efaardvark

I've been "working" on my computer today, just cleaning up and doing some file maintenance.  Found some *OLD* text files from an online game called Dragon's Gate.  DGate was a text-only multiplayer game hosted by GE's "GEnie" online service back in the early 90s.  Pre-internet.  Pre-MMORPG.  Dialup-only.  It may have even predated Compuserve and AOL.  One of the files shows a 2400 baud connection at the beginning.    I think this may have been the first multiplayer online game I ever played. 

Not for long though.  Long distance phone calls cost around $0.25/minute so playing for an hour was like $15.  This back when gas was like $1/gallon so that'd be around $50/hr at today's prices.  I knew a trick to call through a chain of "local" BBSs to pay about 1/4th that, but it was still expensive.  Especially for a lowly student whose only regular income was a monthly allowance!

Blast from the past...

                           Welcome to...
 
            ...........|\...................../|.............
             ........./  \..|\__..__/|......./  \...........
            ........./ /  \.\ _ \/ _ /....../    \.............
      _  .........../ / /  \.(I)\/(I)....../  / \ \...........    
     (_)  ..........| | | / \\/(oo)\/...../  // |\ \ .............
          ..........| | | |  \|V,,V|\... /  / | || \|...........
        ............| | | | / |A^^A| \../  / || || ||...........
           ......../ / /  | |  TTTT__ \/  /| || || ||/\  /\
            /\..../ / /  / /  |______/   /| \ \ || ||  \/  \    /\        /\
 /\      /\/  \../ / /  / /  /\_____/  |/ /__\ \ \ \ \ /    \  /  \  /\  /  \
   \/\  / /    \.| | | / /  /\______/    \   \__| \ \ \      \/    \/  \/
    \ \/        \| | | | | |\______ __    \_    \__|_| \     /      \  /
     \/          | | ____ /\______ ____     \_       \  |   /         /
      \          | |/    /\_____  /    \      \__     \ |
       \         |/ |   |\______ |      |        \___  \|    D R A G O N ' S
                    |   |\______ |      |            \_         
            _   ___/|   |\______ |      |          /\  \   ___    G A T E
           / \_/     \   \________\_    _\____/   /  \__\_|   \
       ___/ __     __/   /       __/   /__    \__/      __     \__
     _/    /  \   /  ___/       /  ___/   \            /  \       |__
    |     /      |/|/          |/|/        \__     \       \         |


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