History of multiplayer online gaming.
Multiplayer online gaming can be abbreviated to "MMORPG" which means "massively multiplayer online role-playing game"; many experts in this area will only ever refer to this form of gaming as MMORPG. This term seemed to originate over 10 years ago, in 1996 when it was used to describe the first 3D MMORPG. The games have developed a great deal over the past few years, however the roots of the first MMORPG seem to date back to the late 1970's when developers were running games on private servers. These games were typically being played at universities and colleges and were very similar in style to the Dungeon and Dragons game as is known today. The main aim of the game was to get players to enter a fictional world of dungeons and take on evil monsters and in the process try and gain as much loot or rewards as possible.
During this time, similar games were being developed, however these used a different system. Players would have to play these games through the PLATO system, one of the most popular games to play on this system was the Empire game which was based on the Star Trek programme. This really saw the start of the growth in popularity for online gaming and the Plato system was the basis for thousands of hours of play by thousands of players.
MMORPG developed further during the 1980's and it was during this time that the first commercial MMORPG was seen. The vastly recognised game of "Islands of Kesmai" which was designed by Kelton Flinn and John Taylor was available to play for $12.00 an hour via the CompuServe service for their faster dial up service. Once logged onto CompuServe, the player could create a character which would then take them to a chat room and from that chat room; players could then enter into the virtual world.
It was during the early 1990's with the technological evolvement of the internet that saw further development of MMORPG. Although, during the early 90's limits were set in place by NSFNET for specific usage of the internet and developers had to rely on proprietary services for distribution to the market. As internet restrictions were being reduced, gaming companies saw that their games could be marketed through this service. One of the first games to move over to the internet was Legends of Future Past which was a skill based game. It has to be noted that this particular game was the first time to install professional games masters who organised events specifically relating to the game. With the internet becoming so popular so quickly, gaming companies saw the potential of reaching out to a truly worldwide audience. Gaming companies were able to build a global play base and members of their world grew in such large numbers that these companies were able to make large profits in a very short space of time.
As worldwide popularity grew for MMORPG, many games were developed in a relatively short space of time. There were many hit games ranging from Meridian 59 in late 1996 to Ultima Online which was released in 1997 and is still running today.. This game appeared to really appeal to the masses and set this genre on the gaming map. For a monthly fee, players can play in this third person fantasy role play game. Game masters are put in place to police the game and resolve any players disputes should they arise.
It would appear that during the past few years, games have been taken to a completely new level and one of the most popular MMORPG at the moment is Blizzard Entertainment's "World of Witchcraft" along with the more traditional MMORPG of Dungeons and Dragons. To be able to enter into this game, players must first sign up to pay a subscription, this is usually payable as a monthly flat fee; however this is dependent on which game is being played.
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