Making Fantasy Accessible: How Elysium RPG Welcomes Blind Players

Hey everyone! Today, we had a chat with Rhys, the owner and developer of Elysium RPG — a unique game with a strong and passionate community.

Can you tell us a bit about Elysium RPG? How would you describe it to someone new to MUDs?

Elysium RPG is a multiplayer game set in a unique fantasy world full of magic, strange creatures, and incredible locations. It blends realistic mechanics — like the need to eat and sleep — with immersive combat and quests. Players have an enormous amount of freedom to customize their characters and live whatever kind of life they choose.

The game is entirely text-based, which lets players use their imagination to fill in the visuals. That also means we can build and expand the world far more quickly than if we relied on graphics or animations. New areas and features are added regularly, so there’s always something fresh to discover — even years into playing.

What’s your role in the project, and how did you get involved?

I’m currently the head administrator, coder, and owner of Elysium RPG — and I also play one of the divine gods in the game’s world. I originally joined as a potential player, back when development had just started and the game hadn’t officially launched yet. I was invited by one of the two original owners, who played on another MUD I was also active on.

I’ve enjoyed coding since childhood, and the idea of contributing to a new world was exciting. I learned the language Elysium is built in, so I could help develop new areas and features. Over time, I coded more and more, eventually becoming co-owner. After several years of co-developing the game, the other owner moved on to other projects and handed full ownership to me. By then, I had already been serving as the head administrator and lead coder for quite a while, and I’ve remained in that role ever since.

We know that blind and visually impaired players are part of your community. Was accessibility something you planned from the beginning? 

To be honest, no accessibility was planned from the start. Elysium was originally coded by a group of teenage schoolboys in the late ’90s. We didn’t really know anything about screen readers or accessibility needs — I’m not even sure how available screen readers were back then. It definitely wasn’t something I was aware of at the time.

That said, MUDs are naturally a good format for players who struggle with graphical games. So we were somewhat accessible by default, and over time, we’ve made choices that have built on that foundation.

What design choices or features make Elysium especially playable for blind players? 

The biggest thing is that we’ve never leaned heavily on ASCII maps. These are very popular in many MUDs but are often unusable with screen readers. Our decision not to include them means blind players aren’t at a disadvantage when learning how to navigate.

Our areas are designed with this in mind. Each location (we call them “rooms”) is custom-written and designed to follow the natural shape of the world, rather than adhering to a strict grid layout. This allows wilderness areas to span fewer rooms, while denser areas like cities can have more rooms for added detail.

There is one system — our ship sailing feature — that originally used ASCII maps. However, we later added an alternative that describes the map in text form, making it accessible to screen readers. We’ve also introduced NPC ship captains who can be hired to sail players to other ports, removing the need for a map entirely.

Another helpful feature is our “directions” command. It tells you how to get to key locations without needing to use a map or understand the layout. It’s helpful for all players, but especially for blind players.

Have blind players themselves contributed ideas or feedback to the development? 

We’ve had only a handful of blind players over the years — our player base is quite small and close-knit — but we’ve definitely acted on their feedback.

One player told me about their experience walking around cities. We try to make cities feel alive by having NPCs who talk to each other and the player. It adds to the atmosphere, but for screen reader users, it means a flood of extra text. Because of the variability in those messages, it was hard for screen readers to filter them out.

So I introduced a system where players “stop listening” to NPC chatter automatically after a while. They’ll get a notification once they’ve heard enough, and then that chatter stops. Players can also manually set this to always hear or never hear the chatter, depending on their preference.

I always welcome feedback — especially if it helps make the game more accessible. I’m happy to prioritize improvements that benefit blind or visually impaired players. I also try to improve the game for players new to MUDs in general by making commands and inputs more intuitive.

What kind of player experience do you try to create in Elysium — in terms of story, atmosphere, and community?

The key element is atmosphere. I try to create a believable world that people want to spend time in. I do include storylines, but I mostly focus on repeatable content that makes sense to replay or experience once per character without breaking immersion.

Occasionally, we have one-off events that push the world’s lore forward, but generally, the player roles and their interactions drive the game. Elysium was designed to be cooperative. Our city and economic systems are structured so that cities are run by a team: an Emperor or Empress supported by Ministers and industrial leaders.

Sometimes, that doesn’t play out perfectly — some cities end up with a more solitary leader — but the infrastructure for cooperation is there. We try to encourage that dynamic in all system updates.

That said, we also have a strong combat system that was originally PVP-focused. In recent years, we’ve shifted to support more PVE-style play, adjusting older combat systems to work well against NPCs.

We try to strike a balance between allowing conflict and avoiding unwanted interactions. Overall, we aim to foster a positive, collaborative experience.

What makes Elysium different from other MUDs out there? 

Elysium has its own unique world, rich lore, and systems you won’t find elsewhere. We use a balance-and-mana-based combat system, which even ties into non-combat skills — this is rare among MUDs, where automated combat is more common.

We’re also completely classless. Players choose six core skills from nearly 40 options and can add as many “common skills” as they like to further customize their character. Even joining a guild doesn’t lock you into a specific path — you can choose only the skills you want.

