Garden is a MUD* set in the year
on an island nation known as the Three Sisters*,
which is gradually recovering from an apocalypse*.
* MUD: Multi-User Dungeon. An old-school text-based
game where you type into commands to do everything, like if someone made your computer's
command line* into an RPG.
* Command line: That
white-on-black (or the popular green-on-black variant) terminal where you
definitely never rm -rf /*'d your way to freedom as a gullible child?
* Three Sisters: Composed of Little
Inwood, emerald cap of the nation; Half Moon Isle, where humanity's hopes wane or wax depending on who you ask;
The Sleepless Isle, home to the Skeleton King, heir to the Spire by deathright, and by all accounts a total snollygoster*.
* Snollygoster: A shrewd,
unprincipled person, especially a politician.
* Apocalypse: There was the War Without Name*, followed by all that hubbub over
nuclear weapons, some of which met their mark, many of which mysteriously vanished. There was quite a bit of
change in the climate. Boiling seas, rains of blood and acid and tentacles, that sort of thing. Then there were
the legions of undead, too.
It just kept going, and eventually humanity tucked its head under the metaphorical blanket of Mother Nature,
receded to underground vaults for the longest-ever "five more minutes, ma, I just can't face the radioactive
smogrise right now", and now - well, now the rest happens!
* War Without Name: There were no
known survivors, so understanding of the events then is limited at best. The conflict was said to have been
sparked by a diplomatic incident in 1973 between the Imperial Khanate and the New Federation, but
scholars these days suspect it was really more about the brimming mana wells discovered in the Antarctic.
Continents were broken, and in that disturbance, immense forces stirred to wakefulness. The aftereffects are
still rippling.
Credits
Garden started on November 12, 2021 and is the creation of Fain Welkin, Luke, and
Wendy.
Evennia is the open-source Python-based engine we use. Simplifier inspired this website.
Plant generator based on code by Blake Bowen.
Keep up with the project on Discord. Have fun !
Statistics
There's currently no one account
connected out of a total of 4 registered.
There are 3 rooms and 23 other
objects in the game.
The Setting:
The world of Garden wears a familiar face, just a few steps away from ours; a couple differing laws of physics, a
few historical turning points gone by. We're practically neighbors in the grand continuum of cosmic cul-de-sacs.
The History:
The world ended. Nuclear war, climate change, plague, zombies, alien invasion, the sudden rediscovery of magic -
when it rains it pours, and the rain these days is particularly biting. The remnants of humanity secluded
themselves in shelters, mostly underground, and subsisted on nostalgia and nutrient paste made from fungus. Over
the course of the following century, humanity began to unpack itself from underground vaults, one at a time. Some
few frightened souls remain below, believing it's too early to breach the surface. There are monsters out there.
Leave sanctuary and you won't be allowed back.
The Rumored Threats:
The surface world is no Eden, and its flora and fauna grow with unsightly mutations as often as not. The people
who dwell above for long develop oddities of their own; there are murmurs of strange blessings and curses kindling
within those who stray far from safety. There are technological marvels in the ruins and ancient war machines
wreaking havoc. There's something strange and massive and terrible in the ocean, deep chasms across the continent
expulsing ceaseless streams of toxic smoke, and nightmares lurking amid the trees. And then, of course, there's
the rabid bears.
The Game:
Garden is a multi-player text-based roleplaying game, a collaborative story told by everyone who plays, a new MUD
built on the shoulders of all the Multi-User Dungeons that have come before.
In this game, you are a citizen of Domina, greatest city of the Garden archipelago, a hub of trade between island
nations.
Your Role:
An adventurer is you! Are you old or young, a killer or a tailor or both? Do you seek power or long for vengeance
or want
nothing more than to explore every corner of the world...? All of that is possible. Develop your character in the
game.
How to Begin:
[Note: We are currently under development, so new accounts will be disabled for the time being]. When you're
satisfied with what you've read on this website and feel like you want to play, feel free to click [Play Now]. If you want something with a bit more heft and
customization than the web client, we suggest downloading Mudlet and
connecting to gardenmud.com (2048). (Feel free to disregard and connect however you like if you're familiar with
MUDs. We accept smoke signal).
