A New World of the Era: Online Gaming and Virtual Worlds

Our life is now full of e-systems where we need to learn on these technologies to be with the system. We have the online systems such as e-marketing, e-pass, e-banking, E-communications and even e-gaming. On this, the focus of this article is online gaming.

History of Online Gaming

Tracing the history of online gaming, it could be seen that it is a combined work of many different entities and companies. Online gaming started as multiplayer gaming, which eventually has evolved to embrace online gaming servers and then to a massively-multiplayer online game situation.

Multiplayer games could be traced back in 1972 where a joint project by the Control Data Corporation and University of Illinois named PLATO enabled the university students’ network with other terminals for computer-aided learning and education. Because of the students’ creativity, they integrated games that started the world of multiplayer gaming.

Sometime in 1978, the Multi-User Dungeon (MUD) spawned a field of network-based games that enable players on the network to explore and interact MUD game world. This opens the way for the Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Life Consuming Game (MMORPG) with its concept of shared world. After which, in 1984 MAD appeared that was considered as the first game connected worldwide, but MAD lasted only for two years. Simultaneous to the usage of MUD and MAD on BITNET, Maze War, a game which was originated from NASA in 1973 fueled the development of the so called server-host gaming.

The first graphical MMORPG was Neverwinter Nights. It was integral in the development of the MMO games. In the field of shooting games, Doom made the major impact with the use of modem. In addition, the independent service DWANGO, was started by Doom that matched players online to endorse multiplayer gaming.

Next to Doom was Quake who was focused on the client-side prediction, one of the very important specks of technology. Though his work has lag for the delays of actions that comes out in the monitor, Quakeworld refined and improved this weaknesses. Last and the latest to develop the online gaming was Ultima that made the interaction of players in a faster pace.

Definition

Online gaming, this is also referred to as Internet Gaming or Electronic Gaming. It is a gathering of players with a common game using a local area network (LAN) or even WAN where they could be on the same settings. The players seem to be in a real situation that they use their mouse or keypads to move in the monitor, their virtual world.

Availability

Thousands of sites provide free online adventure games, free virtual games, free online virtual worlds, and free virtual worlds for all, wherein some are explicitly designed as virtual worlds for kids.

From the internet, we could find many Virtual Worlds for kids that need parents’ guidance to check its advantages and disadvantages to ensure their child’s safety. Also, to environment lovers and adventurers, abundant free online adventure games await them. Thus, virtual worlds maybe available in the computer system, the user still needs to check the compatibility of the software and hardware of their computers.