ABSTRACT

Multiuser Dungeons (MUDs) are a new environment for the construction and reconstruction of self. In the early 1970s, a role-playing game called "Dungeons and Dragons" swept the game cultures, a game in which a dungeon master created a world in which people created characters and played out complex adventures. In the MUDs, the projections of self are engaged in a resolutely postmodern context. There are parallel narratives in the different rooms of the MUD; one can move forward or backward in time. Traditional role playing prompts reflection on personal and interpersonal issues, but in games that take place in ongoing virtual societies such as MUDs, the focus is on larger social and cultural themes as well. Virtual communities such as MUDs are the most dramatic example of the way the culture of simulation challenges traditional notions of human identity. The development of virtual social life is of signal importance: it makes MUDs very special kinds of evocative objects.