UD is a Great Thing!
Get the software!
Genesis, being an imaginary world with colorful literature texts, but still following some strict rules may offer rich educational opportunities to ones seeking it. If you will be able to contribute Genesis, you will earn the endorsement of one of the oldest institutions online, gain valuable experience and possibly prepare yourself to your future job!
Computer Science Student or Software Enthusiasts
Business Administration and Psychology Students
English Teachers and Instructors.
Computer Science Student or Software Enthusiast!
Bear in mind, Genesis, a complex, evolving but stable and balanced system was created just by students like you. It has two parts - the game driver, written in pure C, and a mud lib, the Mud operating system, implementing an object oriented language, a cousin of C++, called LPC (LP standing for the creator Lars Penjo's initials).
You may find a lot to learn, to practice and to create with the help of Genesis. You may learn the principles of object-oriented approach with LPC, and the experience will be enriched that you are going to create objects which are specific, and not abstract - virtual rooms, weapons, food, people etc. You can also enhance the objects you create with artificial intelligence. If you consider a project or even a thesis concerning these two topics, Genesis might be a very good environment for you! Take a look at the source code and the documentation:
The mudlib and driver is publicly available through our svn service at
all times. Here you can always get the very latest versions of the software.
Use any publicly available svn client for access, or even the web for
single-file access.
You'll also need to configure the distribution. The basic configuration and a basic domain Standard along with some neat code examples are listed below:
The LPC documentation [PDF] [PostScript] [PS(odd pages)] [PS(even pages)]
We distribute both the gamedriver and the mudlib free of charge to anyone who wants them for non-commercial purposes. If you plan to utilize the source code as part of a for profit project, you'll need to contact the Genesis administration team for more details. However, if you simply want to run a game of your own for strictly recreational or academic purposes, the code is free for you to use. See also the Copyright notice.
Business Administration and Psychology Student!
World with its own economy, balances of power, interests, where tasks are performed by real people, although (or, maybe, even) in virtual disguise. A project that has spent more than fifteen years online and still goes on, attracting hundreds of RPG enthusiasts over the world. Isn't it an excellent field for research for you?
You want to learn, how such a long life might be achieved in the Internet? You are interested, how Genesis survives the competition in the RPG business of both commercial ventures and fellow non-profit games? You want to propose an operational model that in your opinion would improve our position? Make it your project, we'll gladly cooperate with you! On the other hand, if you want to use our virtual world for practicing your economic ideas? We can be partners too! And if you become a player, you'll combine business and pleasure in a very educational way.
Genesis also allows to people act like medieval fantasy characters. It turns out the players follow very different patterns of behaviour both as individuals and in organizations. It is interesting how much the person behind the player identifies with the character, and how the game events affect the real life. It is also a proven ground for deep social interaction. If you are a psychology or a organizational behaviour scholar, you may find here numerous topics for research, and we will gladly assist you in your work.
English Teachers and Instructors!
Genesis features dozens of thousands of original descriptions of rooms, objects like weapons or armours, living beings, stories and real-time conversations. The commands players must use to achieve success in their quests may often require good possession of English thesaurus. The standard of the verbal artistry have always been held high in Genesis and many people tremendously improved their fluency in English thanks to playing.
Genesis might be perfect ground for students to improve their english. Texts of the room and object descriptions will help their everyday vocabulary, while reading the books, scrolls and other archives other players have written about the game will boost their affection to English literature. The game is interactive, the players must practice English verbs and sentences to issue successful commands and majority of the communication between players is real-time as well, improving the aspirant's conversational skills (and typing as well!).
