"Beyond this shimmering doorway are said to lie many realms of adventure
and danger. If you feel you have what it takes to withstand the many
challenges ahead simply take a deep breath and step through the
GateWay...."
The Game
GateWay gets its name from the fact that it is a collection of otherwise
unrelated realms or domains. To get from one to the other, you often have to
step through a gateway, blind to the other side, and hope for the best...
GateWay is framed in the typical first-person MUD environment in which you
create a character or persona through which you play the game and interact
with other players on-line. It is, in fact, a role-playing game. It is a basic
sword and sorcery game, a la Dungeons and Dragons. There are multiple races
to choose from and multiple classes (called Guilds) that can be chosen to gain
special powers beyond those of the chosen race.
The races of GateWay fall into the basic categories as seen in most S&S game
types. They range from the big, strong, and stupid to the tiny, fast, and smart.
The Races:
In many S&S games, in addition to a race, one chooses a class when the character
is created. This is a fixed job description that determines the special
abilities the character has. For example, the Warrior is the strong,
sword-wielding type who bashes in heads.
GateWay opted for a different method: Guilds. The Guilds offer a flexible (and
changeable) skill set. One begins the game without a Guild (actually, part of
the default "Adventurer" guild). One can join or leave guilds at any
time, though leaving a Guild after a long period of time usually entails some
penalty (e.g. loss of experience).
The Guild combines a sense of morality (from Good to Evil) as well as a type
of combat (spell casting or fighting), and combinations of both.
The Guilds:
- The Clerics of Cianna - Good Healers
- DevilWorshippers - Evil Spellcasters
- Druids - Neutral Spellcasters
- Lost Knights of Callis - Good Fighters
- The Brotherhood of Monks - Fighters
- Rangers - Good Spellcasters / Fighters
- Society of Serpent Warriors - Evil Fighters
- The ShortBred Clan - Good Tricksters / Fighters
- Vikings - Fighters
The Alchemist Guild also existed at one time, but was deemed unfairly powerful
and banished. A new incarnation is currently under development and may reappear.
As previously mentioned, there are several "areas" or
"domains" in the game that provide different types of background
stories and environments in which to play. Each domain has its own personality
and its own challenges.
The Domains:
Underground: It seems as if this domain was originally
conceived as a sort of huge underground cave; however, it has since
expanded to become a large area of caves and forested wilderness.
This is the default domain that where new characters arrive after learning
the basics of getting around in the game. It is more or less chaotic and
undeveloped country with many wild animals and giants.
Haven: This is a large medieval kingdom that
has recently begun to expand its borders. New evils have been found (orcs)
and new dangers encountered. One of the oldest and most detailed of the
domains, it offers a rich set of challenges to the noble adventurer.
Callis: Once a strong foothold of the Knights of Callis,
it has since fallen into destruction and chaos. A huge volcano destroyed
the old stronghold of the town of Callis and, these many years later, a
new town has begun to grow up in its place. Evil holds sway in this place
as the Knights have fallen into smaller and smaller numbers. Many
difficult challenges are ready for the strong adventurer.
Crystal: A beautiful and strange land of magic and
monsters, this land cries out for its former King to return and bring
order and peace once again.
Shadow: An unnatural plexus of worlds, Shadow seems to be
a bit of ancient Greece while leading many adventurers astray in their
search for magical creatures and treasure.
Orient: Modeled after the ancient kingdoms of Japan, this
seemingly serene land throbs with hidden danger. Ninjas move freely across
the kingdom without interference as the Emperor can no longer muster the
forces needed to control them. Strange mythical creatures roam about
terrorizing the peasants.
GateWay is a massively addictive, time wasting hole (not unlike Everything).
The people and challenges are fun to be with and provide hours of mindless
entertainment.
A Brief History
GateWay is one of the oldest MUDs on the Internet, first seen publicly in
January 1989 as the LPMUD "Underground". Based in Toronto, Ontario
(that's in Canada), it lasted more than a year, practically a record for a MUD
in that era. It lost its server, however, and disappeared.
A second MUD, "Haven", was under development around the time
"Underground" disappeared from the 'Net. The leaders of the two MUDs
happened to go to the same University and were, in fact, friends. They decided
to combine their two games into one. By late 1990, the new "GateWay"
project was opened to the public.
Over the next year, new "domains" were added to those of Underground
and Haven: Callis, Crystal, and Shadow. The most recent domain, Orient, also
began development at this time, but would not show itself for many years to
come.
Over the next several years, the MUD continued its forward development,
gaining and losing players, leaders, and architects. It meandered its way across
the Internet as it lost one home after another. Its latest home at
gatewaymud.org port 6969 has been stable for some time, and the MUD has
continued to grow.