Most significant online/multiplayer games?

[Tarinth]

We're developing a PlayerVox article to discuss the ten most significant multiplayer (online) games.

For the purpose of this, an online multiplayer game is any game where people can play with or against each other across a distance. Thus, "Pong" wouldn't be considered (it was multiplayer, but you had to play on the same box) but "Doom" would.

It's your opportunity to give some input to the process! If you'd like to mention a favorite game, go ahead and post on this thread. The final games to be listed in the top-ten list will be ranked according to their level of innovation, creativity and influence on other games that followed.

I'll hold off on posting what *I* think, and give everyone a chance to give some unbiased input!

[Burning Chrome]

For me it definitely has to be Gemstone 3, I remember spending a whole summer bucking hay at the age of 13 to pay for the old-school pay-per hour Prodigy so I could login and scam people with fake enchanted armor (I was young).

The fact that it was offered on the major services: AOL, Prodigy and Genie, gave it exposure to people such as myself who weren't savvy enough to telnet into a MUD and helped build a large player base.

Years later, after playing a couple smaller MUDs, I came back to GS3 rather than going for one of the Graphical MMOs that had now been created and was not disappointed. Even now, after playing Guild Wars and now WoW I dream of the individuality that GS allowed for through its alteration systems, and player-involved, multi-monthed storylines.

Today you can still login and and hear amazing tales of things that happened in the past, and if you're lucky enough maybe someone will show you the legendary items that accompany the tale.

[ShadowEfx]

I would have to say DAoC. It was really the first multiplayer enviroment I had been in besides Diablo 2 and Quake. I liked both of those games as well, but with DAoC, it really set the standards of the games I like to play today. It had great game mechanics IMO and the PvP and RvR enviroments where right on the money. Very excited about Mythics new release and hope it makes all other games seem boring!!

[QueenTajah]

Ultima Online.

It was so incredibly ambitious in design, and instituted many system that are STILL emulated by its descendants. UO brought player housing to a level that, after a decade, no game other than SWG has even come relatively close to matching.

UO brought PvP through several methods, and later (with the Trammel fiasco) made the first groundbreaking MMO change. -Consensual- pvp is a fact of life in the industry now.

10 years after its release, we are seeing several new and upcoming games going back to the skill-based advancement system that UO initiated. 90% of the market has been level-based for years, but developers are beginning to look more and more about the fundamental reasons MMOs are successful. Every time they do, they have to think about UO.

[Hysteria]

Well I think my list would have to go something like this.

1. Ultima Online - The MMO by which all others are measured from a gamers perspective at least maybe not an industry standard. The bar was set with UO and so many standards were set it's hard to argue it's place at the top of the list. I could spend the next week trying to explain why UO will always be the most influential games of all time.

2. Counterstrike - How can anyone in the gaming community today ignore the most popular FPS in history. It's a game after 12 years still has millions of loyal players around the world. It wasn't the first FPS to be played online but it certainly set the standard for all others.

3. Starcraft - Again not the first online RTS but def. the one that set the bar by which others are measured. With Tri-faction combat and the ability to creat your own custom maps it set foot in waters no other RTS had been before. Coupled with the ease of battle.net it spawned a whole legion of followers the world over that no other RTS has even come close to competing with.

4. Everquest - While it's famous for many things what most people remember it for is two things. First the insane grind and time commitment which in my opinion didn't necessarily create the power gamer but more so introduced the power gamer to the world. Murders were committed for a game people lost their lives because they played too much, for the first time for many people they realized that video game addiction is in fact a reality. Second EQ gave us what is all well and known as the farmer, while I'm sure they existed in all games EQ was the first game where farmers and the selling of virtual items really took off.

5. Dark Age of Camelot - To this day it still remains one of the best pvp or I should say RvR oriented games ever created. The keep/relic system was well ahead of it's time and the realm vs realm instead of individual or guild vs guild combat was really quite unique. Still to this day one of the best MMO's in the market.

