#3 Furcadia
December of 1996 saw the launch of Furcadia. An online world inhabited entirely by anthropomorphic characters may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but there’s an obvious reason the game is still played by a loyal fanbase over a decade later. Driven mainly by role-playing, socializing, and most importantly player-created content, Furcadia is often cited as the longest continuously running MMO (a distinction that numbers two and one on this list might like to contend with).
The primary focus of the game is in fact its player-driven content. The game is packaged with an art editor and a map-creator, encouraging users to make their own virtual worlds. Referred to as “Dreams”, the worlds can be uploaded to the Furcadia server and used by any of the game’s players. They remain open for as long as they are inhabited and if they go unoccupied for long enough they will be unloaded automatically.
Furcadia’s content creation tools even have their own coding language called “DragonSpeak” which crafty players can make use of to code in many different types of functionality (such as chess or the simple matter of opening a door). Additionally, Dreams are given a rating based on the appropriateness of the content to certain age groups, and the game has parental controls in place to aid parents in keeping the more objectionable stuff away from their kids’ eyes. Not bad for a 13 year old MMO, right? It might not be the action-packed adventure that we are used to, but Furcadia is alive and well these days, and even has an iPhone client in development.
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#2 Meridian 59
Meridian 59 was originally launched in September of 1996, but saw an interruption of service from 2000 to 2002 when 3D0 shut down the game, and Near Death Studios brought it back later on. Near Death Studios was founded by noted blogger/developer Brian “Psychochild” Green and Rob “Q” Ellis, themselves both developers for the game under its original incarnation. Near Death Studios recently closed their doors back in January 2010, but Meridian 59 remains running for its loyal fans. For how long might be the only question here.
Meridian 59 never had the success of its younger cousins, but is arguably considered the first 3D real-time MMORPG. Though it suffered from many technical limitations, some of its features are still replicated today by its descendents. Player guilds, customized guild symbols, and guild halls were all first noted as appearing in this classic sword and board game. Today the game is primarily a PvP-focused affair, sporting a classless character advancement system which allows players to advance along seven different schools of weapons and magic. Players partake in a form of self-governance that helps mediate the killing of other players via a faction system.
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#1 The Realm Online
So what is the longest running MMO on the market today? That distinction is owned entirely by The Realm Online. Arguably a MUD with a graphical casing, The Realm was the first MMORPG even if it came out long before that acronym was popularized. Always sporting a small but loyal user-base, The Realm Online is probably one of the last-standing online games that is still dial-up friendly. Its faithful fans keep the title running, under the dedicated direction of Norseman Games for the whopping (RE: sarcasm) fee of $6.99 a month.
Featuring a turn-based combat system, The Realm Online has many of the features that would later be copied by so many predecessors. Guilds, dungeons, and crafting were all part of TRO before games like Everquest popularized the genre. But is The Realm just an antiquated offering from days gone by? You can be the judge. Norseman Games offer a free 7-day trial, and if you’re worried about how much support the title actually receives the game just held its Mid-Winter Festival back in February of 2010. Want a look at where the games of today found their inspiration? Look no further than The Realm Online.
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