A History of Computer Games: The Multiplayer Years

Last week we looked at RTS games, and the gradual rise of the PC as a gaming instrument. The use of a PC as a gaming machine had a few important implications for video games. Firstly, a PC was more likely to have internet, which meant multiplayer became a viable option - very useful for FPS and RTS games, which were the games that leant themselves best to a PC. Multiplayer options extended the life of a video game almost indefinitely. By replacing AI opponents with real human opponents, the games became more complex, more competitive, and more addictive. There were negatives of course - cheating was more of a problem, ranking had to be introduced to ensure new players weren’t discouraged by battling against heavyweights. Disconnects, lag and technical problems were very frustrating, and with dial-up connections things had to be kept simple and minimal.

Prior to the internet, multiplayer gaming had existed - but it required either two or more people using one console or PC, either taking turns or playing split-screen, or it required computers to be networked together. The first online multi-player game was Islands of Kesmai. This was a turn-based combat game that involved moving from tile-to-tile, picking up items or fighting mobs. You could attack other players, but doing so changed your alignment, and impacted how welcoming towns would be. The most interesting class was the ‘thief’ class - played in character, you could appear lawful, steal from other players, and steal valuable items from monsters before the group killed it. As such, they were complained about, hated, and finally nerfed to the point of no return.

Following in the footsteps of Kesmai was Neverwinter Nights. This was released via AOL, in 1991, and shouldn’t be confused with the later Neverwinter Nights of 2002. NWN introduced the idea of clans and PVP (Player versus Player). The game spread virally, as people emailed their friends and asked them to join up. AOL was delighted, as at that time everyone payed for dial-up by the hour. Prior to that moment, most people just went online to check and send emails, and if AOL were lucky, do a quick bit of research for something. Now, people were logging in to play games! For hours at a stretch. So MMO’s were big money from the start.

The next three games arrived almost simultaneously - The Realm Online, Meridian 59, and Furcadia. All three are still running today, suggesting that MMO’s are capable of generating immense loyalty in their player-base. They are all subscription based, a method of payment that is favorable to a game developer. It also allows for trial periods, which is favourable for the player - after all, few people want to spend money on a game they know nothing about. The notoriously addictive nature of MMO’s means that free trials are very lucrative.

The second part was community. Early players benefited from having friends on their servers, to form parties with. So they would effectively ’sell’ the game for you, convincing their friends to sign-up. This marketing model is much more effective than splash advertising. After all, we are inundated with advertising, most of us can filter it out. But a viral game, one that people had a reason to persuade their friends to play, could sell itself much quicker and more effectively.

Ultima Online was released in 1997, a game that took the early success of the prior MMO’s and turned them into a massive commercial undertaking. It peaked at around 750,000 subscribers, despite problems with lag. The result was groundbreaking: and it highlighted many of the issues MMO’s would struggle with for a long time. Attempting to create a stable, balanced economy and ensure players had control without being out of control was a herculean task. People were not predictable, they were good at exploiting bugs, and in-game events often made accidental history.

Asia became the MMO central - hundreds of games were released, all of them with an active player-base. Nexus, a US adaptation of Baramue Nara, a popular Korean MMO, was the first of many anime-styled games. Many of these games are free to play, including Maple Story and Ragnorak Online. RO, which is a franchised game and has both pay-to-play and free-to-play servers, actually boasts of more players than World of Warcraft.

The next big hit in the MMO world was EverQuest. It was released in 1999, and continues today. A sequel, EQII, was released in 2004. The sheer, runaway success of this game is hard to believe. Nicknamed ‘Evercrack’, it featured raiding guilds, many of which required 6-8 hours of gameplay everyday from its members. The slang that EQ players spoke quickly spread to other MMO’s, the controversy around the sale of in-game items for real money sprang up, spammers appeared, friendships were generated and fell apart, people ebayed their high-level characters, and in short it was that MMO atmosphere we all know and love-to-hate.

After EQ, we had World of Warcraft. WoW built on three things, Blizzard’s own reputation as a quality game developer, the success of EQ, which had begun to attract a new breed of ‘casual gamers’, and incredibly polished, attractive content. Criticism about WoW is prevalent, but for the most part the game itself is an incredibly solid playing experience. At the much advertised figure of 9 million subscribers worldwide, the game is the largest MMO around, taking over 50% of the MMO market share. It is a behemoth of the online gaming world. It also brings us rather neatly to the end of our history, and propels us into the future.

Video games are now mainstream, they are grown-up, they are complex, and they can take more effort than most jobs. People are building businesses around selling in-game gold, high-level characters, and items. With games like The Sims, and Second Life, we have moved from games that focus on point-gathering to games that focus on mimicking ‘real life’. We have virtual economies, game worlds that have been compared to real countries in terms of the wealth they generate. We have accidental but incredibly realistic plagues. Gaming has become social experiment.

Gaming has also become entrenched in our culture and our lives. We play, even when it isn’t fun. We play, and we pay to play, at being someone else. Experts are comparing gaming to gambling; addictive, potentially socially destructive behavior. Of course, people have also books were bad for women as they ‘overexcited’ their brains, and that marijuana caused people to go on killing sprees. Whatever your own standpoint, games are going to driving debate for a long time yet.

The Full History

A History of Computer Games: The Early Years
A History of Video Games: The Golden Years
A History of Computer Games: The Plumber is Nigh
A History of Video Games: The Commercial Years
A History of Computer Games: The Strategic Years
A History of Video Games: The Multiplayer Years

Related Posts

• A History of Computer Games: The Early Years
• A History of Computer Games: The Plumber is Nigh
• A History of Video Games: The Golden Years
• A History of Video Games: The Commercial Years
• A History of Computer Games: The Stragetic Years

17 Responses to “A History of Computer Games: The Multiplayer Years

Hazel Says:
January 11th, 2008 at 4:08 pm

Thanks for this.
These days it seems that WoW is the only MMORPG ever discussed - it’s great to read an article focusing on the origins of MMORPGs in this way.

I feel a bit like I’ve missed out on a lot though, my first online gaming experiences were playing Phantasy Star Online on the Dreamcast…

Keira Peney Says:
January 14th, 2008 at 10:27 am

@Hazel - glad you liked. And yeah, WoW was pretty impressive in terms of bringing MMO’s to a larger audience, but it was not the first (and definitely won’t be the last) one we’ll see.

Adrenis Says:
January 18th, 2008 at 9:26 am

RO had more players than WoW? I didn’t know that. Quite an impressive feat.

It’s also interesting how long some MMOs stick around. Makes me wonder if there will be a core group of fans that’s still playing WoW in 15 years, or if they will all have moved on to the next big thing.

Keira Peney Says:
January 18th, 2008 at 9:42 am

@Adrenis - Ro did have more players, but they weren’t paying XD WoW still beats all for number of subscriptions.

I think there will continue to be a core of WoW players, even after the game stops being updated. Blizzard won’t mind - income is income

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