There is a whole bunch of these games now that allow you to train attributes and gain experience. I remember being hooked into MUDs, but those were really geeky. Now everyone has been turned into MUD players because they are much more approachable now.
Exactly the first thought I had. I started into MUDs back in '98 (high school) with CarnageMUD and even worked with some of the immorts there on a VB-based MUD. We poured so many hours into that and the project eventually fell apart because we figured, "who's into MUDs these days?" When WoW hit, I felt vindicated. Then, just a few months ago, my brother tells me he's playing this text-based online game called Mob Boss or something.
I gotta think one of the keys here is that our MUDs were fantasy-based and these more successful MUDs are crime-based.
