The history of Massive Multiplayer Online Games – or short MMOs – is longer than some might think! It extends its roots back to the 60s. The history of MMOs has taken a rocky path full of misunderstandings. We give you an overview of the milestones of MMOs!
Today, it’s hard to imagine the video game landscape without MMOs! Whether big or small titles, whether Sci-Fi or fantasy, whether for young or old – there is the right game for everyone. However, one couldn’t always draw from the full. The history of MMOs began small. The structure can be compared to a tree:
- The roots: The origins of MMOs run deep but are not necessarily visible to everyone.
- The trunk: In the 90s, the genre took shape, structured itself straightforwardly, and formed the basis.
- The crown: In the early 2000s, the market grew lavishly. Numerous games sprouted from this boom.
The roots of MMOs lie in the details
In the 60s, the teaching and learning system “PLATO” was introduced at the University of Illinois, bringing with it a first hint of MMO. To pass the tedious time, some particularly motivated students worked on their own programs. PLATO served as a tool for communication. Over the network, one could group up with other students and fight together or against each other.
Later networks like ARPANET built on this, a US network for universities and research institutions. Many game-loving (or rather: procrastinating) students developed the first multiplayer games. These initially gained only local fame, as most networks were locally limited.
First steps with Mazewar
Over ARPANET, “Mazewar” ran from 1974. It formed the first graphical, virtual world and is thus one of the milestones on the way to today’s MMOs. For the first time, players could act together from separate computers! From a first-person perspective, one could turn around their axis in 90° increments and move back and forth. What seems commonplace to us today must have been incredibly exciting for players back then!
The MUD
Mazewar is part of the MUDs, the Multi User Dungeons. This term goes back to the first text-based “MMO” MUD 1 from 1978. Developed by students Roy Trubshaw and Richard Bartle, players could navigate through the highly simplified world using text commands. What seems ridiculous today was phenomenal back then: a total of 36 players could play simultaneously! It wasn’t even about defeating dangerous monsters or hoarding treasures, but simply about social interaction.
The 70s were the time of virtual mazes, and games were still free to play. But that changed in the 80s.
On the next page, you can learn more about the MMOs of the 80s!
