Dragon's Gate

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Dragon's Gate
Image:MBLogo.gif
Developer(s) Mythic Entertainment
Publisher(s) Mythic Entertainment
Distributor(s) Flag of United States Mythic Entertainment
Designer(s) Mark Jacobs, Rob Denton, Darrin Hyrup
Release date(s) 1989 (NA)
Genre(s) CRPG, Fantasy, MUD
Mode(s) Multiplayer, Online
Rating(s) ESRB: N/A
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, Linux, Unix, Apple OSX
Media CD-ROM, TELNET
System requirements Internet connection
This article is about the computer game Dragon's Gate. For the Japanese wrestling promotion, please see Dragon Gate.

Contents

[edit] History

Dragon's Gate is an interactive, real time, text-based multi user online fantasy role-playing game, sometimes referred to as a MUD. It is one of the longest running pay-for-play online games in the world, it opened to the public in the spring of 1991 on GEnie. In the summer of 1996 the game was moved to AOL. Later the game was moved again to Mythic Realms, and most recently as an independent server.

At its creation, the core of Dragon's Gate was based on the AUSI-entitled game Aradath, which was designed in 1985 by Mark Jacobs. Jacobs, along with partner Rob Denton, later formed a company in 1995 called Interworld Productions, which in 1997 was re-named as Mythic Entertainment. Mythic is currently best known for the MMORPG Dark Age of Camelot.

In June 20, 2006 Mythic Entertainment was purchased by Electronic Arts. They are currently working on Warhammer Online and Dark Age of Camelot.[1]

[edit] Means to an End

On January 31, 2006, Mythic Entertainment dropped a number of games from its services and official sponsoring, including Dragon's Gate. Currently, the game server is offline entirely, and as such, Dragon's Gate is no longer accepting new members and can longer connect via telnet to play what was formally a MUD, although the game still has an extensive and loyal fanbase (approx. 4000+ players)[citation needed]. Recently, as said per the official message boards, the game has been "closed... at least for now."[2]

[edit] Production overview

Like other games of its kind, Dragon's Gate is based on ideas similar to popular fantasy stories (such as The Lord of the Rings and Dungeons & Dragons). Each player creates a character and assumes the identity of that character while participating. Role-playing allows interaction between PCs (player characters) and NPCs (non-player characters in the form of computer controlled creatures including monsters and merchants among others) within a simulated environment, which runs in a real-time framework, allowing for an extremely immersive experience. Among the possible game events are numerous GM (game master) or player-run scenarios which variously consist of adventuring, completing quests, fighting in gladiatoral sports, and making new friends with other players.

A player character may be comprised of any one of several classes and races and can be individualized in many ways, similar to more modern MMORPGs. Throughout the gaming process, players quickly learn about the way the world functions and how to adventure (usually in search of things like loot, glory, fame, and fortune) either alone or with other players. The game is specifically designed to emphasize its role-playing aspects, and to this end the developers have de-emphasized the statistics; although they are still an integral part of the way the game works, and some statistics with numbers are still shown, but are kept to an absolute minimum. Life in the game continues 24 hours a day, and events continue to occur without requiring the direct intervention of players, a concept commonly referred to as "persistence."

According to the official website: "The world is rich with political and religious strife and has a detailed history. It is very easy to get involved and immersed in role-play. Dragon's Gate allows you to experience an exciting world designed to be more than just a text adventure. As a social gaming system, Dragon's Gate is intended to be fun. Cooperation and communication with the other gamers are the cornerstones to the existence of Dragon's Gate."

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060620/20060620006061.html?.v=1
  2. ^ http://p102.ezboard.com/fdragonsgatefrm91.showMessage?topicID=89.topic

[edit] External links

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