUD systems? RICHARD, itw was on there 12 years ago, was it not?
9-15,richard: yes yes yes it was was was
9-3,Logrus: Yippee, I knew it. Thank you Richard, and a good morning to you.
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Chaotic, you had a question, ga
9-5,Chaotic: Yes, I was wondering where are MUD1 's running now, and where is the CIS MUD? they use a DEC-10?
9-15,richard: there is only 1 MUD1 running, it's known as BL, and you lot play it CIS either use a DEC-10 or they use one of the emulators you can get, someone did a conversion to Unix, but since CIS have world-wide rights, it can only be used for private study etc. ga
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Joanna, you had a question, GA
9-13,Joanna: Just wondering if there is any correlation... between the wording of fight messages and the number of hit points lost... in other words, is the 'visciousness of a slash' a certain number of points, versus the 'furioisty of a lunge' ga
9-15,richard: yes, there is, I think. The general framework is that the hit/miss is determined, then the message appropriate to that is selected, then the little bits of the message that say how badly you were hit are added in. if it says you only just missed, you did only just miss. ga
9-13,Joanna: hmm.. we'll have to study that. thanks, richard ga
9-15,richard: of course I could be wrong!
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Vixen, question, ga
9-11,vixen: When will your newest version be realeased? and Thanks for coming. I love the game.
9-15,richard: I don't know when the newest version will be released; I have no substantial changes to make to BL. it may be there's never a new version of BL! ga
9-3,Good Old Days: Richard, my questuion in this: Would you agree or disagree to the following statement, Any new "cversiobs" of MUD -style games wui will more than likely come from a diferent team of programmers, or for that matter run on a different (non-antiquated) platform in a differnt a language. ga addendum -- you and the other s who pioneered are through... *(WAHED HANDS OF AFFAIR)
9-15,richard: assuming "cversiobs"="versions"... well it depends how far ahead you want to look, and where you're looking on CIS, new versions will likely come from existing teams of programmers
9-15,richard: in general, though, they could come from anywhere
9-15,richard: ga
9-3,Good Old Days: looking at graphics, and faster conectivity. Maybe VR...
9-15,richard: VR as in gloves&goggles, hmm, well, if they can preserve anonymity, why not?
9-3,Good Old Days: (off to write a Virtual Reality version of MUD--be a millionaire in 6 months) bye!
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Chaotic, question, ga
9-5,Chaotic: Oh, I just had some point from earlier questions; does the dwarf chute have any use (besides killing those who jump down it) ?
9-15,richard: dwarf chute has no game purpose, it's just there because a dwarf kingdom would need such a chute.
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Alvin, question, ga
9-24,Alvin Seville: uh..ok..what was it..oh Yeah a silly ? <G>.. when you on BL <whenever that is :) >.. I mean, do you have more wiz power in BL than, say, an Archwiz.. and if so, could you kick them out of BL..
9-15,richard: sorry? I think I missed a line. my rank is arch-wiz, so I only have arch-wiz powers. however, because I can change the program, naturally I could give myself any extras I felt like. ga
9-24,Alvin Seville: so when you on? BL that is
9-15,richard: I'm on BL every once in a while, but not for long and I usually stay invis
9-15,richard: maybe once a month or so? but then, sometimes I'm on every day for a week it depends on whether I remember to drop in or not!
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Joanna, question, ga
9-13,Joanna: I was wondering why invisibility doesn't always last for the same amount of time <for mortals> ga
9-15,richard: well, the simply answer is because there's a random number generator used to determine it, but I guess you want to know why there's such a number? to stop people from being able to guarantee they'll be invis for a certain length of time, so they have to be quick to achieve their aims.
9-13,Joanna: ah.. we'll have to call that the RERNG <REALLY evil random number generator> <g>
9-13,Joanna: does anything you do or have with you make a difference?
9-15,richard: hmm, now that rings a bell, but I don't know what the object is if it's true
9-13,Joanna: ok, thanks ga <NOW ya got us wondering> <g>
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Camber, question, ga
9-23,CAMBER: thanks, always a pleasure to talk to ya richard my question is something that i have been curious about for a long time what is a naughty??
9-15,richard: the database definition language used for BL insists that every object have a class name, which basically means that every object has 2 names. when people issue a command, BL's parser is too weak to be able to bind to arbitrary strings, so if they use a word which I want to block, I have to create an object for that word. now, if the word is a rude one, and I have an object which has that rude name, the wizzes would not be able to resist picking up this dummy object and doing things to it. Imagine, for example, I had an object called KISS, where KISS was a rude word. The wizzes would pick it up and give it to people - X the wizard has just given you the kiss. This is fine for kiss, but not for the swear words actually used, as you can probably imagine!
9-23,CAMBER: hehe i thought it was some kind of exotic english item! :)
9-7,Ladeadah/BL SL: yeah! another myth dispelled <G>
9-15,richard: So, I make the words I don't want to be swearwords as synonyms of the class word... am I boring you?
