<s>
GemStone	B-Protocol
IV	I-Protocol
is	O
a	O
multiplayer	O
text-based	O
online	O
role-playing	O
video	O
game	O
(	O
often	O
known	O
as	O
a	O
MUD	B-Application
)	O
produced	O
by	O
Simutronics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
MMORPGs	B-Protocol
and	O
is	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
longest	O
running	O
online	O
games	O
still	O
active	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GemStone	B-Protocol
IV	I-Protocol
is	O
a	O
text-based	O
game	O
built	O
on	O
Simutronics	O
 '	O
proprietary	O
engine	O
,	O
the	O
IFE	O
(	O
Interactive	O
Fiction	O
Engine	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
IFE	O
,	O
GemStone	O
is	O
rarely	O
taken	O
offline	O
,	O
giving	O
a	O
24-hour	O
uptime	O
cycle	O
aside	O
from	O
the	O
occasional	O
game	O
crash	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
GemStone	O
interface	O
is	O
simply	O
a	O
text	O
stream	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
game	O
can	O
be	O
played	O
with	O
a	O
Telnet	B-Protocol
interface	O
after	O
authentication	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
oldest	O
interface	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
is	O
called	O
the	O
"	O
Wizard	O
Front	O
End	O
"	O
and	O
offers	O
several	O
useful	O
features	O
such	O
as	O
status	O
readouts	O
,	O
macros	O
,	O
and	O
limited	O
scripting	O
abilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Wizard	O
(	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
version	O
)	O
also	O
exists	O
for	O
Macintosh	B-Device
Classic	I-Device
,	O
while	O
a	O
Front	O
End	O
named	O
"	O
Avalon	O
"	O
is	O
available	O
for	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
No	O
official	O
Linux	B-Application
client	O
exists	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GemStone	O
was	O
first	O
demonstrated	O
to	O
GEnie	B-Language
in	O
1987	O
before	O
Simutronics	O
was	O
officially	O
incorporated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
</s>
<s>
GemStone	B-Protocol
III	I-Protocol
evolved	O
into	O
GemStone	B-Protocol
IV	I-Protocol
in	O
November	O
2003	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
game	O
world	O
and	O
character	O
records	O
were	O
maintained	O
over	O
the	O
transition	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GemStone	B-Protocol
III	I-Protocol
was	O
promoted	O
on	O
GEnie	B-Language
by	O
promising	O
players	O
the	O
opportunity	O
to	O
receive	O
real-life	O
versions	O
of	O
gems	O
found	O
in-game	O
,	O
something	O
that	O
persisted	O
for	O
many	O
years	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Computer	O
Gaming	O
World	O
in	O
1991	O
stated	O
that	O
Gemstone	B-Protocol
III	I-Protocol
was	O
a	O
good	O
example	O
of	O
the	O
best	O
and	O
worst	O
aspects	O
of	O
online	O
play	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
its	O
peak	O
(	O
1996	O
)	O
,	O
GemStone	B-Protocol
III	I-Protocol
had	O
over	O
2,000	O
simultaneous	O
users	O
and	O
1	O
million	O
play	O
hours	O
per	O
month	O
,	O
large	O
numbers	O
for	O
its	O
era	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2020	O
and	O
2021	O
,	O
GemStone	B-Protocol
III	I-Protocol
inspired	O
retrospectives	O
by	O
Elizabeth	O
Landau	O
in	O
Wired	O
and	O
Gizmodo	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
She	O
noted	O
its	O
ability	O
to	O
facilitate	O
human	O
communication	O
and	O
its	O
similar	O
nature	O
to	O
later	O
MMORPGs	B-Protocol
and	O
social	O
media	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2010	O
,	O
GemStone	B-Protocol
IV	I-Protocol
-	O
Shattered	O
was	O
released	O
by	O
Simutronics	O
.	O
</s>
