Writing Games features MudVault, a new platform for discovering and supporting text-based games

Developer Asmodeus shares how he’s modernizing multi-user dungeon listings with fairness, transparency, and user-first design

Online - August 18, 2025-- Writing Games, a blog dedicated to the culture and craft of text-based roleplaying games, has published a new interview with Asmodeus, creator of MudVault and administrator of the long-running game Dark Wizardry.

Asmodeus is building tools to make MUDs easier to find, fairer to rank, and more fun to play - all while keeping the focus on user experience.

MudVault.org is a modern, ad-free hub built to help players find active text-based games while giving developers better tools for visibility and protocol support. The platform introduces features such as live player counts, community-driven rankings, and developer utilities like the MUD Colorizer and MSSP testing tool — all designed to improve accuracy and accessibility.

“I wanted to create a fair system that rewarded active games and helped people discover them,” Asmodeus explains in the interview.

Beyond listings, MudVault hosts reference material for common Telnet and multiplayer game protocols and continues to grow as a shared knowledge base for developers. Its upcoming “MESH” feature aims to connect games and external services through stable communication links, echoing early inter-MUD concepts with modern technology.

“I appreciated how honest Asmodeus was about the realities of building community tools,” said Andruid, creator of Writing Games. “He’s experimenting, testing, and learning in public - and that’s what keeps projects like MudVault interesting.

The full interview, “MudVault: a new way to discover multi-user dungeons,” is available on Writing Games.

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