History of online games facts for kids
Online games are video games you play with others over the internet or a computer network. Imagine playing with friends who are far away, or even with people from all over the world! The way these games have grown is closely linked to how computers and the internet have gotten better over time. Newer technology always helps make playing games online smoother and more fun. Many video games today let you play with or against other players online.
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How Online Games Started
The very first video and computer games, like NIMROD (1951), OXO (1952), and Spacewar! (1962), were made for one or two players. These players had to sit right at the same computer to play.
Later in the 1960s, computers became more advanced. They could now do something called time-sharing. This meant many people could use the same computer at the same time. Special computer screens, called terminals, were created. These allowed users to control the computer from a different room. Soon, modems made it possible to connect to computers even from different buildings using phone lines. With more people accessing computers remotely, games were made for these central computers. At first, these were single-player games, but soon, multiplayer games followed.
In the 1970s, a new way of sending computer information, called packet-based networking, became popular. Between 1973 and 1975, a company called Xerox PARC created local area networks (LANs) using something called Ethernet. Also, the ARPANET, which started in 1969, grew into what we now call the Internet on January 1, 1983. These LANs and the Internet allowed for true network games. In these games, computers could send and receive information directly to each other. Players on different computers, even far apart, could play together. This was done using either a peer-to-peer system (where computers talk directly) or a client-server system (where a central computer manages the game).
PLATO System Games
In the 1960s, a game called SpaceWar! was made into a two-player game on a system called PLATO.
In the early 1970s, the PLATO time-sharing system was created by the University of Illinois. It allowed students in different places to use online lessons. This was one of the first systems for learning with computers. In 1972, PLATO IV screens with better graphics came out. Students then started making multiplayer games on this system. By 1978, PLATO had many cool multiplayer games. These included graphical dungeon crawls (games where you explore mazes), air combat (Airfight), tank battles (Panther), and space battles (Empire and Spasim). These games had features like sending messages to other players, characters that remembered your progress, and team play for up to 32 players at once!
Early Networked Games
Early computer networks like ARPANET and JANET wanted to let users on one computer use programs on other computers. This meant that games on these systems could be played by people in many different places. They used programs like telnet to connect.
Most of these early games were for one player and were often played at universities. Many were made for DEC-20 mainframes, which were common in universities. Games like The Oregon Trail (1971), Colossal Cave Adventure (1976), and Star Trek (1972) were very popular. Many students would play their own copy of the game at the same time.
Eventually, multiplayer games on networked computers started to appear. One very important game was MUD (1978). This game created a whole new type of game and helped develop the idea of shared online worlds. It had a big impact on how MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) were made later. In 1984, another MUD called MAD came out. It was the first MUD that could be played from computers all over the world.
In the summer of 1973, Maze War was created at NASA's Ames Research Center. High school students working there made it. They added a two-player option by connecting two computers with cables. Since two computers were involved, they could send information to each other directly. This makes Maze War possibly the first peer-to-peer computer video game. It could also be called the first first-person shooter game!
In 1983, Gary Tarolli made a flight simulator for Silicon Graphics computers. In 1984, they added networking by connecting two machines with cables, just like for Maze War. Later, they added support for Ethernet, allowing many computers to play over a network. In 1986, SGI Dogfight became the first game to use the Internet protocol suite. However, it could only be played on a single network. Around 1989, they added IP multicast support. This made the game playable between any compatible computers on the Internet, if they had multicast access.
In May 1993, Sega of Japan showed an online version of their arcade game OutRunners. Up to eight players could play the game across two different cities in Japan. This was the first online arcade game ever shown. Sega announced plans to release it in Japan in July 1993. A month later, AT&T and Sega of America announced plans for a similar online gaming system for the Sega Genesis console.
X Window System Games
In 1986, MIT and DEC released the X Window System. This system was important for game development in two ways. First, it provided a widely used graphics system for powerful workstation computers on the Internet. Many different graphics systems existed, but X became the most popular across different computer types. Since college students wrote most Internet games, this was very important.
Second, X allowed computers to act as thin clients. This meant a personal computer could use a program running on a much more powerful server computer. It would feel just like the user was sitting at the server computer itself. This meant that starting in 1986, games were developed that ran on a fast server computer. This server would then "throw" X display windows to personal computers. These personal computers would remotely show the game and send the player's actions back.