So yes, if you want to be a water mage who uses a shield, picks locks, trains animals, and builds furniture — you can do that in Elysium!

How large is your team, and what does your development workflow look like? 

It’s essentially just me these days. We started with a few developers, but now I handle almost everything.

There are still a few volunteer “roleplay gods” who drop in occasionally, and one or two players help with coding from time to time. But most of the development is my responsibility.

I usually juggle several workstreams at once to avoid burnout. This way, I can make steady progress on long-term projects while still releasing new content frequently. Some features are quick fixes, while others are more complex.

The process usually starts with an idea — maybe from the player-submitted ideas log, global chat discussions, or just inspiration. I’ll create a working document, outline the idea in detail, and break it into coding steps. Then I chip away at it, sometimes in short bursts, sometimes for hours.

Major changes are tested on our test server first — especially anything high-risk, like the new banking system — and then released during our code reboots, which typically happen every other weekend.

What’s been the biggest challenge in maintaining and evolving the game over time? 

The biggest challenge has been the general decline in MUD player numbers. Since Elysium was designed as a cooperative game, it’s harder for city leaders to find players to support them.

We’ve added more options for solo play to accommodate this. Today, you can enjoy Elysium with as much or as little interaction as you like. But I’ve always tried to preserve that original cooperative spirit where possible.

Has accessibility influenced how the world of Elysium is written or experienced? 

Our text-to-speech accessibility started more by accident than design. The game’s text-based format and decision to skip ASCII maps just happened to work well for screen readers.

But as I’ve become more aware of the visually impaired community, I’ve tried to keep their needs in mind. I now avoid adding features that would be hard to use without direct visual access to text.

Are there plans to further expand accessibility features? 

Yes — I’m open to it. While we don’t currently have active accessibility projects, I’m very interested in making improvements.

Since I don’t use a screen reader myself, it’s hard to anticipate what would help without player feedback. We’ve already implemented the feedback we’ve received so far, and I don’t want to overwhelm individual players by asking for more. But if anyone has ideas or suggestions, I’m absolutely open to hearing them.

My only boundary is that I wouldn’t want to reduce the quality of existing systems. But if there are compromises or opt-in features that could help, I’d be eager to explore them.

What does your player community mean to you, and how has it evolved? 

My players mean everything. Elysium is my hobby — something I create in my spare time without making any money from it. The players are what give my work meaning.

There’s nothing better than seeing someone enjoy something I’ve made. The community has changed a lot since its launch nearly 30 years ago. The MUD scene was bigger back then, with more player turnover. In our early years, emperors lasted about three months. These days, they average around three years — one has ruled for nearly a decade!

That stability has had a positive impact on the community, but it also means fewer new players are joining. I’d love to welcome more, both to enrich the world and to keep seeing people interact with the systems I’ve built.

Have there been any player stories or moments that really stayed with you? 

So many — both good and bad. But one of my favorite (and maybe slightly cruel) memories is from when I added sea monsters.

Our sailing system was one of the first big features, but sea monsters came years later, before we had the textual sea map. One day, a sea monster appeared outside the human capital. Players just saw an ampersand symbol floating in the ocean and started speculating.

A group got together, boarded the fastest (but weakest) ship, and sailed straight toward it. I watched them in real-time as they realized — too late — what it was. They tried to turn back, but the monster bit chunks off their ship as they scrambled for safety. I couldn’t stop laughing.

I’d probably give more warning nowadays, but it’s a memory that still brings me joy.

What are your goals for Elysium in the coming year? 

I’ve been working on making Elysium more approachable for new players. That includes overhauling older systems — like banking — that weren’t user-friendly.

I have a list of those systems, and I’ve already improved many of them. I’m also upgrading old PVP-focused skills so they work better against NPCs, and I recently revamped our alchemy system to make it more fun and intuitive. I want to keep doing that kind of work — improving older systems and adding depth.

Do you hope more MUDs or RPGs will follow the path of making their games accessible? 

Absolutely. It’s always a good thing when games are accessible to as many people as possible. MUDs are especially well-suited for visually impaired players.

I’ve seen a trend toward graphical clients, and while I understand the appeal, I prefer MUDs to stay accessible no matter what client players are using.

How can new players join? And is there a good place for blind users to get help getting started? 

Starting out can be a bit tricky because you need a client to connect. If you have one, connect to elysium-rpg.com on port 7777.

You can also play in-browser at elysium-rpg.com/play.html via mudportal.com, though it can be a bit unreliable. I personally use MUSHclient on PC, but there are many other options.

The best way to experience Elysium is to jump in and play, but we also have a wiki at elysium-rpg.com/wiki. The Adventurer’s Guide there was written by players to help newcomers.

Anything you’d like to say to the accessibility community reading this? 

We welcome everyone to Elysium. I’m always happy to receive feedback, especially about accessibility. If there’s something we can improve or do better, I’d love to hear it.

Please give Elysium a try — and let me know how we can make the experience better for you.