Legends of Future Past
Encyclopedia
Legends of Future Past was the first commercial text-based MMORPG
to make the transition from a proprietary network provider (CompuServe
, in this case) to the Internet
. It was designed by Jon Radoff
and Angela Bull. . It was also notable in that it had paid Game Masters who conducted online events. The game was originally offered for $6.00 per hour in 1992 via CompuServe, and then lesser amounts via the Internet, operating until 2000.
Legends introduced one of the first (if not the first) crafting system in an MMORPG. Players could harvest resources including ores, herbs and skins, and then use them to make weapons, armor and enchanted items. The game system was skill-based; players were not constrained to premade class archetypes. There were no level caps, and some very dedicated players attained levels in the hundreds.
Legends of Future Past was set in the "Shattered Realms," a world featuring a blend of fantasy and ancient technology. Most of the action in the game revolved around the city of Fayd, which served as the hub of activity for adventures, intrigue and roleplaying events. Some of the races included: aelfen (an elflike species), drakin (a race of dragon-men that ultimately resulted in player-created languages and cultural institutions), ephemerals (a wraithlike species that could not be harmed unless the player chose to manifest themself), highlander (think dwarves), humans (the only people who could utilize ancient technology), murg (a proud warrior race), mechanoids (artificial beings) and wolflings (a race of shapechangers).
Computer Game Review awarded Legends of Future Past the Golden Triad Award. It also won the award for artistic excellence in Computer Gaming World
's Online Game of the Year competition.
Legends is credited with spawning a number of other online games and introducing some of the top talent in the MMORPG industry. Many GameMasters at Legends of Future Past went on to become founders or product managers at top online games including SOE's Star Wars Galaxies
and Worlds Apart Productions.
Jon Radoff
, the developer of the game, briefly explored creating another online game company called SparkForge before moving on to create a gaming social media company called GamerDNA
.
MMORPG
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
to make the transition from a proprietary network provider (CompuServe
CompuServe
CompuServe was the first major commercial online service in the United States. It dominated the field during the 1980s and remained a major player through the mid-1990s, when it was sidelined by the rise of services such as AOL with monthly subscriptions rather than hourly rates...
, in this case) to the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. It was designed by Jon Radoff
Jon Radoff
Jon Radoff is an American entrepreneur, author and game designer. His work has focused on online communities, Internet media and computer games.Radoff dropped out to found NovaLink, an early internet service provider...
and Angela Bull. . It was also notable in that it had paid Game Masters who conducted online events. The game was originally offered for $6.00 per hour in 1992 via CompuServe, and then lesser amounts via the Internet, operating until 2000.
Legends introduced one of the first (if not the first) crafting system in an MMORPG. Players could harvest resources including ores, herbs and skins, and then use them to make weapons, armor and enchanted items. The game system was skill-based; players were not constrained to premade class archetypes. There were no level caps, and some very dedicated players attained levels in the hundreds.
Legends of Future Past was set in the "Shattered Realms," a world featuring a blend of fantasy and ancient technology. Most of the action in the game revolved around the city of Fayd, which served as the hub of activity for adventures, intrigue and roleplaying events. Some of the races included: aelfen (an elflike species), drakin (a race of dragon-men that ultimately resulted in player-created languages and cultural institutions), ephemerals (a wraithlike species that could not be harmed unless the player chose to manifest themself), highlander (think dwarves), humans (the only people who could utilize ancient technology), murg (a proud warrior race), mechanoids (artificial beings) and wolflings (a race of shapechangers).
Computer Game Review awarded Legends of Future Past the Golden Triad Award. It also won the award for artistic excellence in Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
's Online Game of the Year competition.
Legends is credited with spawning a number of other online games and introducing some of the top talent in the MMORPG industry. Many GameMasters at Legends of Future Past went on to become founders or product managers at top online games including SOE's Star Wars Galaxies
Star Wars Galaxies
Star Wars Galaxies is a Star Wars themed MMORPG for Microsoft Windows developed by Sony Online Entertainment and published by LucasArts.-History:...
and Worlds Apart Productions.
Jon Radoff
Jon Radoff
Jon Radoff is an American entrepreneur, author and game designer. His work has focused on online communities, Internet media and computer games.Radoff dropped out to found NovaLink, an early internet service provider...
, the developer of the game, briefly explored creating another online game company called SparkForge before moving on to create a gaming social media company called GamerDNA
GamerDNA
gamerDNA Inc. is a social media company for computer and video game players founded on 2006-09-21, acquired by Crispy Gamer in December 2009. The name is usually spelled with a lower case g: gamerDNA...
.
External links
- Legends of Future Past refugee center - Forum for former LOFP players
- Original Player's Manual