Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
A Secret History Of MMORPGs: Meridian 59, Ultima Online & Asheron's Call
MumboJumbo
Member UncommonPosts: 3,219
A Secret History of MMORPG Genre:
-
Meridian 59: GDC Vault - Classic Game Post-Mortem Video
Ultima Online: GDC Vault - Classic Game Post-Mortem Video
Asheron's Call: Ripper's Tortured Psyche: History of Asheron's Call Darktide
& including sections in the below video to link to the present:
PaizCon Presentation: A Brief History of MMORPGs, Sandboxes vs Themeparks
====
If people can start filling in the rest of the list; *major titles* eg EvE & Everquest would be best choices to begin adding: So fire away! Below is a useful timeline (full list at link).
MMORPG TIMELINE: http://timelines.com/topics/mmorpg
1996 Sep 27 - Meridian 59
1997 Sep 25 - Ultima Online
1999 Mar 16 - EverQuest
1999 Nov 2 - Asheron's Call
2001 Jun 6 - World War II Online
2001 Jun 27 - Anarchy Online
2001 Oct 10 - Dark Age of Camelot
2001 Oct 10 - Motor City Online
2002 May 16 - Final Fantasy XI
2002 Sep 24 - Earth and Beyond
2002 Nov 22 - Asheron's Call 2
2003 Mar 25 - Shadowbane
2003 May 6 - EVE Online
2003 May 20 - Planetside
2003 Jun 26 - Star Wars Galaxies
2003 Dec 9 - Horizons: Empire of Istaria
Cont'd...
==
Meridian 59 Official Trailer
Ultima Online Trailer
Ralph Koster QUOTE: "I think UO is to blame for F2P"
Comments
2001 Jan 4 - Runescape
2003 Oct 1 - Lineage 2 (kr)
2003 Dec 8 - Puzzle Pirates
2004 Apr 27 - Lineage 2 (us)
2003 Apr 29 - Maple Story (kr)
2005 May 11 - Maple Story (us)
2005 Dec 31 - SilkRoad Online
Additional helpful links:
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
Aww, Runescape is a big omission from that list!!
Thanks for those, I'll dig into Runescape if I can find the relevant vids for the "next installment".
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014633/Classic-Game-Postmortem
theres a video of MACHINIMA talking about the history of MMO's:
part 1:
part 2:
part 3:
part 4:
from how MUDS first started to MMO's from today
From skeith's pt3 vid link: "At the start of the new millenium... while these numbers didn't reach the same heights as the biggest selling titles of the day, their unique business model proved profitable to an extent unheard of before... would hit a fork in the road as one game..."
QED.
@skeith: Thanks interesting links!
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014633/Classic-Game-Postmortem
No one really knows how UO managed to be a success with EA as publisher
It thrived despite being an EA game is all I can say :P
That is true, however, at that time, I think Richard Garriot was left alone to do his own thing. He has a big ego and I don't think he would have let EA tell him what to do with the Ultima franchise.... yet...
Good catch. Definitely should be on the list.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
Damnit.
Where's the motherlode of all mmorpg chronological lists? I've searched around for some info on EVE Online and will see if I can rustle up something on Runescape also, to add.
/I'll edit that OP timelines mmorpg list shortly.
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014633/Classic-Game-Postmortem
It gets forgotten about often due to FFXI but...
EverQuest Online Adventures - Feb. 11, 2003
It actually beat FFXI to the punch on consoles and even launched before the PC version of FFXI. Few remember it though or have ever heard of it. I miss that game lol. It was just shut down this year
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EverQuest_Online_Adventures
And heres a link that should help you out a bit...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_massively_multiplayer_online_role-playing_games
The links at the bottom should really be of use.
Maybe I'm all wrong but I always thought Verant developed Everquest indepently and was aquired by SOE after it was successful. The Wikipedia article on SOE states that SOE acquired Verant in June 2000. However the article also implies SOE developed Everquest.
Looks to me like SOE is rewriting history to take credit for developing Everquest just because it acquired Verant after it had already made Everquest successful.
Personally I think Verant selling out to SOE was the biggest mistake in MMORPG history.
989 studios was owned by sony, which started EQ. Then Verant was spun out after and continued work on EQ, then Sony bought Verant a bit after the launch.
So technically both are true. Sony, at least, had a hand in it from the very beginning.
They didn't just publish it. EA owned Origin whole hog as my dad use to say. Think Bioware today, do we really even separate the two out anymore?
Pretty much this. Sony put all of the pieces in place through 989 studeos, and then when they wanted to make 989 an exclusively playstation brand developer, they created verant which was headed by the man everyone around here loves to hate. He hand picked his people and they produced everquest. Sony then wanted a larger footprint in online games and brough Verant back into the fold which eventually turned into Sony Online Entertainment.
EA was already ruining Ultima by the time Ultima Online came out. They ruined Ultima 8 (1994) by rushing it out the door to please the investors.
Lineage was the first MMORPG with more than 1 million subs world wide. Lineage was bigger than Meridian 59, Ultima Online, and Everquest all put together all back in 1998. Pretty much every Korean game mechanic goes back to this game. Lineage was the WoW of Asia and eventually peaked at about 2 million subs. Lineage II which released in 2003 also had 2 million subs. These games were hugely successful even by today's standards. Only WoW has ever had more subs. Any list that does not include Lineage should not be taken seriously.
Took a lot of research but does look like EQ started as a "Sony" project.
However, Verant was an independent company whose owners profited by selling out to "Sony"
Sort of funny though -- Verant never actually owned Everquest -- instead it was EQ developer for SCEA. receiving royalties from EQs profits.
SOE was not however ever part of that development -- SCEA being in an entirely different corporate branch of Sony than SOE.
Very confusing and guess I have to take back my biggest mistake in the history of MMORPG history comment and remake it into Smedly not forming Verant independently when he had the idea for a MMORPG that developed into EQ.
However after reading about all these corporate manueverings, looks like Smedly was always into being part of the Sony corporation.
As a player who started around release of the Ruins of Kunark, I always had the impression that Verant was the owner and developer of EQ with Sony just being the publisher that basically sold the game box and collected the subscriptions. After SOE bought Verant, it gradually changed the atmosphere around the game. Maybe all that would have happened anyways especially with the main Developers involved. But it was like this is exploring the development of an all new game type to eventually how do we make a good cash flow.
The best source I could find :: http://otherworlds31279.yuku.com/topic/1391/background-to-Verant-as-told-by-Brad-McQuaid
Which does sort of bring up an interesting question :: Does SOE own EQ or does SCEA ( or whatever it turned into ) still own EQ with SOE just getting royalties from the profits for development? -- lol
I am the punishment of God...
If you had not committed great sins,
God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you
Genghis Khan
Just starting with the "bronze age" - a manageable list to end of 2003: Just before WoW: It's in the full list linked; which itself is not as complete as it should be (see Runescape and Lineage...). Already plenty of interesting info divulged.
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014633/Classic-Game-Postmortem
SOE, SCEA, and SCEE are all under the same umbrella as divisions of the Sony Group.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
My gaming blog
Beaten? Has McDonalds beaten a 5 star gourmet restaurant? I think not.
WoW catered to the casual, lazy masses with the fast food equivalent of MMORPGs.
My gaming blog