February 1998 MUME Questionnaire Results
308 answers collected (up from 194 in 1995). Survey conducted and analyzed by Manwë.
308
Respondents
23.9
Mean Age
89.6%
Ranked MUME #1
1,077
Est. Total Players
1. Demographics & Age Distribution
Mean Age: 23.85 years (Std Dev: 5.42)
| Age | Percentage | Age | Percentage | Age | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ≤15 | 2.92% | 20 | 7.79% | 25 | 10.71% |
| 16 | 1.62% | 21 | 6.82% | 26 | 7.47% |
| 17 | 5.52% | 22 | 7.79% | 27–29 | ~3.2%–4.2% |
| 18 | 3.90% | 23 | 10.39% | 30–34 | ~0.6%–2.6% |
| 19 | 3.90% | 24 | 9.09% | 35+ | 4.22% |
Key Insight: 60% of MUME players were between 20 and 26 years old.
2. Gender, Relationships & Profession
| Gender | Percentage | Marital Status | Percentage | Profession | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 96.10% | Single | 71.75% | Student | 44.81% |
| Female | 3.90% | In Couple | 15.91% | Employed | 34.74% |
| Married | 10.71% | Employed Student | 12.99% | ||
| Divorced / Widowed | 1.62% | Unemployed / Other | 7.47% |
3. Geographic Distribution
| Country | Percentage | Country | Percentage | Country | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA | 38.96% | Finland | 3.90% | Germany | 1.30% |
| Sweden | 18.18% | Norway | 3.90% | Italy | 1.30% |
| Estonia | 13.31% | UK | 3.25% | France | 0.97% |
| Canada | 4.55% | Czech Republic | 2.60% | Australia / Iceland | 0.65% each |
| Denmark | 2.60% | Others | < 0.5% each |
4. Player Referral & Discovery
| Channel | Percentage | Channel | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friend | 66.23% | Newsgroup | 4.55% |
| Web | 6.49% | Magazine | 3.90% |
| Gopher / Other / Another MUD | 5.52% each | Mail / Forum | ~1.3% |
5. In-Game Statistics & Character Metrics
- Character Count per Player: Mean 5.40 (Std Dev: 3.17)
- MUME Playerbase Estimate: ~1,077 global players (5,814 database characters).
- Ainur (God) Ownership: 39.61%
- Darkie Characters:
- Average: 2.27 darkies per player (vs. ~3.13 whities/ainur).
- 22.08% of players owned zero darkies.
- Legend Characters (Level 26+):
- Overall Legends per player: Mean 2.30
- Darkie Legends per player: Mean 0.91 (57.47% owned zero darkie legends).
- Highest Mortal Level Reached: Mean 31.66 (up from 26.5 in 1995).
- Weekly Hours Played: Mean 17.94 hours/week (Std Dev: 14.03)
- Active player estimate (playing > 3 hrs/week): 1,003 players.
6. MUME Evaluations & Player Opinions
Game System Satisfaction
| Rating | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Excellent | 29.87% |
| Good | 53.90% |
| Correct | 10.71% |
| Bad / Awful | 5.51% |
Management Satisfaction
| Rating | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Excellent | 12.34% |
| Good | 50.32% |
| Correct | 29.22% |
| Bad / Awful | 8.11% |
- MUME Rank among MUDs played: 89.61% ranked MUME as their #1 MUD.
- MUD History: 50.97% played other MUDs before MUME; 67.86% currently played only MUME.
7. Technical Environment & Software Evolution
- Play Location: Home (53.57%), University (30.84%), Office (10.06%), School (2.92%)
- Lag Experience: Often/Sometimes (62.66%), Rarely (21.10%), Always (11.69%), Never (4.55%)
- Client Software: zMud (26.62%), None/Telnet (23.05%), Powwow (15.26%), Cancan (13.64%), Tintin (12.01%), Tinyfugue (3.90%)
Operating System Shift (1995 vs 1998)
| Operating System | 1995 | 1998 |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 95 | 5.15% | 43.26% |
| Unix-like | 38.66% | 25.18% |
| Windows NT | 1.03% | 7.09% |
| MacOS | 7.73% | 7.09% |
| XWindows | 7.22% | 6.03% |
| Windows 3.x / MS-DOS | 28.35% | 7.81% |