Guilds:
Some organizations are more exclusive than others, for better or worse; some are well-known and others are kept a
closely guarded secret. The main notable groups of the world are Arcanists, Artificers, Bards, Druids, Keepers, Mercenaries, Monks, Rangers, and Rogues
* Arcanists: Practitioners of magic. Mistrusted by the general populace, capable of altering physics at a
whim and following their whims to madness. Their workings are illegal within the city, as the effects can be
catastrophic.
* Artificers: Specialty tradespeople, tinkering with ancient relics, novel innovations, and explosive
combinations thereof. They make use of a plethora of components and tools to outfit themselves and their many
customers.
* Bards: Gleemen, jesters, itinerant poets - wordsmiths, songsmiths, experts at one instrument or many.
Members of this collective spend countless time studying and preparing songs with unique effects, each
performance a work of art resulting in merriment or misery in turn.
* Druids: Ritualists close to nature, harnessing the energies of the elements coursing through the world.
Philosophers, scholars, prophets, and counselors often walk the Druid's path.
* Keepers: Oathkeepers, or Keepers, are the guardians of modern-day civilization. They devote themselves
to truth, justice, and following the vows of their Order.
* Mercenaries: Brutish, roughshod, and exceptionally talented at cutting lifespans short. Mercenaries are
experts at judging the value of items - and people.
* Monks: Monks practice ancient fighting styles, instilling their techniques with spiritual and vital
energy to great effect. The monk lives a life of contemplation and dedication to a cause.
* Rangers: Wild and fierce, said to be capable of communing with animals, rangers tend to dwell on the
outskirts of a city if they must live within walls at all.
* Rogues: A rogue is sometimes lonesome, sometimes an operative for one group or another. Whether spies,
scavengers, or something more sinister, they utilize an array of techniques to give themselves an edge in a
fight or keep themselves out of harm's way.
Vocations:
There are many career paths & hobbies for laypeople to pursue, none mutually exclusive.
Mastery of a vocation requires practice and creativity both. Those who train in a major vocation have the chance
to contribute novel recipes, patterns, or blueprints to their field which, upon successful peer review, will be
made available for others to produce - for a fee - and earn their creator a residual income.
Major vocations:
* Alchemy: Tinctures & tonics, poisons & potions, soaps & shampoos.
* Artistry: Artistic prints may be displayed for public or private enjoyment, while books can be
published and circulated through city libraries.
* Construction: Rafts, ships, huts, mansions, and everything in between.
* Cooking: Make raw meat into cooked meat, or create a hearty soup from scratch.
* Farming: Tend farm animals and grow produce to sell, trade, or use.
* Lapidary: Cut and prepare gems. Create fine jewelry, both custom and off-the-shelf.
* Smithing: Forge blades and armor, locks and keys, and the fundamental tools used by many vocations.
* Tailoring: Sew garments and bags with fabrics and furs.
* Woodworking: Create wooden carvings, bows and arrows, furnishings and fixtures.
Resource-gathering supporting skills:
* Fishing: Acquire a variety of fish. Beware what lurks in the depths.
* Foraging: Forage for wild-growing in-season herbs, mushrooms, and flowers.
* Mining: Veins of ore and aggregated gems can be found underground. Deepen or extend existing mines,
but watch out for a cave-in.
* Taxidermy: The preparation of a corpse after death. Butchering, stuffing and preserving and more.
* Leatherworking: Post-mortem processing of skins and furs.
* Woodcutting: Chop trees. Different environments feature different trees.
The Beginning - Nov 2021
Worked on some concept 'art' - no firm idea on concept yet
Started looking at code! Going with Evennia to start. The discord community is extremely helpful.
Set up simple systems: Socials, score, health, basic abilities, item interactions.
Starting to discuss guilds, subclasses, and structure.
Formatting how the game looks. Spacing matters.
Setting Up - Dec 2021
Focusing on builder tools: Recoloring items, creating prototypes.
Brief mode.
'Follow' mechanics, container mechanics, clothes.
Metal and gems can be mined for underground.
Metal ores can be smelted into metal bars.
A basis for resource mechanics in areas.
Buying and selling mechanics with NPCs.
Environments for different areas to be associated with different biomes.
Picking up/dropping/putting away multiple objects at once.
A start to effects with 'blind'.
Weapons and wielding mechanics.
