Enter the (Multi-User) Dungeon is a game jam by The MUD Coders Guild for the graphic-averse. At Enter the (Multi-User) Dungeon, you will build an open source text-based multiplayer game and rate other creators’ games. As text-based game enthusiasts, we wanted to host a game jam that promotes this not-dead-yet genre in a fun and engaging way.

> timeline

Enter the (Multi-User) Dungeon will be a 4 week long game jam running from April 17, 2019 to May 15, 2019.

> theme

The theme of the Second Annual Enter the (Multi-User) Dungeon Game Jam is: One-room.

Traditionally the space in a MUD was separated into Rooms which could be traversed one at a time.

One-room means pretty much what it says: there must be one room and only one room in your MUD. While loopholes and tricks might be used to somehow make that one room more than what it seems it must all take place in that one room.

> rules

1. Multi-User Dungeons Only — The generally accepted definition of “Multi-User Dungeon” is a text-based multiplayer role-playing game, but with that said, feel free to stretch that definition to whatever limit you see fit.
2. Use Any Language — Seriously. Any programming language. Go wild. Or not. Your choice.
3. Libraries A-OK — All third-party libraries and services are considered to be fair game. If it helps you make your game, then you are free to use it!
4. Document, Document, Document — Anything needed to know to run the server. Configuration/compilation steps, tools, caveats, etc.
5. Open Source Licenses — For the sake of being awesome, all submissions should be licensed under a valid open source license.
6. Teamwork — You can work solo or on a team, but be aware that winning games with multiple developers will still only receive one prize.
7. Pokemon Go To The Polls — Games require a minimum of 10 ratings to place in the top 3, so don’t just submit, but also vote on each others games!
8. Serve It Up — Multi-User Dungeons are, by definition, multiplayer. As a result, be sure to provide a way for multiple players to connect to your game server! From Telnet to Websockets, the sky is the limit here, all that we ask is you document how players and testers can try your game out.

NOTE: If you need somewhere to host your game, this DigitalOcean referral will give you $10 in credits to start with. Otherwise, Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS, and Google Cloud all have fantastic free tiers for new users.

> criteria

1.  Does the game fit with the specified theme?
2. Gameplay — How well does the game… play?
3. Creativity — How creative is the game, given the constraints?
4. Story — Pretty self explanatory, don'tcha think?
5. Codebase — What does the code base look like? Is it clean and organized, or slapped together haphazardly?

> winners

The top three games will be selected based on the community voting criteria above.

> prizes

One copy of Ralph Koster's book Postmortems: Selected Essays vol1 for each member of any team who places 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

> social

1. Please join our Slack channel and introduce yourself or team and share your progress once the jam starts.
2. Follow us on Twitter @mudcoders.
3. Use the #enterthemud hashtag on social networks.
4. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter! Winners will be announced via the newsletter on June 1, 2019.