writing games
Exploring the culture and craft of text-based games
Welcome to Writing Games: a site about building shared worlds through words. Among these pages, you’ll find how-to guides, accessibility tips, and interviews with developers behind today’s text-based games. Whether you’re writing a virtual world of your own or just curious about the craft, you’ll be in good company.
New to multiplayer text games?
Start here and choose your own adventure:
Featured posts
Inside Cryosphere: the satirical sci-fi space MUD
Long-time developer Morwen shares the origins of Cryosphere, the design decisions that shaped the game, and what’s coming next.
Too many MUDs, not enough players?
We’ve all heard it, but is it true? And does that mean it’s a lost cause to make a new MUD in 2025? Andruid shares her two cents.
Latest posts
Lumen et Umbra: re-imagining a world between light and shadow
Learn how Simone, AKA Niymiae, rebuilt the Italian game Lumen et Umbra from its Diku roots into a one-of-a-kind hack-n-slash MUD with ARPG influences.
MudVault: a new way to discover MUDs
Asmodeus, creator of MudVault, is building tools to make MUDs easier to find, fairer to rank, and more fun to play – all while keeping the focus on user experience.
GoMud: a lightweight engine for building text-based worlds
Volte6, creator of GoMud, talks about the new engine, what it’s like to make a project open-source, and lessons learned along the way.
Federation 2 Community Edition: from hauling cargo to shaping the galaxy
Federation 2: Community Edition is a player-run revival of a space trading MUD. Jonathan (“Cosmo”) shares how it came back from the brink – and why it’s still special 30+ years later.
Bridging virtual worlds: past and future of the InterMUD chat network
Long before Discord, MUDs had cross-game chat networks. This post dives into the sometimes dramatic history of InterMUD.
LociTerm MUD client and the legacy of The Last Outpost
Discover how RahjIII built LociTerm – an accessible, browser-based MUD client – to keep The Last Outpost and other games playable on any device.
A picture worth a thousand rooms: the Worldmap project by Hades_Kane and Grieffels
Discover how Hades_Kane and Grieffels built a worldmap system that lets you quickly make areas from PNG files. Includes screen reader support!
3 Years of Writing Games: a look back
Compelling insights and key takeaways from the first year of interviews in a single post.
Text-based adventure games: from Zork to AI Dungeon
Learn about the history and evolution of text-based adventure games, from the classic Zork to the modern AI Dungeon platform.
Recently updated
Crafting elegance: how luxury fabrics and textiles are made
Learn how luxury fabrics and textiles are made, including types of fibers and their sources. For writers and world-builders who like to dive into the details.
Celebrating International MUD Day: 8 ideas
Learn what International MUD Day is and what it’s all about. Plus, get ideas for celebrating the holiday with your friends.
Bridging virtual worlds: past and future of the InterMUD chat network
Long before Discord, MUDs had cross-game chat networks. This post dives into the sometimes dramatic history of InterMUD.
Toxic gaming communities: how to identify and deal with toxic behavior
Learn what makes a game or gamer toxic, as well as tips for avoiding toxic gaming communities and handling toxic behavior.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Writing Games?
Writing Games (writing-games.org) is a modern website dedicated to old-school text-based games. The site houses resources for building better games and communities and covers topics such as accessibility, inclusivity, and how to welcome and retain new players.
Is this site about video games or text games?
Technically, text-based games are video games – they’re played on screens, after all. But when people say “video games,” they usually mean graphical games with visuals, animations, etc. Writing Games focuses on text-based games. This includes multi-user dungeons (MUDs), chat-based roleplaying games, and other systems where play happens through written language rather than graphics.
Who is this site for?
Writing Games is for anyone who plays, creates, or manages text-based roleplaying games. This icludes players exploring text adventures for the first time, developers designing their own MUDs or MUD clients, writers interested in collaborative storytelling, or admins who want to make their games more inclusive.
What kinds of content does Writing Games publish?
Writing Games publishes how-to guides, interviews, an advice column, a glossary, and essays focused on text-based roleplaying games and the communities around them.
For example, with the guides on this site, you can learn how to market your game for free, improve player retention, make your game more accessible, and write more compelling characters and roleplaying hooks.
How can I support Writing Games?
The easiest way to support the site is to simply tell your friends about it. Share your favorite posts with your communities or link to them in your own articles, websites, or games. For other ways to support the site, check out the Support page. 💜
Page Last Updated: January 8, 2026