A long time ago with a computer that may or may not be far, far away, you picked up an MMO. You picked up, you played it, and you probably really, really enjoyed it. You enjoyed it so much, as a matter of fact, that you chose to keep playing them and explored more games in the genre. And that brings us to today, dear readers.
It's a story that's happened to all of us, from the days of MUDs all the way up to perhaps just last week when you wrapped your hands around that new MMO game on the shelf or felt like seeing why all of your friends are addicted to World of Warcraft.
So please tell us what your first game was and why you chose it. We recommend using the comment box below, as that guarantees that the entire Internets (TM) will see your message. Screaming at the screen is also an option, but you have to scream really loudly so we can hear you.
Reader Comments (81)
Posted: Oct 23rd 2009 8:11AM (Unverified) said
Asheron's Call. It seemed to be more intuitive than Everquest.
Posted: Oct 23rd 2009 8:15AM (Unverified) said
Anarchy Online! Joystick in France gave away a free 2 week trial back in 2000 or some such...God I remember being so damn excited.
Posted: Oct 23rd 2009 9:09AM J Brad Hicks said
Me too. Generic D&D-knockoff MMOs held no attraction for me, and they still don't. This has resulted in some entertaining confusion, since the vast majority of the old-timers I know went UO to EQ, to maybe DAoC, to WoW, then maybe briefly to WAR or LotRO or AoC, all but one of them (WAR) games I still haven't played, before going back each time to WoW. I, on the other hand, went AO to Neocron to CoH, with brief side excursions after that into SWG, Auto Assault, TaRa and EVE before going back (each time) to CoH ... games that most of them never played.
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Posted: Oct 23rd 2009 1:12PM (Unverified) said
Technically DarkSpace, but I really consider my first to be Anarchy Online.
I still have very awesome memories of my time as a Nano-Technician running around on Rubi-Ka.
I never got into cookie cutter watered down versions of D&D after having played pnp for so long, so I tended to avoid them.
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I still have very awesome memories of my time as a Nano-Technician running around on Rubi-Ka.
I never got into cookie cutter watered down versions of D&D after having played pnp for so long, so I tended to avoid them.
Posted: Oct 23rd 2009 8:17AM Holgranth said
The first MMO I EVER played was when one of my friends showed me Runescape classic (pre wilderness). Unfortionatly my internet sucked back then and I gave up after a few disconnects and went back to the offline games I had played previously.
I think that was around 2001.
Then one of my friends showed me Warcraft III in 2002 or 2003 and I was amazed at the multi player element. So I talked about it to one of my younger friends who promptly reintroduced me to Runescape which I played untill I got sick of the simplicity and grind and moved on.
I think that was around 2001.
Then one of my friends showed me Warcraft III in 2002 or 2003 and I was amazed at the multi player element. So I talked about it to one of my younger friends who promptly reintroduced me to Runescape which I played untill I got sick of the simplicity and grind and moved on.
Posted: Oct 23rd 2009 9:59AM (Unverified) said
Oh MAN, I remember when I had to BEG my parents to update to high-speed internet so I could play Runescape without lagging like a madman. That was in like, Middle School. I'm in college now, and have been through pretty much every MMO on the market. Oh, how times change...
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Posted: Oct 23rd 2009 8:59AM Emolition said
Everquest on playstation2 picked it up with a bounch of othere games and didnt learn from after you had to pay to play. Got hooked and awile later When i picked up a computer i started to play i think it was SWG (before wow came out). Allways like mmos more after that as i dont need to buy 5-10 games amonth to keep busy=P
Posted: Oct 23rd 2009 8:23AM Emolition said
Everquest to playstation2 picked up with othere games learned later it was a mmo=). Sence then i got hooked on mmos got SWG as the first 1 for the pc i think. For me it just got cheeper to play mmos that keep you busy (if good) for months so i dont need to go shop 3-6 games a month.
Posted: Oct 23rd 2009 8:24AM EgoPoisoning said
Ethereal Mists, a Godwars MUD. Technically I started with Mortal Realms, but being from Wyoming no one had internet and I played MR from a friend's house. EM, on the other hand, I played at home...learned, mastered, and eventually ran the most successful Vampire Clan on.
Posted: Oct 23rd 2009 1:51PM Kyzgar said
Yay Mortal Realms! That was my first MUD back in 1994, and I eventually built some areas and programmed for it. Incredibly it's still running today. What I initially loved about it was that it had a VT102 interface, allowing for colored text and backgrounds, which none of the other MUDs I saw even came close on.
