Arkadia. The Witcher beyond CDPR trilogy
Table of Contents
- Genre: MUD
- Release date: December 1997
- Platforms: browser
- Still available: yes.
Arkadia is definitely the most unique game on this list. First, it's not as much forgotten as it is simply undiscovered – the game inhabits a tiny niche and it seems very comfortable there. Two, it's a product that is 100% fan-driven and free. Finally, Arkadia is a representative of MUD (Multi-user Dungeon), the progenitor of MMORPG, in which gameplay is entirely text-based.
The fun on the Arkadia starts with creating your own character and choosing the starting location – oddly enough, we can access not only the world based on Andrzej Sapkowski's oeuvre, but also the universe of Warhammer. The former universe takes us to familiar locations like Verden, Wyzima, Mahakam and Aedirn. It's a world full of colourful characters, interesting random events and other living players we can interact with.
All this is done with residual graphics – the events are described by colorful narration, and when we want to do something ourselves, we need to enter the appropriate command (or use a predefined one) in the specified window. A very important aspect of gameplay is role-playing – if we choose to be an elf when creating a character, we will be expected to actually act like an elf. It's really obscure, but some people seem to really love it, and there are veterans with years' worth of experience on the Arkadia server.