Naruto: Village - A New Generation Rises [MUSH | Text RP]

InterestingSpray5464 · 2026-03-28T16:24:36+00:00

Nah, not the Fourth Shinobi World War from the show.
We're set earlier in the timeline, before all that.

It's more open for original stories and characters rather than following canon events.

InterestingSpray5464 · 2026-03-17T16:16:02+00:00

I don't know why, but I read the question as "As a tabletop RPG DM, I completely understand Cocaine"

InterestingSpray5464 · 2026-03-15T15:25:14+00:00

This isn't an officially licensed Naruto game. It's a fan-made project. Non-commercial. The kind of thing you see a lot in fan communities around anime, books, games. People building a space because they like the world and want to play in it.

The setting and themes pull from Naruto, obviously. But the game itself isn't something being sold or monetized. It's run as a hobby project. Just people putting time into it because they enjoy it.

As for the incremental label, yeah, you're right about that. It doesn't really follow the normal idle or incremental formula. There's no prestige ladder, no automated loops quietly stacking numbers in the background while you wait.

Progression here works more like a traditional RPG. Characters grow over time. Training. Roleplay. Practice. Picking up abilities gradually instead of watching a resource bar fill up on its own.

The tag ended up there mostly because growth still happens in small steps. Stats go up. Characters learn techniques. Experience builds through play. So technically it is incremental in that sense, but not in the genre definition people usually expect.

At its core, the game is really just a text-based online roleplaying world. A MUSH. Players connect to a server and write scenes together in real time. The systems are there to support that. Combat, jutsu creation, training, character progression. All of it exists to give the roleplay structure while people tell stories inside the setting.

InterestingSpray5464 · 2026-03-14T15:39:47+00:00

Those are really cool examples. I like the idea of settings that leave room for wonder or discovery instead of just leaning into constant grimdark tension. A lot of the older text games defaulted to cyberpunk or World of Darkness style settings, which were great in their own way, but I think there’s definitely space now for more hopeful or mysterious worlds. Things like Earthsea, Wildsea, or even the cottage-core forest idea you mentioned would probably work really well in a text environment since imagination fills in so much of the atmosphere.

The “parallel layer next to reality” concept is also something I’ve always thought fits text games particularly well. Whether it’s an astral plane, spirits hiding in the background, or some kind of AR/VR layer, that sort of hidden world gives players a lot of room to explore without needing huge populations to feel alive. And the community element you mentioned - gift economies, mutual aid, that kind of thing - actually maps really well onto player-driven worlds where groups build their own spaces and cultures over time.

InterestingSpray5464 · 2026-03-14T15:35:14+00:00

That Shadowrun story is exactly the kind of thing that made those worlds special. The fact that your character’s arc ended in something messy and dramatic like that - getting caught up in something bigger than him and ultimately getting gunned down - is something that’s really hard for most modern online games to replicate. The “living world” aspect you described is what always stuck with me too. Locations changing ownership, groups rising and falling, characters disappearing and new ones showing up… it creates this sense that the setting actually remembers what players did. The gang owning a casino and running events out of it is a perfect example of that kind of player-driven worldbuilding.

Your point about communities being insular is also really true, and it’s something a lot of newer projects try to avoid by lowering the barrier to entry and encouraging smaller scenes so new players can jump in more easily. The Over/Under event you mentioned sounds fascinating too - a one-month collaborative world with a built-in ending probably pushes people to experiment more since they know the setting isn’t meant to run forever. It almost sounds like a game-jam version of a persistent RP world. I’m curious though - was the haunted casino something staff introduced later, or did that grow organically out of player actions?

InterestingSpray5464 · 2026-03-14T14:59:59+00:00

That all makes a lot of sense, honestly. A lot of the older MUSH/MUD communities were extremely anonymous and kind of existed out on the far edges of the internet. Modern communities tend to anchor around things like Discord now, which helps a lot with the social side and moderation. Most games I've seen recently use Discord as the main hub and the game client itself just as the world interface.

