In early 2000s, there was massive hype over Second Life. While that never went mainstream, you could see it as the ancestor of today's WoW and Minecraft. I think that's what OP was talking about.
Re:Tech layoffs more than double in Bay Area
by philipov on Friday May 13, 2016 @09:26AM
(#11690249)
Second Life wasn't the ancestor, so much as a dead-end descendant of a common ancestor, Ultima Online, and Meridian 59 before it. Ultima Online itself was developed to sate a demand for graphical versions of MUDs, which can be said to be the ancestor to the MMORPG genre.
I'd say that Second Life is more of a descendant of MUSH/MOO/MUX than of Ultima Online/Meridian 59.
i second the UO association because of the concept of virtual real estate. In UO housing was a large aspect, regulated with an ownership system, which made the entire world nuanced and relevant. Beyond second-life, I have not seen that level of world-building in any game. Even Minecraft on a server with block area ownership is not the same, as you typically just end up with an endless landscape of art pieces, rather than a functional user-created environment.
Re:Tech layoffs more than double in Bay Area
by philipov on Friday May 13, 2016 @03:07PM
(#11692526)
That's pretty much what EVE Online is. Most of the galaxy belongs to player-owned corporate alliances, who build infrastructure such as space stations and outposts.
Before UO came out, MUSHes had exactly that (with object/room ownership and @quota to constrain what you can build at any given point).
Nothing is ever new, of course. =)
As far as I remember the "virtual" hype of the 90s was more about the concept of virtual worlds, cyberspace and having experiences online. I think that part has become true in things like WoW and Minecraft. VR as a technology is still not mainstream, but has always existed in form of simulators and other niche products. I don't think anyone should have expected that to come sooner, because the technology just wasn't ready (cheap) yet. It still isn't in some ways. I goes back to my earlier point, people imagine things one way, but we get something else that is practical at the time. Doesn't mean it didn't happen though.
Re:Tech layoffs more than double in Bay Area
by emddudley on Friday May 13, 2016 @09:25AM
(#11690245)
I would point out that World of Warcraft was announced in 2001 and released in 2004. Second Life was released in 2003. I imagine that it's possible Second Life influenced the development of WoW, but I would hardly call it an ancestor.
How are any of these VR? The first warcraft was released in 1994, Eve in the early 2000s and Minecraft in the 2010s.
None of these use VR. Decent VR was a pipe dream in the 90s but today it will most likely become a reality. Not sure if the public will adopt it en masse.