The first of these remote display games was Xtrek. It was based on a PLATO game called Empire. Xtrek was a 2D multiplayer space battle game. It was probably the first graphical game that could be played across the Internet. However, the game itself didn't "know" it was using a network. It was like one computer displaying on several screens. The X version of Maze War, on the other hand, was peer-to-peer and used the network directly. A copy of the game ran on each computer. Netrek (originally Xtrek II) was a new version of Xtrek that was fully aware of the network. Other games that used this system included xtank, xconq, xbattle, and XPilot (1991).
Early Online Gaming Services
As time-sharing technology got better, companies started selling access to their powerful computer systems. Companies like Tymshare (founded 1966) focused on selling computer time to many customers. These customers were usually businesses that didn't need or couldn't afford their own computer systems.
In 1979, two companies, The Source and CompuServe, started selling access to their systems to regular people and small businesses. This was the start of online service providers. At first, people used these services to run their own programs. But over time, things like online chat, email, bulletin board systems (BBSs), and games became the main reasons people used them. For many people, these services were their first experience with online gaming.
In 1984, CompuServe launched Islands of Kesmai. This was the first commercial multiplayer online role-playing game. Islands of Kesmai used scrolling text to draw maps and show movement. It cost money to play, on top of the regular CompuServe connection fee.
The LINKS was an online network launched for the MSX computer in Japan in 1986. It had several graphical multiplayer online games. It also offered downloadable games.
Habitat was the first big attempt at a commercial virtual community that used graphics. It wasn't a 3D world, but it was a very important step towards modern MMORPGs. Habitat had a graphical user interface (GUI) and many users. When Habitat closed in 1988, it was followed by a simpler but more advanced game called Club Caribe.
In 1987, Nintendo's president, Hiroshi Yamauchi, worked with Nomura Securities to create the Family Computer Network System for the Famicom (NES) in Japan. Five games were made for this system, including an online version of the game Go.
In 1987, Kesmai (the company that made Islands of Kesmai) released Air Warrior on GEnie. This was a graphical flight simulator and air combat game. It first used simple wire-frame graphics. Over time, Air Warrior was added to other online services like Delphi and CompuServe. Kesmai made many improved versions of the game. The last Air Warrior servers were shut down in 2001.
In 1988, Federation appeared on Compunet. This was a text-based online game about a future galaxy's economy. Players would work their way up ranks, doing different jobs. Eventually, they could own their own small solar system. Federation later moved to AOL. When AOL made online games free in 1996, the huge number of players caused problems. So, AOL stopped offering online games. IBGames, the creators of Federation, then offered the game through their own website. This might have been the first game to move off an online service provider. IBGames kept the game running until 2005.
In 1990, Sega launched the Sega Meganet online multiplayer gaming service for the Mega Drive (Genesis) console. Sega continued to offer online gaming for its later consoles, like the Sega NetLink for the Sega Saturn and SegaNet for the Dreamcast. In 1995, Nintendo released the Satellaview in Japan. This was a satellite modem for the Super Famicom that allowed online multiplayer gaming. In 1999, Nintendo released the 64DD for the Nintendo 64 in Japan. It offered internet access for shopping, online gaming, and sharing media. The late 1990s saw a huge growth in MMORPGs, including Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds (1996), Ultima Online (1997), Lineage (1998), and EverQuest (1999).
In 2000, Sony added online multiplayer to the PlayStation 2. This was a first for Sony and became a standard for future consoles. In 2001, Nintendo added online multiplayer to the GameCube using an add-on. However, it didn't do as well as the Xbox or PlayStation 2. Later in 2001, Microsoft released the Xbox. Using Xbox Live, it offered online multiplayer and other internet features. Microsoft continued this with the Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
In 2006, Nintendo released the Wii. It offered online multiplayer gaming through Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and other internet features through WiiConnect24. Both services closed on May 20, 2014. This also shut down online play for games like Mario Kart Wii. The same year, Sony released the PlayStation 3. It used the new PlayStation Network (PSN) for online multiplayer and other internet features. Sony continued this with the PlayStation 4. In 2012, Nintendo created the Nintendo Network for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. This continued their online multiplayer and internet features, competing with Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. Nintendo's newest console, the Nintendo Switch, also offers online play through Nintendo Network.
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