2. What is this Building Lark?
2.1 What is building?
There is some dispute in the mudding community as to what the terms building and coding covers. The following definitions are used for the purposes of this site.
- Coding involves writing and compiling a majority of the code that makes the mud function.
- Building involves creating, the rooms, mobs, and objects that the players interact with.
- Administration involves planning out and running the mud.
2.2 Prerequisites
At a bare minimum, what does it take to be a builder?
- A pulse.
If you do not have a pulse seek medical attention.- A computer.
If you do not have a computer, seek medical attention.There are two things that I think help to have done before someone starts building for the first time:
- Experience playing muds.
I would recommend a minimum of six months of playing muds before undertaking building.- Read a lot.
Areas, like books, rely on mental imagery to get their point across. Reading a lot gives you examples of many different descriptive techniques. Books are just plain cool.2.3 What does it take to be a good builder?
Imagination
I do not think I need to expand on that one. ;) Curiosity
Ask questions, lots of them! How do I do this? Can I do this? The more questions you ask, the more you will learn. Admins generally like new builders who ask lots of questions. They do not mind answering them. Some admins actually enjoy it because it shows that the builder has a genuine interest. Answering the questions makes them look smart, too. ;) Patience
Patience is actually required in several ways when you are learning to build. The chances are good that your first area will not be the "Area to End all Areas." Very few people submit an excellent first area. Building is a learning process. If you stick to it, you will master it. The aforementioned admins who love answering questions can sometimes be quite busy. When your work is at a stand still, even if it is hard to wait, wait. Be patient, they usually get back to you as soon as they can. Building a good area is a long sometime tedious process. Parts of it are not that much fun, but are very necessary. If you take the time to do it right, other people will notice the difference. Common sense, and pride
Use what you disliked in areas to build guidelines for yourself. (I.e., don't you hate when you are walking west in a hallway that assumes you are going east? My personal pet peeve is copied room descriptions; changing one line at the end does not make a difference in my book. There are players who look at everything in the description. Flush everything out with as much detail as you can. Take pride in your work. One new builder pointed out to me that most people do not pay attention to such things. I told him I do not build my areas for them, I build them for the people who do true exploration. Just because "most people" ignore the extra work does not mean it should remain undone. Take pride in your work, be thorough, and you will be a good builder.