Trip down memory lane: The golden age of the MMO game

The Star

05-05-2025

Role-playing games are ­nothing new. They have been a part of gaming subculture for decades now, beginning in 1974 with Dungeons And Dragons , a tabletop role-playing game in which players role play as adventures in a fantasy setting being guided by a 'dungeon master'.
In some ways, the Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) game is this concept taken to its natural ­conclusion with the advent of accessible Internet. The 2000s were marked by the ­appearance of many families procuring PCs for home use, as well as a ­flourishing of cyber cafes, which were establishments ­furnished with rows upon rows of ­computers catering for online gamers who preferred to play in public.
The rise of a genre
As such, it is little wonder that the MMO became so ­popular amongst the youngsters just beginning to explore the Internet.
Here were beautifully ­rendered fantasy worlds where you could live out a second life, inhabiting a fantasy character. You could meet like-minded ­people and forge friendships that went beyond the game itself.
Unlike most other MMO gamers, Tan played as the same character in MapleStory for nearly 20 years. — TAN JUN SZEN
Some of the games that were household names in Malaysia during the heyday of the MMO were MapleStory , Ragnarok Online , and Runescape , just to name a few. Most of these games continue to be supported to the current day, albeit at diminished player counts.
Tan Jun Szen, 31, played MapleStory during his ­childhood, starting in 2005 when he was 11, and ­continuing well into adulthood on the same character, only ­stopping in 2023.
'The reason why I started ­playing it was because my brothers and cousins were ­playing as well,' Tan says.
This was one reason why MMOs enjoyed such popularity in those years; the games spread through influence ­within social groups. If ­everyone in one's group of friends or family ­members is playing, one is more likely to try the game out, if for no other reason than to play together as a social activity.
K'vin Chan, 32, concurs. He played Chinese MMOs during his secondary school years, such as Mo Siang Online and Jade Dynasty .
'I played these games mainly because of my friends. When there are people to play with you, it feels different.'
Chan was a fan of Mo Siang Online and Jade Dynasty, Chinese MMOs. — K'VIN CHAN
Aesthetics was also a major factor in drawing in players.
Robin Chia, 36, says of Ragnarok Online : 'I think it was groundbreaking because it was the first online side-scrolling online game that featured ­anime-styled ­characters, and combined that with character jobs and classes that you see in Western fantasy.'
Tan also adds that the ­cuteness of MapleStory ­ characters was a big factor in convincing him to play. 'The monsters, characters, and ­environments were all really unique.'
MMOs could perhaps be ­considered one of the most immersive video game genres of all. Chan says, 'You're ­playing as whole other identity in an ­imaginary world. I think that's the biggest difference compared to other genres.'
Algebro, who prefers to go by his in-game name, says of Runescape : 'I liked how big the game was, how many things there were to do, and I liked it as an escape from daily life. It offers a fantasy and you can immerse yourself in it. The genre was new, coming on to the scene ­during the Internet boom, and it offers social ­interaction and ­fantasy. I think that's why it got so much ­traction.'
The basic gameplay loop in an MMO revolves around strengthening your character, typically by gaining experience points to level up, as well as ­collecting equipment.
While this is not much ­different from other video games of today, in the MMOs of the 2000s this gameplay loop was taken to a completely ­different level, with character growth requiring much more time ­compared to other types of video games.
This process was often referred to as 'grinding'.
A screenshot from Old School Runescape, showcasing a location filled with characters. — ALGEBRO
As such, this required a ­greater level of commitment from the player, with the game often became an entrenched part of a player's lifestyle.
'It became a constant in my life,' Algebro says. 'It was always there for me to return to. And it helped me be more ­sociable.'
MMOs as social platforms
The most prominent way to hasten character growth was to team up with other players to form a party or guild. This, for many players, was the core appeal of the MMO genre, ­allowing them to make new friends, or strengthen bonds with existing friends.
For example, in Ragnarok Online , War Of Emperium was a game feature that allowed guilds to fight with each other for ­control of castles which could be used as bases and could confer certain benefits.
'There were so many people inside,' Chia reminisces on the ferocity of the fighting. 'I would go into the portal to the castle and die immediately at the ­portal.'
Chia got into playing Ragnarok Online with his school friends through free CDs distributed through comics and magazines. — ROBIN CHIA
Tan says, 'Back then even though levelling up was hard, what we had was a sense of ­community. You'd log in, talk to your friends, and do quests together. There was a sense of adventure as a community as well.'
Naturally, this hard-earned progression evoked strong ­feelings of accomplishment.
Tan and a friend trained for two weeks to be able to defeat a series of bosses and unlock a stronger form for their ­weapons. 'When we cleared the boss, the sense of achievement was crazy,' Tan says.
The other major social aspect of the MMO was commerce, introducing many young minds to the ins and outs of business. In practically all MMOs, ­designated market areas would be bustling with traders looking to buy or sell exclusive in-game goods.
Chia says, 'You could go into the city, and merchants would have their pop-up stalls there. They'd be AFK (Away From Keyboard) and leave their ­characters there with their items and pricing. You could spend hours there clicking on the shops, one-by-one, looking for rare or cheap items.'
Social interactions in the games were so ubiquitous that most players in those days would end up developing close bonds with other players.
'It was a social platform,' Chia says. 'We didn't have Facebook yet.'
Players selling in-game items in Ragnarok Online. — Valve
Tan says, 'For some of the friends that I met through Maple , we still do keep in ­contact. It has been 15 years of friendship. I went to Singapore once, and for the whole trip I was accompanied by friends from Maple .'
Chan says, 'The friendships you form in the game are very pure. You start out just ­discussing the game, and (from) there you start talking more and more.'
The bonds formed while ­playing MMOs is of course not limited to just friendships. You could get married in-game with another player, something both Tan and Chia did in their respective games. Sharing Runescape with a romantic partner is also a fond memory of Algebro's.
MMOs in today's gaming landscape
The MMOs that have survived to the current day have all changed in certain ways.
Levelling up has become ­easier, and has become ­arguably less dependent on working together with other players.
'It has become more ­streamlined,' Tan says. 'You can reach Level 200 in one day.'
By comparison, in the 2000s it might have taken a player months to reach Level 50. Tan continues, saying, 'I feel that we as a society has changed as well. Our attention span has become shorter, and we want instant gratification.'
As a result, today's MMOs can sometimes be less of a social experience.
The ­cuteness of MapleStory ­characters was a big factor in convincing many players to jump into the game. — Nexon MapleStory
Algebro says, 'Over time, we seem to have become more of an individualistic ­society. Or maybe it's just me growing up. Nowadays, even if there's someone next to you in game, they're just minding your own business, and you don't really talk that much.
'We do lose a lot of the ­random chatter, but if we do find someone that we feel we can talk to, we are able to keep that connection for longer.'
Private servers still exist of these MMOs. The games ­themselves may have changed over the years, but many fans have ­preserved a version of the game that they remember from the past, where they can ­continue to play out the 'good old days'.
'I still feel nostalgic when I see Ragnarok Online ,' Chia muses.
In today's gaming landscape, mobile gaming seems to have taken the place of MMOs.
'You don't see cyber cafes ­anymore,' Chia observes. 'Now it's the mamak, you go there and you see youngsters playing mobile games together there.'
Chan believes that the genre may have been outclassed by the more refined, mainstream games of today.
He says, 'There are many more options now. More ­consoles, better technology. Game design is more interesting now, more skill-based and less reliant on grinding.'
Although MMO as a genre may never regain the ­popularity it had once attained in the 2000s, it lives on in the fond memories of the players who had spent their youth ­within its digital realms.