Books with pages that can be flipped and paper that can be written on.
Generation of mobs in an area according to matching biome.
Liquids and liquid mechanics (evaporation, drinking, filling, pouring).
Boards for posting notes.
A mapping system that can be toggled on/off or simply called with the MAP command.
Trees - Jan 2022
Billboards that change each time they're seen.
Poison as an effect.
Stacking items correctly in inventory, containers, and rooms.
Wordle is added as a puzzle that librarian NPCs offer players.
A fully functioning coordinate system for rooms.
Extending mines now opens into other existing rooms as per the coordinate system.
Swimming through water.
71 trees added. Chopping trees added. Tree production of fruit/nuts added.
Crafting from wood added. Rafts added to construction. Rafts can be sailed across water.
Bridges added to construction.
Constructs decay over time, eventually disintegrate, and can be repaired.
Animal traps added.
Blacksmith trainer now teaches smithing. Smithing items added.
Animals - Feb 2022
Typo, bug, and idea commands added, associated with admin boards.
World maps drawn.
Linking game OOC chat with Discord #ooc-chat.
Setting up leatherworking (TAN and STITCH), taxidermy (SKIN and BUTCHER), and farming (MILK and SHEAR).
Sufficiently heavy items sink in water and fall through air.
[Redacted] magic.
Windows added to construction skill and show the linked room when uncovered.
Moorings that ships can be moored and unmoored to.
57 birds added. Birds can fly, can produce eggs.
Nourished effect from food. Being nourished comes with slightly improved health/energy regen.
Bad food does not offer nourishment and in fact can add a Nauseated effect.
HEALTH and HP commands.
Unpreserved food rots.
24 fruit/nut/berries added to corresponding plants. Plants have productive seasons.
Darkness obscures descriptions.
Covering items with other items in the room.
Mirrors added to show you how your emote/say appears.
Animals eat food and can be befriended thus. Animals have their own socials.
Animals die, becoming corpses. Corpses can be butchered or skinned then butchered, but not butchered then
skinned.
Animal products added.
Candle-making added.
SKILL command added.
Cooldowns added.
Boredom system added (extended cooldown).
The Ballista - Mar 2022
Character creation system beginning.
Trainers can now teach specific skills/crafts.
A timer system on a race minigame.
Newly spawned humans possess randomly generated descriptions, names, and personalities.
Hair-related things: Styling hair, mussing hair, dyeing hair, CURL and STRAIGHTENing hair.
Concealing certain object names: Garnet -> Red Gem.
Learning item identities & seeing details with the STUDY command.
Creation of a ranged weapon with a viewfinder through which the weapon can be aimed.
REPORT system in.
This Website - Apr 2022
Screenreader-friendly login screens (only if the game knows you're connected through VIP Mud)
Systems made screenreader-friendly: Cellphones, map system.
Picked a name and rented a domain name and created this website!
Weather system in.
Commands can now require resources or certain traits, check for whether the character is otherwise occupied and so
on.
Resting, sitting, and standing now available.
Closing out new character creation for now since the site is live. Interested people can join the mailing
list.
Luke is getting a lot of work done on monks & their various fighting styles.
Added a ton of animal prototypes: We're up to 107 unique species.
LAST command for channel and emote/say history.
ECHO command for admin emotes to people/rooms/zones/regions/the world.
Many help file updates, HELPLIST and HELPLIST (category) in.
Updates to phones, all phone commands prefixed with 'phone' and can be accessed with 'tap'. TEXTing functionality
is in.
Mixed Bag - May 2022
Some bard abilities added: EARWORM, MODULATE, FEIGN, bardic singing.
Update to the connection process. Characters are now part of accounts, an account screen comes up after login.
TELLs now function correctly and are OOC comms between accounts.
RESTRING and RPAWARD added.
GET now checks your containers if nothing matches in the room.
You can now WASH yourself at water!
Rangers now can BOND with animals and speak through them.
Added fabric (60 types added).
Added the DOPPELGANGER ability for druids.
Added a plethora of socials (including :) :( and :D)
Mining update: Veins have a chance of extending through mined rooms into adjacent mines.
Emotes and socials can be targeted properly with @target and {target}.
Skill increases have messages.
Clothing can be layered and covered clothes appear as (covered) to yourself, invisible to others.
