Aarinfel is closing - an other great role-play MUD goes down, and the politics of fighting over the players start. The original group of immortals are long since spread to other projects, at least two other MUDs in the process of being built have old Aarinfel administrators, at one time Dragon Realms administrators and players, a third MUD has Dragon Realms administrators and builders, as well as Aarinfel builders in the administrator staff, and the present administrator staff are building a new game. Aarinfel will not be closed until the new game is opened.

The world of MUDs is fluid, fluctuating, some good stories surface then fade out, with different levels of passion. I have played Eigar the male gay elf for two years.. the game has existed for not quite three years... some people claim they have been playing Aarinfel for up to four years, that's a slight (but interesting) exaggeration, unless they were the original staff of administrators. This intensity of the role-play, the feeling of ownership and the rush of creativity triggered by a good role-play area is both the attraction of the games and the reason they fall apart. Administrating a game isn't easy, and games like Aarinfel, Dragon Realms, World's End and The Infinite Point are run not by a professional and well-paid staff, but by normal people with a hobby, dealing with the hordes of eager creative players who all have their idea of what a great MUD would be.

I will wander on, I guess, to look for new games... I don't feel as homeless this time as when Dragon Realms closed and my female elf assassin fled the Realms with her human husband, priest of the Lord of Illusion and Delusion. Once the dissertation is done, I will try to look into games like Anarchy online or join Mark and Rob from Lu'Tamohr on Everquest, where Mark is supposed to be leading a clan.

Being Mark's clanmate would be fun, I played opposed to him on Dragon Realms... impersonated the character of one of his allies once and almost managed to get his clan (or hers, he was playing Tyrin, the Dreadmistress!) to go to war against their strongest allies. Sadly, real life interfered and they didn't have time for a war in the middle of exams.