Back to that time I was so excited when it was announced, even if I was not understanding what it meant :-)
Few will care but for historical accuracy... this game changed the real world in a lot of ways.
- I was there in 98 when it launched. I worked nights at the time and had previously played the Ultima series platform games before it became "online" so I picked up a copy to play on my nights off (house was asleep, Google didn't yet exist, very few had email, nobody had mobile devices etc).... iirc and ICQ were the only free and practical ways to communicate with friends online. (phone? Nope, the computer was using it, LOL)
There were no "community guidelines". When your toon was killed you lost your stuff. If you lost your house keys you lost all of its contents not long after. Getting "PK'd" (player killed) was a horrible experience that wiped out countless hours of working towards better gear... BUT IT WAS AWESOME! It was awesome because it caused players to toughen up, to form alliiances and guilds to protect individuals from player killers. It bonded players to common goals, many friends were made in game to find and hunt player killers. Good dominated evil naturally, but you were free to choose your own path.
If you've never played, it's not a fighting game though you can fight players and NPCs alike, if you want to. Some liked to craft, mining, blacksmithing, cookiing, running a shop, crawling a dungeon and a lot of other stuff was possible and many didn't fight at all, ever. They had the protection of 20-30 guild members at the ready on ICQ to call for help when needed.
In return crafters helped create the gear more combat oriented players needed. Every type of player was important.
- I was there in the early 2000's when virtual item sales helped skyrocket paypal and ebay's fortunes. Most aren't aware but the thriving online communities helped launch those companies early in their existence, it wasn't until years later that sales of virtual items were banned. What I found most fascinating was that digital gold became an actual hot commodity with a real world value.
You could work online by playing a game for the first time. There is a book written by a friend of mine, Julian Dibbell, called Play Money. We put together magic suits and made rune books in game that sold well for cash when it was allowed, before digital sales became a moral issue. Julian doesn't know my real name, only my game name, that was the beauty of the game. Everyone played with everyone and who they were outside the game didn't matter.
Julian's wikipedia page - [
en.wikipedia.org...] note: depending on when you visit the page it will either paint him in a good light or a bad one, it keeps changing because views on the subject are still divided but his playmoney book is free to read on his site. if you have an interest in the history of how humanity went "online" his book is a must read, he both studied "online" and narrated it at the same time. People behavior in a brand new online setting fascinated him, and we were living it as it evolved.
This game is literally when humanity truly went "online" and we've been wrestling with morals, privacy, remaining anonymous and many other issues ever since. Who knew this first virtual but static online world would change people so much over the years since. To most it was just a fun game but it quickly changed the real world. The servers are called shards and there are North American shards, European shards and asian shards still active today, it iwas played globally.
A lot of players created websites, comic strips, early blogs and guild websites to show off their exploits but sadly most of those only exist in the wayback archives now, many on old geocities pages, lol.
1998-2001 was the peak of the game, another game called Dark Ages of Camelot drew crowds next thanks to a system of player vs players combat based around realms fighting for castles and keeps, complete with siege equipment. Guilds once again ralied hundreds of members to fight for their realms in epic battles. Working together was in everyone's best interest and so everyone did.
Games today have lost that aspect of play because it's no longer possible to create, online has evolved now. I have so many stories from back then, watching the world go online in a hurry, but as I said... few today care. Gratification is now instant online, or else. It wasn't always that way!
To anyone who didn't experience it all just be happy you're younger than I, lol, it was 25 years ago. For comparison it would be like you going to Google and asking about widgets, but instead of getting search results you got "So you seek knowledge of widgets do you, that's admirable but first prove your worth young seeker. Tell us who invented widgets and why and we'll tell you of their magic uses"... people who seek instant answers today would be downright angry, but when "online communities" came to life this would have been considered awesome adventure fodder.
The internet changed people. In turn people changed the internet. Life was very different just 25 years ago and in many ways better but people learn the hard way. There was no online advertising then, a tech bubble had yet to happen, and a bunch of young gamers were having a lot of fun as their real world changed. Don't get me wrong, change is persistant, a lot of good comes from it, but without perspective and a knowledge of history it's not all good.
Geez, this is long, but far too short. Such is life.
edit: If you played and noticed I said 98... The game launched to a very fortunate few to beta test in 97... but 98 is when the masses joined. The period was called "dread days" and what happened in dread days stays in dread days!
