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 Another day, another round of Dos Equis (the writer's brew) and of course another Top 10 list.
I spent some time delving into the history of MMORPG's using the ever reliable (heh) wiki and its associated list of companion websites. I took a hard look at the forefathers of the modern day MMOG and decided that the deeds of yore should get their due Musketeer respect. The majority of MMO history was already known to me. Consequently, reading about Dungeons and Dragons stamp of influence, mainframe terminal sessions and private MUD servers came as no surprise. My astonishment came in all of the back-end information I overlooked. For example, I knew NSFNET jammed up public Internet usage, due to its omnipresent applicable usage polices, but I never keyed in on its indirect effect on MMO development and distribution.
Thus, after some research into MMO lore and a bit of pontification, I subjectively chose the influences and technical achievements I considered to be the most pertinent in guiding the history of MMORPG development.
Here is my list for your reading pleasure:
Dungeons and Dragons - Published in 1974, D&D captured the hearts and minds of a generation of collegiate programmers and other technophiles. This love of book based, interactive fantasy directly lead to the development of software and supporting applications which evolved into the role-playing games we enjoy today.
Multi-User Dungeons - The first recognized MUD was released in 1978. This text-based online software continued the collegiate theme of recruiting software programmers into the digital RPG fold. MUD's leveraged the elements of RP, hack and slash, and an online socialization via a chat interface. While other mainframe based systems had combined individual elements of the components previously referenced, MUD's viral spread through the college online community cemented its cult status and elicited development for better GUI's to further immerse players into the online realm of fantasy.
Islands of Kesmai - Released on CompuServe Online in 1984, Islands of Kesmai featured a hybrid text and rudimentary graphical user interface. A steep cost of $12.00 per hour didn't deter gamers from experiencing the first commercial online role-playing game. IoK also introduced virtual world tenants such as skewed class balance, dedicated player killers, and online game inflation. These tenants of old have become canon to the MMOG experience today.
Neverwinter Nights (AOL Version) - Released in 1991, Neverwinter Nights was the first commercial GUI based online RPG. Utilizing a 2D graphics engine, recognizable to PC gamers as the celebrated SSI Gold Box engine (Curse of the Azure Bonds, et al), and fronted by America Online, Neverwinter Nights was an online success for AOL. A dedicated fan base and player managed events combined with AOL's community based services and instant communications (i.e. email) led to a strong 'organized' gaming community. NWN was also the harbinger of fractious publisher / developer relations, as TSR and AOL terminated their lucrative licensing agreement. This led to the closing of NWN virtual doors in 1997 - before the cusp of the MMOG explosion.
The National Science Foundation NETwork - During the late 80's and early 90's NSFNET governed the "acceptable use" policies of all commercial vendors. Hence distribution of all online games was restrained and proprietary solutions such as GEnie, AOL, and CompuServe were able to bill outrageous hourly fee's to access online games running on their networks. The acceptable usage polices of NSFNET were gradually reduced. Iin the spring of 1995, the NSFNET backbone, which formed the core of the public Internet infrastructure, was removed from Merit Network Inc control and successfully transferred to a new network architecture. This allowed Internet freedom outside of the NSFNET "acceptable usage" policies and regulations. Viola! the online porn boom. This relaxation of rules also increased the freedom of distributed online gaming as gaming content was no longer restricted due to the NSFNET regulations.
Meridian 59 - Launched in 1996, Meridian 59 is generally credited as being the first true Internet MMO. Meridian 59 was also the first commercial 3D MMO to hit the market and, more importantly, M59 introduced the user friendly subscription price model. The static pricing model that M59 championed expanded the MMORPG player base outside of the realm of the "hardcore" gamer.
Ultima Online - Ultima already had a massive following due to its extremely popular PC game franchise. As a result , when Ultima Online was released, in 1997, its success was virtually (no pun intented) assured. Utilizing its familiar 3D isometric view and featuring a depth of gameplay that belied its appearance, it was best summed up as "easy to play, hard to master". UO was the first MMORPG that held wide stateside appeal and, in the process, legitimized the MMO genre.
EverQuest - Verant Interactive launch of EQ in 1999 ushered in an era of MMOG commercial dominance not seen again until the release of World of Warcraft. EQ made the virtual world of Norrath mainstream and added MMOG gaming terms to the American public lexicon (OMGWTFBBQ will always be my favorite). The greatest historical gift that VI and EQ showed to gaming developers and publishers was the massive economic profit that could be reaped by the successful release of a MMOG that appealed to the masses.
Final Fantasy XI - Phantasy Star Online was the first online role-playing game for game consoles (oh Dreamcast how I miss thee). However, Final Fantasy XI ushered in the last bastion of MMORPG exploration - the gaming console. Capitalizing on the Final Fantasy series and its rapid console fanbase FF XI has allowed both game console and PC gamers to play in the same MMOG universe.
MMOG are now ubiquitous and every gaming platform can successfully support the MMO medium as a way to deploy content and provide revenue to their parent companies. Development costs for MMO's may measure into the millions however a semi-successful MMO can provide a stream of revenue that will last well beyond its development costs. Thus all MMOG developers and publishers should look upon the genre's history and remember its roots lest they fall prey to same mistakes.
'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.' - George Santayana
References from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MMORPG
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