[MUD-Dev] Sony's EverQuest Admits Using Diku

["Locke" <theisles#mugs,net>]

Hello,

 

Tis a sad day for mudders!  Read on for some important information about Sony's EverQuest.

 

This past weekend I had the pleasure of spending time in New York City, visiting the New School University for a gaming conference, called Re:Play.  Among the guest speakers at the conference, there was Bernard Yee, the Director of Product Development for Sony's EverQuest service.  Before the actual conference, there was a select group discussion the night before where I and other students were able to participate in intimate discussion with the speakers.

 

During Bernard Yee's presentation, he framed the entire demonstration by saying that Sony's EverQuest was based on DikuMUD -- which I found at first flattering (being a member of the mudding community) and then later, perplexing.  Does the Diku Group know this?  Have they been compensated?

 

If you've ever played EverQuest, it does resemble in many ways Diku -- it has 'grouping' as well as 'shout' commands, and the actual way the characters interact is very similar to what goes on in your standard Diku, with a veneer of bad 3D graphics layered on top of the, ultimately, mud-like interface.

 

Personally, I wouldn't mind it if Diku had been the base as long as the Diku Group had made some money to fuel their own projects (aka Diku ][).  However, I find it hard to believe that this has happened, and the general demeanor of Mr. Yee was very disconcerting.  He was deflecting of comments or questions that were posed in a way that undermined his gaming environment -- he ignored the hard questions and didn't really seem interested in the mudding community at large.  ("Oh, you know, I don't really know that much about mudding, why don't you send me some email?  Here's my card.")  So this brings two important questions to light:  first, have the Diku people been compensated fairly?  Secondly, if not, will Diku sue?

 

-Locke

of The Isles

www.mugs.net/~theisles

Coder of Nimud

www.mugs.net/~theisles/nimud