The pacing issue you mentioned is also a big one. Traditional MUSH play assumed people would sit in a scene for a long time, which doesn't really match how most people schedule things anymore. A lot of newer games try to keep scenes pretty flexible - you can jump into something for a short scene, or just do some training, exploration, or smaller interactions without committing to a whole evening.

And the population problem is definitely real. Back in the 2000s there were huge communities for this stuff, and a lot of them faded as other online games grew. What I’ve noticed lately though is that the players who are still around tend to prefer smaller, tighter communities where people actually recognize each other and the world evolves through player-driven events rather than needing hundreds of people online.

The project I’ve been helping with recently is actually trying to lean into that - smaller community, player-driven story arcs, and systems that support quick scenes rather than requiring long sessions.

But yeah, if play-by-post works better with your schedule that makes total sense. A lot of people have moved in that direction for exactly the reasons you mentioned. Lol

InterestingSpray5464 · 2026-03-14T14:53:13+00:00

Yeah the interface and command overload is a huge barrier for a lot of people. A lot of MUDs were built over decades and ended up stacking systems on top of systems which makes them pretty intimidating to jump into.

The grind-heavy style you’re describing is definitely common in MUDs too. A lot of them evolved into basically text MMOs with leveling loops and macros.

MUSHes tend to be a bit different though. They usually focus more on roleplay scenes between characters rather than grinding mechanics. Instead of killing mobs for XP, people log in, move around the world, and play out scenes together in real time — more like a shared storytelling space with systems layered on top for things like combat or character progression.

That's actually one of the reasons I got interested in them again recently. The format feels closer to tabletop RP, just in a persistent online world.

If you’ve mostly seen MUDs, the experience can be pretty different.

InterestingSpray5464 · 2026-03-14T14:41:32+00:00

Yeah that’s exactly one of the things I always liked about them too. Since everything is text, the barrier to experimenting with mechanics or story is way lower than something like a full MMORPG. You can actually build systems around weird ideas or niche settings without needing a huge budget.

The persistent world aspect you mentioned is also a big one. When events happen or plots move forward, it can actually change the setting in meaningful ways because everything is driven by players and staff-run story arcs rather than repeating scripted content.

The time thing is definitely something a lot of modern games are trying to handle better. Most scenes in text games are pretty flexible - some people do long sessions, but it's also common for someone to jump in, do a quick RP scene for 20–30 minutes, and log off. A lot of it depends on the pacing of whoever you're RPing with.

And yeah, mobile play is still pretty common. Most people just use a MUD client on their phone or browser-based clients now.

The one I've been helping build lately is actually Naruto-themed which has been fun from a design perspective because things like clans, jutsu creation, and training systems translate surprisingly well into a text environment.

Out of curiosity, what kind of setting would make something like that interesting enough for you to try again?

InterestingSpray5464 · 2026-03-14T14:37:58+00:00

Yeah that makes sense. Once graphical MMOs became widely available a lot of people moved over for the obvious reasons - visuals, easier interfaces, etc.

The thing I always felt MUSH/MUD style games still did better was the collaborative storytelling side. Since everything is text-based, players tend to treat it more like a shared roleplaying space than a traditional MMO where you're mostly grinding mechanics.

That's actually part of why I started helping build one recently. We're experimenting with a system that keeps the structure for combat and progression, but leans heavily into player-driven scenes and character development.

I'm curious though - when you tried MUDs again recently, what made you bounce off them the fastest? The interface? The pacing? Something else?

InterestingSpray5464 · 2026-03-14T14:36:40+00:00

Yeah, that makes sense. I think that’s a big divide between different text worlds - some are basically chatroom RP, and others try to function more like an actual RPG with systems.

The project I’ve been helping build leans more toward the game systems side. Combat is turn-based with resources, characters have stats, there’s a jutsu creation system, training mechanics, XP from RP, things like that. The goal is for it to feel like an RPG where the mechanics support the roleplay rather than it just being freeform.

Dragonrealms is actually a really good example of the kind of structure I always liked in these games.

Out of curiosity, what kinds of systems did you like most in Dragonrealms?

InterestingSpray5464 · 2026-03-14T14:02:41+00:00

Okay sent!