6. Halo 2 - Some people may question this games place in the history of video games while considered by many inferior to it's predecessor Halo. What most people forget is that Halo 2 helped to really springboard the online console market (xbox live atleast) which up until it's release was less than popular. And in doing so solidified the era of the online console game not just xbox.

7. Guild Wars - Unique in it's design and instanced pvp another pioneer in game design while not one of my personal favorites nobody can deny it's impact in the MMO world. Not to mention the price is just right!!

8. Star Wars Galaxies - I'm sure someone is saying GROOOOOAAAAAAAN right now but this list is about games with impact not necessarily quality. SOE showed the entire world exactly what NOT to do with a game. The drastic core game changing drove off subscribers in droves and nearly ended the game. Yet to this day SWG in my eyes remains the pioneer in terms of a crafting/housing games. The social/economical side of that game still is the best I've ever seen in a game, after all it's all that game had going for it.

9. World of Warcraft - Nobody can deny WoW's dominance of the MMO regime today. Well at least from an industry standard, it's the most successful MMO so far (again from an industry viewpoint) but nobody really gives a rats ass how much money it makes what should matter is how US the gamer views the game. Most veteran gamers will agree that for a true gamer wow leaves a lot to be desired. In a nutshell a game with great potential and popularity has been nurfed and dumbed down to a painful grindalong in a plain vanilla wrapper.

10. Second Life - While Second Life isn't new it's not exactly a veteran in the gaming community. In fact a lot of people don't even consider it a game at all. More like a virtual reality, which is very accurate in a sense. I still feel it belongs on this list as I'm no fortune teller I can't help but feel that SL is going to have a major impact on gaming and how it's viewed in the future.

[samhain]

IM assuming this is not just mmorpg...

Wolf3D - The grandfather of FPS (not multiplayer, but was the seed of FPS)

Doom - The grandfather of online FPS.

Command and Conquer/Warcraft/Starcraft - The foundation of everything RTS

Everquest - Took muds and gave people a pretty UI and engine.

Unreal/Quake - First true 100% 3D gaming engines. (predecessors were only xy based on non-stackable plains).

WoW - Showed the world that MMORPG's can be played by an intellectually diverse set of people and were not just for gaming nerds.

MUD's (there's not 1, but the whole genre.. the concept in itself).. Without them, none of this would be here.

[Sierron]

I'd have to say Legends of Future Past, and Dragon's Gate were two of the big games for me that I've ever played. They may both be gone now, but they were influencial in my early years of online gaming. Sure, there are graphical MMO games now, but to me, they will never be the same, and in my opinion will never take the place of the immagination, and years of fun they gave me.

Gemstone 3/4 I never really got into, until severeal years ago, so wasn't as big of an influence on me, and it never did have the same feel that LOFP or D-gate did.

[Keerwen]

Counterstirke for the way it was designed. even a slow connection was able to to play with few tweaks tho now it's so much harder with a bad connection.

Everquest was the first and foremost game that kept me playing the longest and continued to come up with more ideas

Command and conquer series was my first and foremost rts multiplayer game. it was different kinda sci fi and had lots of replayability to it

diablo2 was a good one it got me started in to the whole rpg style and loved playing it with friends online.

[Grimparrot]

I went to write my list and Hysteria beat me to it. I would just add these to that list:

Asheron's Call 1: Humongous world, and monthly episodic content made this one stand out. Could be re released with a modern graphics engine and thrive today.

Jumpgate: A non running around killing stuff for more loot to make it easier to run around and kill stuff game. Accurate space physics space combat and trading sim. Outstanding game, never got huge due to 3DO collapsing right as it was launched.

[Roxianna]

Originally Posted by Grimparrot

Asheron's Call 1: Humongous world, and monthly episodic content made this one stand out. Could be re released with a modern graphics engine and thrive today.

I dunno if you would really tolerate those long corpse run and travel difficulties these days--they didn't go over so well with Vanguard.