In my first of many blogs as I venture onto my Quest for Gaming Enlightenment (Link here), I will be talking about M.U.L.E. MULE was released in 1983, but has since been recreated in a very faithful update, which you can check out at www.planetmule.com. MULE is a Strategy game that pits you and 3 opponents against each other to colonize a planet. I use opponents here loosely, because while you are against each other, you also must work together in order for the colony to survive. I would go into all of the intricacies of this game, but seeing as how the developers put together a great video on just such a thing, you should check it out here!
Listen to that background music of the original song remade. They did an amazing job.
Now let me say this: I suck at this game. Granted, I’ve never been very good at strategy/RTS games to begin with, this game expands on that by forcing me to work with my opponents. I currently stand at a respectful 3,096 place on the leaderboards, which isn’t respectful at all, and I expect all of you to spit on me if you see me in the streets.
Actually, I'd prefer to not be spit on.
I’m more of a “lone wolf” when it comes to games, so forcing me to work with the players that I’m supposed to bring down is a recipe for disaster. I try to build everything to make myself an island, but by the end of 12 rounds, I’m typically at the bottom of the pack as far as income and worth goes.
Should have never played M.U.L.E.
I believe that Planet MULE should be a game that any economics teacher should implement into their student’s studies. It is all about supply and demand, and a player can easily dominate the market by hoarding all of one supply. In fact, that is one of the many strategies that player’s use. Although players do not actively engage in combat, hurting an opponent through starvation of resources is easy. MULE’s, which stands for Multiple Use Labor Element, are the main resource, which all players must use in order to produce all other commodities. In one session, me and another player started buying out all M.U.L.E’s so that the top player would not be able to produce on his next round. Strategies like these will help player succeed, but in a game where all player’s must depend on one another, it eventually comes back to bite you. In this instance, the top player would not sell energy to either me or the other player, forcing us both to produce less than we had hoped.
Along with playing the game, I also read two of Robert A. Heinland’s books, which played a role in the inspiration of M.U.L.E. (this is according to Wikipedia, which we all know and trust with our mother-given souls) Those two books were The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, which I completed, and Time Enough for Love, which I am still currently reading.
I’ve been a fan of Heinland for some time, and actually longer than I first realized, for it was he who wrote Starship Troopers, the book he is most known for. Although the movie is a horrible take on the actual book, I saw it in the 4th grade and it first introduced me to the exciting world of invading aliens and a naked woman’s body, both of which were horrifying and electrifying to a young child’s mind. I remember immediately after, me and my child hood friend playing in the yard and pretending to shoot down the invading aliens with our battle-worn sticks and hardhats for protection from the lava spewing creatures.
Heinland can be dry to those who prefer action oriented stories, but he is an artist with dialogue. Most of the books center on individuals having conversations about the action taking place around them. Harsh Mistress was a very exciting tale about three individuals planning a revolution, with the moon breaking away from the Earth’s reign of terror on them, but akin to the American Revolution. Time Enough for Love deals with space exploration and colonization of new worlds, and has a more direct impact on the Planet MULE gameplay. I don’t want to speak to much on this due to the fact that I am still reading through the book and I don’t want to misinterpret anything until I am completely finished with it.
So what did I get out of my play through of MULE? Trying to empathize with gamers’ of the early 80’s in an era of Asteroids and Burger Time, where conflict was more direct, I can understand how M.U.L.E. would have a hard time fitting in. It appealed to a niche crowd of individuals. While I never played it as a child, the game definitely holds up to today’s standards of strategy/RTS elements, as well as player manipulation. It’s hard to believe that a game which has hit its 30 year mark this year is still able to captivate thousands of players today.
As this is the first of many games on a long and arduous quest that I am undertaking, I can already see the impact that this one game has had on gaming over the last three decades. As I continue to broaden my gaming foundation, I’m sure that I will run across the many ripples of influence that this game has had on other RTS/strategy titles, as well as any economic venue associated with a video game.
Please, if you have any past experience with this game and would like to share it, feel free to post it, leave a comment, shoot me an email, or come to my house and throw toilet paper at me as I walk out my door. I look forward to any and all feedback.
I will continue to read Time Enough for Love as I take on my next game in the quest of forever. I will try to keep an updated a blog at least once a week to show my current status with a game.
Until next time: GAME STRONG!
- Dustin Summers
Comments
Matt Snee
Staff Writer
02/28/2013 at 05:07 PM
hey good blog, man. I had always heard of MULE but never played it and never knew how it worked. It seems pretty interesting. it's amazing what kind of art they were able to make with such limited processing power.
I haven't read those two Heinlen books but I do have them. I haven't been reading much the past couple years, but I wish I could.
ShoeShiner
02/28/2013 at 11:53 PM
Yeah, it always takes me a month to read a book, as opposed to my wife who reads a book a night. I enjoy it, but video games are just more fun to play.
Aboboisdaman
02/28/2013 at 05:37 PM
Hey Dustin. I downloaded MULE. Sounds like an interesting game. I am not big on RTS games, but I like some of them. We played the crap out of Warcraft 3. I remember seeing this game on 1up's 100 essentials. I read one of Heinlen's books... but I can't for the life of me remember which one it was.
ShoeShiner
03/01/2013 at 12:39 AM
Like I said, his biggest work was Starship Troopers, but he has written quite a lot. The game is great. It's not like the traditional RTS games, but more like an advanced monopoly.
BrokenH
02/28/2013 at 07:12 PM
Like the game art foe MULE. Reminds me of the covers for Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. lol.
ShoeShiner
03/01/2013 at 12:40 AM
You know, I've never read those but I do have them and it sounds interesting. Glad to see you here BrokenH!
Super Step
Contributing Writer
02/28/2013 at 07:56 PM
Great blog, interesting sounding game, nice music.
I too suck at RTS and working with opponents, I'm used to one-player action games, or if multiplayer, games where it's all for one and one for all.
I think Oregon Trail, which we all played in grade school, was meant to teach about the economy as well as history, but all anyone ever did was shoot buffalo. lol
ShoeShiner
03/01/2013 at 12:42 AM
Yep! Shot buffalo and laughed at the fate of my travelers. Another good classic. Next time I drive across country I will stop on the interstate to shoot some deer.
bullet656
02/28/2013 at 08:12 PM
Mule is great game. I used to play it a lot long ago on my C64. I heard about planet Mule a little while back and got addicted again for a little while. So much strategy for such a simple looking (and old) game.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is probably my favorite Heinlein book, but I can't say I'm a big fan of his-although i've read practically every book he has written. I can't help it, when I start reading an author I can't stop until I've read everything. I'm weird like that about basically all forms of entertainment.)
ShoeShiner
03/01/2013 at 12:45 AM
It is a great and addicting game. Heinlein is a very good author, and I consider him one of my favorites, but I'm still broadening my book foundation as well, so that might change.
I am much like you. I have a pretty OCD personality where I have to digest all the works of something that I enjoy and find interesting. Very time consuming.
daftman
05/09/2013 at 01:12 PM
Not sure how I missed this when you first posted it. I guess I wasn't following you yet. Great blog. I watched the tutorial video and the game looks simple enough to start but I can only imagine how complicated it can get with four people scheming how best to stab each other in the back while ostentaciously working together lol. I definitely wanna try it. Just gotta remember when I have time, hmm...
A quick look over at 1UP shows that your next game is Out of This World, but I guess that blog a week thing hasn't worked out so far Hope everything is going well for you. Looking forward to more word on your progress!
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