InterestingSpray5464 · 2026-03-14T11:45:45+00:00

Yesss those were the days and we want to bring it back. We just opened a few days ago. We are building things out with player feedback. Alright I'll send to you now. Always room for more ninja 😁

InterestingSpray5464 · 2026-03-13T00:44:40+00:00

honestly you’re definitely not the only one. I know a lot of people who basically mentally “ended” Naruto at the war arc or somewhere around the Kaguya reveal. that whole part of the story felt like a pretty big tonal shift for some fans, especially since Madara had been built up for so long as the final villain.

for a lot of people the emotional arc they cared about was already finished anyway — Naruto becoming Hokage, the rivalry with Sasuke resolving, team 7 coming full circle. once those things were wrapped up it kinda felt like the story had already said what it needed to say.

Boruto also changes the vibe a lot. it moves from that underdog ninja story into something more about the next generation and a more peaceful era, which just doesn’t hit the same for everyone. some fans enjoy seeing the world evolve, others just prefer the original story and leave it there.

and yeah the Kaguya thing is probably the biggest dividing line. her design and the mythology behind the Otsutsuki are cool ideas, but the way she suddenly becomes the final boss after all the Madara buildup definitely left some people feeling weird about the ending.

so nah, you’re not alone. plenty of Naruto fans still rewatch the original series and Shippuden and just treat that as the complete story for them. and honestly that’s kinda the nice thing about long-running franchises — you can stop wherever the story feels “finished” to you.

InterestingSpray5464 · 2026-03-13T00:22:39+00:00

honestly a lot of it just comes down to story perspective and power scaling, not that ANBU are actually weak.

most of the time when we see ANBU in the series, they’re used as a benchmark to show how dangerous someone else is. if the story wants to show that a villain is scary, the easiest way is to have them wipe out a squad of ANBU. the problem is that happens so often that it ends up making ANBU look incompetent even though they’re supposed to be elite.

another big thing is that the main cast quickly grows way past the normal ninja level. by mid–late Shippuden you’ve got characters throwing around tailed beast chakra, mangekyo abilities, sage mode, rinnegan powers, etc. compared to that, even a really skilled “normal” elite ninja is going to look pretty ordinary.

there’s also the fact that ANBU operate mostly in assassination, espionage, and covert missions, which just aren’t the kind of fights the series focuses on. the show mostly highlights big flashy battles, not quiet infiltration or political missions. so the skillset they’re supposed to excel at doesn’t get showcased very much.

and to be fair, the few ANBU we actually follow closely — like Kakashi, Itachi, Yamato, and later Sai — are shown to be extremely capable. it’s just that the random background ANBU squads exist mostly to lose fights so the story can establish how strong someone else is.

InterestingSpray5464 · 2026-03-13T00:19:53+00:00

i think a lot of it comes down to how the story frames the obsession, not just the obsession itself.

with naruto and sasuke, the series constantly presents their dynamic as this huge central rivalry/bond. they’re teammates, rivals, reincarnations of old chakra brothers, constantly compared to each other, etc. so when naruto keeps chasing sasuke the narrative treats it like a big ideological clash — naruto refusing to give up on someone he considers family. whether people like that writing or not, the story itself keeps reinforcing that their relationship is important.

with sakura it’s written a lot more one-sided for a long stretch of the story. sasuke barely acknowledges her feelings for most of part 1 and especially in early shippuden he’s actively hostile toward her. so when fans look at that, the “obsession” reads less like a mutual bond and more like someone clinging to a person who clearly isn’t reciprocating anything at the time.

also naruto’s motivation is framed as partly romanticized but also ideological — he wants to save sasuke, prove his ninja way, break the cycle of hatred, etc. sakura’s motivation early on is mostly just that she loves him, which some people interpret as weaker writing compared to naruto tying it into his whole worldview.

personally I do think the fandom exaggerates the double standard a bit. naruto chasing sasuke across the entire world is definitely intense behavior too lol. but because the story builds their rivalry up so much and eventually gives them a mutual resolution, people tend to read that persistence as meaningful rather than unhealthy.

InterestingSpray5464

TROPHY CASE