Ranged weapons are in: Crossbows and bows, with bolts and arrows for ammunition respectively.
AIM, FIRE, and LOAD commands in for ranged weapons. Firing auto-consumes ammo from quivers.
VOLLEY command in along with RAPIDFIRE and SHARPSHOOTER effects for ranged weapons.
Local timezone can be set with the TIMEZONE command, and shows as [OOC] in the TIME command.
COUNT command in to count items in your inventory and containers.
MUTE OOC, MUTE LOGIN, MUTE TELLS, and MUTE (person) to customize your OOC comms.
IGNORE command is in (for ignoring IC actions/comms).
FREEZE command is in at the account screen to temporarily shelve a character.
Testers Wanted - Jun 2022
We got a LOT done this month! Opened up port 2048 as the test server. Here's to keeping it succinct:
A SHOW command (show person item, show item to person).
TATTOO functions, and you can look person's tattoos to view them in detail.
COVER garment with other garment works, though the garments have to be worn in roughly the same place.
You can VOTE on board posts.
CALENDAR exists, with a screenreader-friendly alternative.
Added an in-game spellchecker for builders, runs on description-altering.
Blue now appears legibly brighter.
FOLLOW LIST to see who is following you.
You can now FORGE and COLLAR chains.
You can emote with @me, @self, or @my in the emote to avoid starting the emote with your name.
You can now COLOR TELL (color) and COLOR OOC (color) to change how you view those comms.
Disconnected characters show as (asleep) in the room and are removed from the grid after some time.
You can now PUT (item) (container name) as long as the container name used is only one word.
PROMPTs now include a newline at the end by default, and CPROMPT can be used for in-combat prompts.
FORAGE is in, with 104 types of forage-able flowers, herbs, worts, seaweeds, and fungi!
SUBJECTS can be used at boards to list/search board posts.
TRASH command to throw something away, TRASH RETRIEVE to retrieve the last-tossed item.
Tables, Chairs, Wheelbarrows, Beds, and Doors can now be built and are functional. Sleeping in beds restores your
energy.
FASTEN/BOLT and UNFASTEN/UNBOLT available for securing furnishings in a room.
PUSH to push objects from one room to another. PUSH WHEELBARROW is a toggle.
Rock salt and salt crystals added. Rock salt is mined, salt crystals can be CRUSHed from rock salt.
NPC shops now sort wares by category.
Made HAIRSTYLES, HAIR ACCENTS, and COLORS lists pretty.
New carvings: Arrows, Bolts, Bows, Masks, Figurines, Pendants
Masks, Figurines, and Pendants can be WHITTLEd to resemble items or people or animals you see.
Discord messages now appear from display name not username, and channel COLOR applies to discord OOC messages
too.
DROP ALL now available (does not drop worn clothes)
Semi-colon (;) added as an alias for emote.
WIELD or UNWIELD now unwields your weapons if you're wielding any and use no arguments.
Can now stitch SHEATHs, SHEATHE and DRAW weapons.
You can EMPTY containers and containers show roughly how full they are on being looked at.
You can dye things! The dye process: FORAGE for flowers, CRUSH flowers into pigment, you can hold two pigments and
MIX them into another pigment, you can CARVE a bowl from a block of wood, FILL BOWL with water, PUT the pigment
into the bowl - and you've now made dye. Putting more pigment in the bowl further mixes the colors.
The DYE, TATTOO, and HAIRDYE command use your available dyes.
The RECIPE command is available to show what you can make and what ingredients are needed.
You can LOOK (person)'s (item) to see the description of an item they are wearing or wielding.
Salt of the Sea - July 2022
FISHing is now a vocation! Fishhooks can be forged, and fishing line and fishing poles can be found.
31 fish prototypes added, both freshwater and saltwater.
You can now SALT items to make them salty. This will tie into food preservation.
Starting to set up the base for cooking and farming, stay tuned.
Out On Vacation - August 2022
Did a lot of traveling. Not much to report.
Messed around in Midjourney a bit; inspired to create.
Preparing the Farms - September 2022
LABEL items to name them and set a short name for convenient targeting.
COLOR NAME to color-code your own name for easier reading.
The webclient now has autocomplete, where a partly-typed command can be autocompleted with 'tab'.
Logs can be checked by admin from within the game.