My first modern (3-D graphics) MMO was Asheron's Call in 1999, followed by Anarchy Online and currently Lord of the Rings Online w/ lifetime membership.
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My first modern (3-D graphics) MMO was Asheron's Call in 1999, followed by Anarchy Online and currently Lord of the Rings Online w/ lifetime membership.
Posted: Oct 23rd 2009 9:25AM (Unverified) said
That would be NannyMUD some time in 1988 or perhaps 1989. I still remember that harsh grinding of XP to finally kill "Paladin the Celestial Dragon" so that I may join the exalted ranks of Wizards and could start creating content for the game. I still enjoyed it immensely.
I think it is still active actually. There may even be some shreds of my old realm still in it even though I left it some 15 years ago.
Ah, those were the days ... and now I suddenly feel very very old ...
I think it is still active actually. There may even be some shreds of my old realm still in it even though I left it some 15 years ago.
Ah, those were the days ... and now I suddenly feel very very old ...
Posted: Oct 23rd 2009 8:37AM Aganazer said
I'd love to see this as a poll of some sort.
My first was Meridian 59, but my first serious one was Ultima Online. I even got to play it at E3 long before release with Richard himself guiding me.
My first was Meridian 59, but my first serious one was Ultima Online. I even got to play it at E3 long before release with Richard himself guiding me.
Posted: Oct 23rd 2009 8:40AM Rollins said
Redmoon Online, followed by Ultima Online.
I got to know the Korean grinder model very well before moving on to a good MMO.
I got to know the Korean grinder model very well before moving on to a good MMO.
Posted: Oct 23rd 2009 8:53AM Averice said
First real MMO I ever played was EQ1. I lasted all of 5 minutes doing that. A couple years later I played DAoC for about 10 hours total over the span of 3 weeks. Then I got WoW and that was really the first MMO I truly played.
I dabbled in multiple MUD's and the like online, I can't even remember the names of any of the MUD's I tried out, they were all so boring. Then there was RaceWarKingdoms that I spent more time on than DAoC lol, but it was easy to see from the start that Glitchless was just a money grabbing company, I feel bad for anyone who actually put money into that game, especially thinking it would eventually lead to a real MMO. Their conceptual work was nice though, but then I imagine any companies idealism before reality would be nice.
I dabbled in multiple MUD's and the like online, I can't even remember the names of any of the MUD's I tried out, they were all so boring. Then there was RaceWarKingdoms that I spent more time on than DAoC lol, but it was easy to see from the start that Glitchless was just a money grabbing company, I feel bad for anyone who actually put money into that game, especially thinking it would eventually lead to a real MMO. Their conceptual work was nice though, but then I imagine any companies idealism before reality would be nice.
Posted: Oct 23rd 2009 8:42AM Jhaer said
Not really an MMO but I'd have to go with Trade Wars or Barren Realms Elite, both multiplayer BBS door games. I dabbled in MUDs but never played any for more than a couple days... UO was the first real MMO I played seriously.
Posted: Oct 23rd 2009 9:23AM Krystalle Voecks said
Seconding the old-school love for TW2K, LORD, and other BBS door games.
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Posted: Oct 23rd 2009 10:11PM agitatedandroid said
Overkill ][ and Tradewars on a BBS way the hell back in the day when I was using an IBM 386 SX. I eventually upgraded and got myself a math co-processor. Whoo, that thing just screamed along after that.
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Posted: Oct 23rd 2009 1:01PM Jhaer said
I always like to tell people about my first PC... it was an 8088 that ran at 8MHz, with a switch to drop it down to 4.77MHz just in case it was running too fast.
1200 baud dial-up BBSs... Lazy Saturdays spent logging in to dozens of them to check on the status of my Global War games... ahh... wasted youth...
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1200 baud dial-up BBSs... Lazy Saturdays spent logging in to dozens of them to check on the status of my Global War games... ahh... wasted youth...
Posted: Oct 23rd 2009 6:09PM (Unverified) said
I ran a BBS off my rickety packard bell so that my friends and I could play LotRD and Lunatix.
First real MMO was Underlight on the old MPlayer.
Anyone else play UL?! =)
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First real MMO was Underlight on the old MPlayer.
Anyone else play UL?! =)


