the game archaeologist

Justin Olivetti is Massively Overpowered’s resident Game Archaeologist; he never lets a good old game stay buried. [Follow this column’s RSS feed]

Please let this stay far away from Rowling's endless retcons.

The Game Archaeologist: Harry Potter Online

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If all goes well, later this year we will finally be treated to an actual Harry Potter MMORPG in the form of Harry Potter:...

The Game Archaeologist: Lineage

9
If we judged MMOs by their numbers alone -- and I'm not suggesting we do so -- then the original Lineage would be the...

The Game Archaeologist: A Tale in the Desert

6
Once asked what he thought was the most innovative MMO from the last decade, Dr. Richard Bartle, the creator of MUD, gave a succinct answer: "A...

The Game Archaeologist: Shattered Galaxy

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War. War never ends. Especially if it was designed and encouraged to wage forever. One of the most popular computer gaming genres of the late...

The Game Archaeologist: EverQuest Mac

7
In 2003, Sony Online Entertainment tried an experiment to reach out to the (then) small-but-growing community of Mac users. The company released EverQuest Macintosh...

The Game Archaeologist: BBS door games

17
When you think of MMORPGs, I wouldn't blame you if your mind stayed rooted firmly in the past decade or so, perhaps taking a...

The Game Archaeologist: Fallen Age

3
Imagine that one day you wake up, stumble to your computer, and check in on the morning news. Among the various tidbits is a...

The Game Archaeologist: Neocron

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It's the distant future. The high-tech battle armor you wear sharply contrasts with the ruins of civilization that you traverse. You spot an enemy...

The ultimate guide to The Game Archaeologist’s MMO archives

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When we moved over here to Massively Overpowered, some of us transplanted our long-running columns to the new space. I perhaps felt most devastated...

The Game Archaeologist: Revisiting the first three months of World of Warcraft

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Were you there? Many of us were. Many weren't. Either way, November 23rd, 2004 was a watershed date for the MMORPG industry and one watched...

The Game Archaeologist: Vanguard Saga of Heroes

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The significance of Vanguard's development, release, long-running drama, second chance, and eventual closure should be of great interest not just to game historians but...

The Game Archaeologist: Disney’s Toontown Online

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The use of the word "toon" to describe MMORPG characters is a contentious one, with fans divided over its annoyance or acceptance. But when...

The Game Archaeologist: Ultima Worlds Online Origin

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While the heady days of Ultima Online's dominant position over the industry are long gone, the MMORPG continues to operate and expand, and many...

The Game Archaeologist: The Chronicles of Spellborn

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Hey! Hey you! Yeah, you the I'm-so-bored-with-all-of-these-MMOs gamer! You've been grousing about for years how MMOs never take risks, never innovate, and are merely...

The Game Archaeologist: Climax’s Warhammer Online

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Let's begin with a little personal history. Back in 2008, I decided to get into the blogging scene by jumping on board the latest...

The Game Archaeologist: Furcadia

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Let's face it: There isn't really a huge pool of MMORPGs from the 1990s to explore in this column. By now I have done...
It was a thing.

The Game Archaeologist: EverQuest Online Adventures

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In the pantheon of SOE's (now Daybreak) flagship EverQuest franchise, there used to be a whole family of MMOs gathered around the table every evening....

The Game Archaeologist: EverQuest II East

9
Publishing a video game globally is a monumental task, more so if it is a live online game such as what you'd find with...
Bones.

The Game Archaeologist: Where are all of the open-source MMOs?

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Recently we had an interesting question come in from reader and Patron Rasmus Praestholm, who asked me to do a little investigating: "What (if...

The Game Archaeologist: Maze War, the first online multiplayer shooter

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It is sometimes hard to know how far back to go when chronicling the history of early MMOs and their ancestors. After all, this...

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