ALIAS to set up your own alternative ways to call commands. Includes wildcard targeting with *.
TRAVEL to automatically make your way along a road, stopping at dead ends and intersections.
Major reorganization of the code structure & consolidation of code behind the scenes.
Liquid mixing, with 8 different base liquids that can recombine into many blends - the start of alchemy.
Smithable locksets, locks, and keys!
REPAIR functions on metal-based forged items.
Set up farming and basic farming skills: WATER, PLANT, DIG, and HARVEST.
Basic COOKing functionality and the addition of cooked items to the RECIPES command.
Added a color-coding tool to the website at https://gardenmud.com/colors/
Shut down the test server for the next month as major changes are implemented.
Games in Games - October 2022
A number of webclient fixes and changes; auto-focus input field on typing, be able to copy from output
window with ctrl/cmd-c, pasting with ctrl/cmd-v now directly focuses and pastes into input field.
Dice and rolling dice.
Cards. Playing with cards: Shuffling, drawing, dealing, cutting, and more!
THROW objects at others, other objects, yourself (to toss it up and catch it), on or in containers, or towards
directions.
KICK objects at others, other objects, yourself, on or in containers, or towards directions.
Added a fun https://gardenmud.com/almanac/ to start getting a hang of
website possibilities.
A New Start - January 2023
Touching ink now stains your fingers (or gloves), stains can be WASHed away accordingly.
BANDOLIERs have been added for organized wearable item storage.
Cooldown on kicking and throwing objects is now based on the object weight.
LAG command implemented to see current lag times.
QUEST system is in! One test quest added, more to come.
MOUNT system exists, along with horses.
Timepieces; clocks and watches you can look at to see the time.
ICEBOXes for perishables, WARDROBEs for clothing storage.
Many guild abilities - eleven new and complete!
You can now light things on fire. Many, many things.
RP Logs and Lapidary - February 2023
COMPONENTS to view your current components. RECYCLE and DISASSEMBLE breaks some items into components.
TRADEMARK tags can be set to appear on crafted goods.
Weapons can now have special messages and effects that proc at intervals.
You can now target with 'MY' like 'look my shirt' 'emote tugs at {my shirt}'
Getting started on a wiki and help pages for website display.
RP recording with the RPLOG command. You can RPLOG self or RPLOG here to center the log around your character or
the room. Public RPLOGs can be published to the website.
Added the PATTERN/TRACE/SEW system for designing and sewing clothes.
Embellishments and adornments are in to accessorize garments; feathers, lace, frippery.
LAPIDARY system: JEWELRY to make jewelry, REFINE and cut gems, INSET gems into jewelry.
Mobs and NPCs now have a needs system that influences their behavior.
Added a MATERIALS command to check your available ingredients/materials.
A Reimagination - March 2023
After a great deal of discussion, we're inspired to reimagine the world of Garden significantly. Under wraps for
now, but expect shifts in lore and genre.
DETAILS command to view room details and interactable items in a room. Does not display purposefully hidden
items.
Wigs can be worn, dyed, restyled and brushed. Worn wigs conceal your original hairstyle.
Adding essentials for ALCHEMY.
Some alterations to colors and color mixing is now more accurate.
You can now LEAD mounts and HITCH mounts to wagons.
Hair Dressing - April 2023
Barbers and hairdressers can update your look.
Embellishments added to tailoring.
DETAILS command to view props in a room.
POSITION system for in-room location, work in progress to overhaul melee combat to fit.
Eye-color-changing eyedrops added, using pigment.
Added targeting to the WARES command.
Summer's End - September 2023
Improve socials; add AHEM, WINK
Add DISPLACE for arcanists
Add MODULATE NONE for bards
Add playing cards
Add REFILL to refill containers with same-type items as already held
Improve drink; from held container, container on ground, area
Add EAT of tiny non-soluble inedible objects which can then be COUGHed up or SMACKed out
Building permits, the initial stages of home ownership/building
Crushing paper, which prevents it from being written on or read until pat smooth
Mobs can now grow irritated and attempt to leave
DOGS now exist and come in a variety of types!
Mirrors shatter
ANTLER and HORN can now be dropped from animals
Added tufted puffins, lapwings, mule deer, sand fox
Added CARRIAGEs
