History of Online Gaming

The history of online gaming includes contributions by many different companies and entities. Online gaming began as multiplayer gaming, but has evolved to include online gaming servers and massively-multiplayer online game settings.

Multiplayer games started in 1972 with PLATO.

PLATO was a joint project of the University of Illinois and Control Data Corporation, which enabled students to interact with other terminals for the purpose of education and computer-aided learning. In 1972, new interfaces enabled students to begin creating games, and the world of multiplayer gaming began.

MUD was the first network game.

MUD in 1978 spawned a genre of network-based games, enabling players on the network to interact and explore the MUD game world. MUD games ultimately paved the road for MMORPGs, with the concept of a shared world.

MAD on BITNET was the first worldwide multiplayer game.

In 1984, MAD appeared, and it was the first game to enable worldwide connectivity. MAD was a MUD accessible to anyone on the worldwide computer network, and it lasted for two years.

Online Game Economies Get Real

In a galaxy not too far away, online gamers may soon scour the job boards for paying posts as Galactic Empire insurgents or anti-Vader moisture farmers. Massive multiplayer online role-playing games boast subscriber populations that rival those of many North American cities. As a result, game developers are moving beyond simply creating ultrarealistic 3-D worlds. They're also modeling less tangible Earth phenomena such as governance and commerce -- prompting a rise of real economies in imaginary societies.

"Traditionally that kind of kill-the-rat, get-your-five-gold-pieces model hasn't changed with most (multiplayer online games)," said LucasArts producer Haden Blackman, referring to the revenue strategy pioneered by the early text-based multi-user domains on which modern MMORPGs are based. "One of the things we wanted to do is have a more viable player-run economy from the very outset."

Blackman heads up the LucasArts branch of the team that's working with Sony Online Entertainment to produce the first Star Wars-based MMORPG, Star Wars Galaxies, set to hit shelves in late January.

The elaborate handle for these online role-playing games is shortened in various ways throughout the online gaming industry: MMOP, MMO and MMPOG, in addition to the Star Wars Galaxies-styled, MMORPG.

Typically, MMORPG gamers move through elaborate environments as digital action figures called avatars. Successful adventures yield monetary rewards that can be used to purchase equipment and clothing.