Late last month Microsoft Corp announced its Scribble authoring tool (CI No 2,694), which promises to bring the grand old tradition of text-based, multi-user adventures to the all new Microsoft Network. The software is being aimed at authors and other non-programmers that want to build essentially text-based virtual worlds almost as easily as they can now write a page of text on a word processor. Sound and graphics can also be embedded. As with other on-line adventures, users entering a ‘Scribbled world’ can interact with each other, examine objects and travel about. The graphical world-builder tool is expected to go into beta test this autumn, and will be given to Microsoft Network content providers for free. End users should get to see the first results around the end of the year. Exactly how the providers charge for their wares will be up to them: Scott Smith, technical evangelist at Microsoft, suggests there will be a variety of business models, ranging from completely free through adventures with some free and some paid-for areas, to adventures where you pay to access certain objects. The addition of graphical and sound elements should help games play along – locations can be depicted, doors can slam and so forth, but at the present there is no provision for users to move through levels of experience, collecting points and powers as they go. Conventional multi-user dungeons have players vying to become ‘Wizards’, giving them the ability to manipulate the games environment, and on occasion other players, directly. We could potentially support that was as far as Smith was willing to go on the subject.
