Skip to main content

Creating Discworld

 — cheese errors and strawberries for all

On the other side of the Discworld MUD's playing field are the behind the scenes people that make it all go 'round (or flat as the case may be) and fix it when it breaks. As a group these individuals are known as the creators. Other MUDs call them immortals or wizards.

Creators are the people who enjoy spending their time online making the experience more realistic, more true to the feeling of the Discworld series of books or bringing their favourite characters and places from the books to life. Addiction is optional.

Roles

There are several types of creators on the Discworld MUD, each with a specific role.

Coding Creators
Coding creators write code, create new areas, quests, objects, NPCs (non-player characters — otherwise known as monsters, or bots), and fix bugs that come up. Creators work as members of an area or areas called domains to bring the MUD to life. Their knowledge is often specialized and often localized to a specific geographical area of the MUD. Don't be surprised if a creator tells you they don't know about or can't help you with a particular place or object or problem. Having the power of creation doesn't necessarily make one omniscient.
Liaison Creators
Liaisons primarily help players with their problems. They are the front line of the creator community and help the creators "keep it real" by directly interacting with players and their issues. Liaisons tend to have broad knowledge of areas and trouble spots on the MUD where Coding creators, by necessity, have a much narrower focus. They are typically more helpful and understanding of newbie players and those who are new to the MUD or mudding in general but more experienced players will often be pointed in the right direction or told to discover the answer for themselves.
Senior Creators/Liaisons
Senior creators or liaisons are more experienced coding creators or liaisons that have more freedom to code personal projects that transcend domains, be a member of multiple domains, including non-recruiting domains, and may be expected to help other, less experienced members of the team. Generally speaking, senior coding creators have completed a project (or projects) that has been reviewed and released into the game.
Directors
Directors are typically domain leaders. They manage the coding creators in their area and goad/motivate them into completing new areas or objects for the game. Directors decide when their domain will hire new creators and which projects the team will focus on.
Some directors may not manage creators but instead manage other aspects of the game's maintenance or development. Directors are generally responsible for player discipline and enforcing rules and have the power and authority necessary for the job.
Trustees
Trustees or Administrators are ulitmately responsible for the smooth running of the MUD. They are concerned, not just with policies and rules that make the MUD a safe and fun place for players of all ages, but also with the smooth running of the systems that run the MUD. They set boundaries for players, creators, and directors and enforce them. They are the highest court in the land.
Trustees maintain underlying systems such as the hardware and operating system the MUD runs on as well as the MUD driver and mudlib. Trustee projects are usually very low-level and tend to have the broadest impact on the MUD as a whole (e.g. the login system, player object, etc.). They make sure that changes are balanced and fair across all domains. Trustees are usually very senior — typically working their way up through the ranks for five or more years. See the Administrators page for a list of Discworld MUD Trustees.