At this point, I think the best way to make that change is to find some "Zugg" type person interested in writing a basic MUD client for mobile phones.

There has been a fair amount of discussion lately on the topic of accessability for MMO's in general, on Terra Nova and similar places. While its true that it would probably make the game more accessible to the non-hardcore gamer, it would also mean a big change in game design. With MUD's, as with graphic MMO's, there is far too much information coming at the user for the regular interface to suffice. Such mobile access would have to consist of limited mini-games like chatting and crafting.

But once we start talking about breaking the game down into sections that can be accessed from different media, I think we've begun to talk about worlds that contain games, not games set in worlds. Which is fine, of course. One just needs to consider these and the other implications of changing the access points. As with most design choices, its a much bigger can of worms than it first appears to be.

I would actually go in a different direction though. I think there are still large segments that would enjoy MUDs that haven't been exposed to them. MMO's and MUD's tend to cannibalise each others populations, swapping the same players around. This would be the first thing I'd address.

- Ryan