Authorship and Autership

John Townsend, University of SydneyMichael Heron, Canterbury Christ Church

University

IntroductionThe construction of literature in any form has

several components that influence construction.Some of these are based on format.Some of these are thematicSome are stylistic.

Today I want to talk about the collaborative construction of real time multiplayer text games.The issues are not unique to these kind of games,

but most neatly encapsulated within them.

Text GamesFor the purposes of this talk, I will define text

games as those works of electronic literature that are:Primarily driven by textual outputPrimary driven by textual inputErgodic, requiring some degree of effortful

navigation.Cybertextual, with output algorithmically

dependent on input.

Examples of Text GamesEarly text adventures, such as those of Level 9

and Infocom.http://pot.home.xs4all.nl/infocom/

Mafia Warshttps://www.mafiawars.zynga.com/fbconnect?

Fallen Londonhttp://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/

Urban Deadhttp://www.urbandead.com/

MUD Output

MUDsThe heyday of the Multiuser Dungeon (MUD) was

in the early 90s.Before the graphical MMOs that eventually killed

then off.

There remains however an active community of developers and players.Die-hards (like me) Indie developers looking for low-cost game

platformsText aficionadosThose for whom graphical games are inappropriate

Characteristics of a MUDMUDs differ from ‘conventional’ text-games in a number of

ways. Expectation of persistence

Many MUDs around now have been in constant operation for 20 years.

Expectation of discontinuityVery few MUDs around now have the same developer team they

did at their inception. An expectation of novelty.

A persistent game must continually introduce new content to keep players interested.

24 hour availability ‘Production’ MUDs are available at all times of the day, which

creates issues of co-ordination as well as the emergence of multiple social cohorts.

Characteristics of a MUDSimilarly, there are certain aspects that derive from

being persistent multiplayer.Players have a sense of ownership over the work.

They have, in many cases, invested more time than many developers into exploring and interpreting the content.

MUDs are in many senses a ‘social text’Formed from attaining the necessary ‘critical mass’ to

persist.MUDs are as much community as they are ‘interactive

works’.And a community can cohere against changes that it sees

to be corrosive to the status quo.

Characteristics of a MUDSave for a handful of rare cases, MUDs are free to

play.This has consequences too when it comes to

recruitment and promotion of developers.

The longevity of a MUD all but guarantees a high attrition rate.Developers and players

The need for constant expansion requires an active, ongoing developer presence.MUDs are never ‘finished’ as long as people are

playing.

CollaborationMuds therefore tend to have many ‘creators’

Many at a time In overlapping periodsWithout financial remuneration

This impacts heavily on concepts of ‘authorship’, ‘ownership’ and the ability to direct a game’s creative direction.This makes it difficult to build ‘authorial intention’

into the analysis of a work.

Issues of IntentionIt is all but impossible in such environments to

ascertain ‘authorship’, which in itself is broken up into multiple spheres.Code ownershipLiterary expressionArtistic direction

Each of these carries with it a different expectation of what constitutes ‘authorship’ as well as the common conventions of collaboration.As well as the extent to which ‘authorship’ can be

exercised within the game.

Collaboration and CodeMUDs are code artifacts as well as (ideally)

literary works.

The culture of ‘code ownership’ in most healthy dynamics stresses ‘expertise’ over permission.Although this in turn is usually tiered by how

‘critical’ the code is.

Good projects try to aim for a high ‘bus factor’.

However, the code infrastructure exists largely independently of the narrative structure of a game.

Collaboration and CodeThe code in properly engineered games of this

nature serves as the library upon which the game itself is built.The same code should allow for radically different

games with radically different themes.

However, this is rarely a design goal that is attained completely.And so the mechanics of the game will serve to

restrict and direct the creativity of individuals working within it.

Collaboration and CodeCode is malleable, and so limitations may not persist

over the long term. And this can create inconsistencies in terms of code and

artistic directions. The decisions made by game developers long gone are

not binding on those who still remain.

Too much freedom to relax limitations can result in these inconsistencies developing into harmful ‘turf wars’

MUDs then, due to their long-term persistence, introduce the complexity of curation into an already complicated ecosystem.

Collaboration and CodeCommercial MMOs have many of the features of

text-based MUDs, but most usually have one key differentiator: A paid staff of developers.

MUD developers receive their reward in intrinsic benefits. Like contributors to open source software.

This requires again a freeing up of creative opportunities for developers. They’re not likely to be willing to implement a design

spec without having the freedom to alter it.

Collaboration and PlayersPlayers too, by virtue of their time invested, often

demand a certain amount of control over the direction of the game.Pay heed to the ‘tribal elders’ in a community.

The long term success of a MUD is driven by a healthy and growing playerbase.The community plays an incredibly strong role in this.

Additionally, players are likely better placed to analyse the game than developers.Having interpreted it as its ‘game form’ for longer.

MUDs It is possible to refer to an edition of a book, a platform

of a game, or a print of a movie as a ‘definitive work’

The dynamic evolution of a MUD though frustrates any attempt to properly cite it as a fixed representation.

It is difficult to point to the ‘author’ of a MUD. Because such a thing may not exist in any real form.

It is difficult to point to a fixed representation or ‘edition’ of a MUD. It likely changes on a daily basis, and as a result of playing

experience and styles.

ConclusionAscertaining authorship is important in many

types of critical analysis.Author intentionFoucault’s impact of interpretation

A MUD is rarely driven by a single auteur, at least not for its entirely lifetime.

Auteur theory thus provides a framework for approaching these works, but within tight limits.