9-23,CAMBER: never
9-15,richard: And NAUGHTY is the class word they're all attached to.
9-13,Joanna: <visioning Camber walking around London, asking people where he could find a naughty> <g>
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Ok, Phoenix, your question, ga
9-1,Phoenix: two things.. first.. richard.. we would NEVER do things like that.. and I'm...a little hurt at your distrust.
9-7,Ladeadah/BL SL: <rolling eyes toward ceiling>
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: <looking down> I think I need wader boots
9-15,richard: well ideally mortals shouldn't even know about the NAUGHTY
9-15,richard: and I only put it in because wizzes DID have "X has given you a F**K"!
9-1,Phoenix: 2nd.. would you mind.. <only for theoretical use>.... giving me your personal arch/programmer password.. so I could... just LOOK at the code? I swear.
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: so much for boots...I need airvaced out of here lol what was question 2 again pho? it appeared splashed into bits on my screen
9-1,Phoenix: just simply a personal request richard.... on theoretical reasons ONLY>. may I have your personal arch/programmer password.. so I could just LOOK at the code? <trustworthy look>
9-15,richard: CompuServe made me sign all kinds of agreements to stop me from giving out passwords, sorry
9-1,Phoenix: it was a JOKE <G>
9-15,richard: hmm, come to think of it, I can't remember my password!
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Alvin, question, ga
9-24,Alvin Seville: OK..for that matter..are there actions that can, say.. DEAF you or DUMB you..
9-15,richard: yes, some actions can
9-24,Alvin Seville: without using command or object.. I know abt the BLIND one <veg>
9-15,richard: I think there's a deaf, but not a dumb
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Fredie, question, ga
9-19,Fredie: Thanx easy one Richard... Seeing as you have seen players....... play from each side of the "big pon... who is nastier? The yanks or the Brit I mean who palys a bloddier game? GA
9-15,richard: depends on the game and where it is in its bloodthirstiness cycle Americans tend to like rules and details more, and go about killing in a systematic fashion. Brits tend to kill for the thrill, rather than for the sport. In general, that is. ga
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Ok last qustion of the night from Ryan, GA
9-6,Ryan Pokorny: Ya, I am really new and the thing that I would like to know is how in the world do I make a map fo BL?
9-15,richard: to make a map, set your software to log your games to a file then wander around with a novice, and if you get killed just come straight back in with another novice. at the end of the session, go through the file and make a map from it
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: typing EXITS might be helpfull to you in your map making, Ryan
9-15,richard: warning: BL rooms don't connect in any kind of regular pattern!
9-6,Ryan Pokorny: Thanx!
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Ok Alvin, your comment, real quick, ga
9-24,Alvin Seville: ok here goes..yeh, Rich, I know you burned out when you update the dbase, does that include copyrite date?.. cause most copyrites are up-to date..and MUDs must be older..it say 1992 now or is it 93..it's not 94 I know that
9-15,richard: I think the copyright updates automatically from the system clock well if it says 1992 maybe it doesn't read from the clock then! oh I remember, CIS asked me to make it read from the clock but it doesn't because I only change itwhen the game changes in a particular year original copyright is 1980
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: That's it...Richard should be allowed to get a couple hours sleep ! Thank you Richard for attending, hope we didnt keep you up too late
9-13,Joanna: clap clap clap Thank you, Richard!
9-8,AquaDyne: Yay! Thanks for coming Richard!
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Thanks to all for coming as well!
9-14,Adrienne: Thank you, most enjoyable!
9-19,Fredie: Thank you Richard!
9-5,Chaotic: Bye Richard-try to rest!
9-15,richard: my pleasure folks - thanks for listening
9-7,Ladeadah/BL SL: thanks Richard! nice to see you again!
9-15,richard: and thanks for playing BL!
9-20,Mjolnar: HAIL RRICHARD
9-24,Alvin Seville: nite Dc.nite Dic..I mean Dr. Bartle
9-13,Joanna: Come visit us more often!
9-9,Erika: glad I made it even though it was way too late <G>
9-16,Valaryia/BL GameOp: Go to sleep Richard! <G>
9-19,Fredie: Let's go back to the game and sacrifice a mortal for Richard! <VEG>
9-13,Joanna: there's a plan! bye all.. going to game
9-7,Ladeadah/BL SL: yes! but give the mortal a nighty first
9-7,Ladeadah/BL SL: er...naughty <rofl>
9-24,Alvin Seville: me 2..for a minute
9-19,Fredie: <clasping hands over mouth> <LOL>
9-9,Erika: I think I'll go there for a min too
9-24,Alvin Seville: I want a nity <VEG>
9-7,Ladeadah/BL SL: hell! give him both! I'm feeling generous
9-24,Alvin Seville: Ill be d**ned if I be the victim <G>
9-9,Erika: heading for the game ... night and hugs!