Building¶

Building is how game designers create the world that players explore. You don't need to write code — everything here happens through in-game commands. If you want to create plugin-powered mechanics or custom systems, see the plugin development guide instead.

The World Model¶

HoloMUSH's world is made of three building blocks:

Locations are places. A tavern, a forest clearing, an airlock, a city street. Each location has a name and a description. When players use look, they see the location's description along with who else is there and what exits are available.

Exits are connections between locations. An exit has a name (like "north" or "heavy oak door"), an optional alias (like "n"), and a destination. Exits are one-way by default — if you want players to go back the way they came, you create a second exit pointing the other direction.

Objects are everything else — items, furniture, characters, anything that exists in a location. Every entity in the world (including locations and exits themselves) is an object underneath, identified by a unique ID.

Writing Good Descriptions¶

Descriptions are the heart of a text-based world. A few things that make them work well:

Set the scene, don't list furniture. Instead of "There is a table. There are chairs. There is a fireplace," try "Rough-hewn tables crowd the common room, their surfaces scarred by decades of tankards and knife games. A fire crackles in a stone hearth along the far wall."

Engage more than sight. Mention sounds, smells, temperature, the feel of the ground underfoot. "The corridor hums with the low vibration of the station's reactor" tells players something that "A long metal corridor" doesn't.

Keep it to a paragraph or two. Players read descriptions frequently. A paragraph that paints a vivid picture works better than a page that gets skimmed.

Leave room for action. Good descriptions suggest things players can interact with without prescribing what they should do.

Scenes¶

The scene system supports structured roleplay encounters. A scene has:

• A title and description to set up the premise
• A participant list so everyone knows who's involved
• Privacy settings to control whether others can observe

Scenes are useful when you want a clear boundary around an interaction — a private conversation in a back alley, a combat encounter, or a formal council meeting. They're optional; plenty of roleplay happens outside of scenes too.

What's Next¶

Follow development on GitHub as in-game building commands are added.