| Although online games have achieved great | | | | had not previously been possible. A fair example |
| heights of success in recent years, few people | | | | of a game produced during this era would be |
| realize how long the genre had existed prior to | | | | Legends of Kesmai, a now-defunct graphical game |
| this explosion of popularity. Often labeled | | | | wherein players adventured together in a world |
| MMORPGs, or "Massively Multiplayer Online | | | | situated across a vast tile-based map. Interaction |
| Role-Playing Games", these online worlds have | | | | in real time was now the norm, rather than the |
| been around for nearly as long as the Internet | | | | latest thing and the sensations of community and |
| itself. The purpose of this article is to explore the | | | | quicker gratification helped these games to slowly |
| fascinating evolution of online games, from the | | | | overcome the popularity of their text-based |
| dawn of their invention all the way up to the | | | | predecessors.The modern popularity of online |
| massive 3D landscapes of modern times.The | | | | gaming was initially sparked by EverQuest, the |
| roots of online gaming can be traced to BBS, or | | | | first commercial MMORPG to be set in a fully |
| "bulletin board system". These early versions of | | | | 3D-rendered environment. The amazing scope and |
| our modern forums were used to host all manner | | | | classical fantasy theme of EverQuest launched its |
| of discussions, or in the case of this article, to | | | | ratings beyond those of even Ultima Online, an |
| provide a central location for a group of online | | | | already popular online game based upon the |
| role-players. Games hosted on BBS often required | | | | single-player Ultima titles. EverQuest dominated |
| that players adopt the guise of a character they'd | | | | the online gaming market for years, with monthly |
| created. During the course of various board | | | | subscription fees and numerous expansion packs |
| postings, characters would interact back and | | | | bringing in unprecedented profits for the game's |
| forth, gradually developing the otherwise | | | | parent company, Sony Online Entertainment. |
| undefined storyline. BBS games live on even into | | | | EverQuest continues to prosper to this day, |
| the present, though the new generation of online | | | | though it has fallen somewhat behind its |
| gamers tend to find them too slow for their | | | | competitors in recent years.EverQuest's basic |
| tastes.Online gaming took a great leap forward in | | | | model can be seen in the majority of current |
| terms of interactivity with the advent of MUDs, | | | | online games. Although different artistic styles are |
| or Multi-User Dungeon or Domain or Dimension | | | | employed, most games utilize the same system |
| (the final word in the acronym varies by opinion). | | | | of running players through months (or often, |
| MUDs retained the text-based aspect of BBS | | | | years) worth of work, with their characters |
| games, but added a level of automation that had | | | | gradually increasing in power and prestige as a |
| not previously been known. Players could develop | | | | result of their continued efforts in the online world. |
| characters with Dungeons & Dragons-like | | | | The first modern MMORPG to diverge from this |
| statistics and band together to explore and slay | | | | highly demanding path is said to be World of |
| monsters. More importantly, MUDs also allowed | | | | Warcraft. Set in the universe of the Warcraft |
| for players to interact with each other in real | | | | games, WoW (as it is called by its players) |
| time. Gone were the delays of BBS postings, as | | | | markets itself to casual gamers by offering them |
| players would only have encounters while logged | | | | quicker advancement for less time required. World |
| in at the same time.MUDs reigned supreme in | | | | of Warcraft has swiftly become the most popular |
| online gaming for years, until the first incarnations | | | | MMORPG on the market and the first game to |
| of graphical MMORPGs arrived on the scene. | | | | dethrone EverQuest from its place at the top of |
| These new games boasted primitive graphics | | | | the market. |
| which, even so, were appealing as something that | | | | |