Massively's Visual History of MMORPGs, Part I
by Samuel Axon 
Mar 31st 2008 at 2:40PM
Filed under: Galleries, Screenshots, Lineage, Meridian 59, Nexus: The Kingdoms of the Winds, MMO industry, The Realm Online, Ultima Online
The MMORPG genre has come so far in these past few decades, it's almost difficult to believe. The journey from text MUDs to America Online-based dungeon crawlers, and all the way up to Age of Conan and Warhammer Online has been a truly impressive one. We here at Massively would like to invite you to step into the time machine with us and take a visual tour of that journey. We're taking a close look at the most important titles in online role-playing game history!
What was the first MUD? Howabout the first 3D MMO? When did these games transition from niche curiosities to global, cultural phenomenons, and who's responsible? In this series, we'll tackle all those questions and more. Plus, we'll see just how far these fancy graphics have come over the years! Sound like fun? Jump into the gallery!
What was the first MUD? Howabout the first 3D MMO? When did these games transition from niche curiosities to global, cultural phenomenons, and who's responsible? In this series, we'll tackle all those questions and more. Plus, we'll see just how far these fancy graphics have come over the years! Sound like fun? Jump into the gallery!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Brad B. said on 3:21PM 3-31-2008
Awesome Feature, brings back great memories. Man, AOL was a rip though.
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xtremuuuu said on 3:33PM 3-31-2008
Excellent feature! Liked it! Waiting anxiously for the next one. :)
I still play MUDs from time to time.
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Sir Bruce said on 3:45PM 3-31-2008
While not every early MMOG can be listed here, there are some notable ones missing from your gallery that I think should be included:
1. Habitat / Club Caribe
2. Air Warrior
3. Gemstone III
4. Dark Sun Online
5. Furcadia
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Animagnum said on 4:24PM 3-31-2008
Would Habitat/Club Caribe be worth mentioning?
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Daniel Whitcomb said on 5:02PM 3-31-2008
Oh man, Shadows of Yserbius. Someone acknowledges that the game existed! I have so many fond memories of SoY, and its sequels, Twinion and Cawdor. Someone needs to bring those back.
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S_Brennan said on 12:13AM 4-01-2008
You guys remembered Nexus and Underlight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *hugs the entire staff at once*
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Spudz said on 4:41PM 4-01-2008
I would concur with animagnum about habitat (its the lucasfilm habitat you mean, right?) since the developers did some fairly interesting observations regarding player experience and the interactions between players.
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Excelsior said on 8:39AM 4-02-2008
Mankind please for the next edition.
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Cyn said on 9:23AM 4-07-2008
What about WorldsAway? (Its original version, not the "adult content" one still limping along.)
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paul.miller said on 4:55PM 4-10-2008
Love it!
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