Silent In-game Concerts: Text-Based Musical Performances in MUDs

The document argues that in-game concerts, often perceived as a recent phenomenon exemplified by events like Travis Scott's Fortnite concert, have a much longer history rooted in Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs). It posits that text-based descriptions of musical performances in MUDs served as precursors to modern in-game concerts, demonstrating a continuous form of spontaneous musical self-expression among gamers. The scope of the analysis covers the evolution of virtual worlds from the late 1970s to the present, focusing on the cultural practices within these online environments.

The methodology involved a literature review and data collection between 2023 and 2024. This included semi-structured interviews conducted via Discord with a former MUD player (Druidsfire, USA) and a game developer (Axxa, Finland) of BatMUD (1990). Additionally, e-mail correspondence with Richard Bartle, co-creator of MUD1 (1978), and BatMUD's gaming records from 2001 provided by Axxa were utilized. The analysis is grounded in the theoretical framework that considers the imagination of sounds as sound itself, and acknowledges the role of music as text in performance, drawing inspiration from Actor-Network-Theory to examine human and non-human actors in techno-musical networks.

Key findings indicate that even in the absence of audio capabilities, early text-based MUDs facilitated musical performances through written descriptions and role-playing. Druidsfire's testimony highlights how players in games like Lord of the Rings Online (2007) would "role play music" by describing emotional aspects of songs rather than specific notes. Richard Bartle confirmed that impromptu musical events, such as players taking turns to "sing" song lyrics, occurred in MUD1, though logs of these ephemeral events were not preserved. These testimonies collectively suggest that musical performances were an intrinsic part of online gaming sociability from its inception, shaping the materialities of early in-game concerts through platforms, gamers, and game mechanics.