Software Vision Statement for:
Simple Multi-User Virtual Environment (SMUVE)

Document version: 1.0
Author: Tom Horton


SMUVE is to be a simple version of the infrastructure for a networked virtual world like a MUD.  What is a MUD?  To quote Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MUD):

In computer gaming, a MUD (Multi-User Dungeon, Domain or Dimension) is a multi-player computer game that combines elements of role-playing games, hack and slash style computer games and social chat rooms. Typically running on an Internet server or bulletin board system, the game is usually text-driven, where players read descriptions of rooms, objects, events, other characters, and computer-controlled creatures or non-player characters (NPCs) in a virtual world. Players usually interact with each other and the surroundings by typing commands that resemble a natural language, usually English. Arguably modern graphics-based massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), such as World of Warcraft as well as social avatar virtual worlds such as Second Life could be considered MUD variants.

What will SMUVE provide?

Core functionality will include the following high-level needs.
  1. One or more servers that store rooms, characters and simple objects.
  2. Definitons of what characterizes rooms, characters, objects and other details about a "world".
  3. An admin-client that connects to a server to adminster, monitor or modify the server and what it stores.
  4. A simple example user-client that will demonstrate how the a client can exist in and interact with elements in the SMUVE world.
  5. The ability for servers to interact so that players can move between the worlds that exist on different servers.
Version 1.0 of SMUVE will provide basic functionality as defined by the development team(s) and the customers.  It will include a simple user-client that will be defined through negotiations among the stakeholders.  This client can be text-oriented but must demonstrate all functionality provided by SMUVE 1.0.

Later a more sophisticated client may be required as Phase 2 of the project.