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CGO has done a large and interesting article about multiplayer games. From the early days to future projects they cast about every notable game. Here is something about the history of MMOG:
The origin of the online role-playing game lies somewhere back in the distant days of the 1970s, otherwise famous for Watergate, Disco, and leisure suits. Here are some of the highlights of the history of online role-playing games, which at least are far more benign manifestations of cultural expression.
In 1979, Roy Trubshaw and Richard Bartle developed the first Multi-User Dungeon (MUD) on the DEC-10 at the Essex University, Colchester, UK as an experiment in shared memory techniques. A version of this game still exists today as MUD II. The source code was illegally released on the Internet in the 80s and gave rise to many variants. If your significant other spends too much time playing games online, blame these two.
Also in the late 1970's John Taylor and Kelton Flinn were attending the University of Virgina. They created a multiplayer fantasy game called The Island of Kesmai. Here's Taylor, quoted from his website, on how popular this game was. "By the time we were in graduate school, the game had grown so popular that we had to add lockouts and blackout periods so that people would have no choice but to study and go to class." If you're flunking out of school because you're spending too much time playing online role-playing games, blame these guys.
In 1982, Taylor and Flinn approached CompuServe with the idea of running Island of Kesmai and other games as commercial games on the service. By 1985 they were making enough that they rented an office and began hiring employees. After all, it only cost $12 an hour to play Island of Kesmai on CompuServe at a blazing 9600 baud, and at that you were a low ping bastard.
By 1986, the first versions of Xtrek and Mtrek began to appear. While not role-playing games, these multiplayer space strategy games, derived from, ahem, a very familiar TV show did attract even more players to online gaming. Simutronics was formed the following year, and in 1988 it launched Gemstone II on GEnie, which was undercutting CompuServes rates with the bargain basement access fee of $6 per hour.
Head over, you will enjoy this one. |
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Massive (Multiplayer) Entertainment
