Massively

The Realm (1996)

Sierra On-line's The Realm was released on December 31, 1996 -- shortly after Meridian 59. It can best be described as a MUD with a King's Quest-like, point-and-click interface. The game was initially headed by Ken Williams, husband of legendary game designer Roberta Williams and co-creator of King's Quest.

Players of The Realm own houses, fight monsters in turn-based combat to gain character levels, and attend social events. The game was simpler and more accessible than many of its contemporaries, and Sierra boasted of more than 25,000 subscribers. But in recent years, The Realm's subscriber base has sharply declined.

The game has changed hands twice. It was handed from Sierra to Codemasters, and Codemasters handed it to the current operators -- Norseman Games. Unfortunately, The Realm is only barely supported today.

realmserver.com

31/03/08