<s>
A	O
multiplayer	O
video	O
game	O
is	O
a	O
video	O
game	O
in	O
which	O
more	O
than	O
one	O
person	O
can	O
play	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
game	O
environment	O
at	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
,	O
either	O
locally	O
on	O
the	O
same	O
computing	O
system	O
(	O
couch	O
co-op	O
)	O
,	O
on	O
different	O
computing	O
systems	O
via	O
a	O
local	B-General_Concept
area	I-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
,	O
or	O
via	O
a	O
wide	O
area	O
network	O
,	O
most	O
commonly	O
the	O
Internet	O
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Warcraft	I-Protocol
,	O
Call	B-Application
of	I-Application
Duty	I-Application
,	O
DayZ	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
the	O
earliest	O
video	O
games	O
were	O
two-player	O
games	O
,	O
including	O
early	O
sports	O
games	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
1958	O
's	O
Tennis	B-Application
For	I-Application
Two	I-Application
and	O
1972	O
's	O
Pong	B-Application
)	O
,	O
early	O
shooter	O
games	O
such	O
as	O
Spacewar	B-Application
!	I-Application
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
examples	O
of	O
multiplayer	O
real-time	O
games	O
were	O
developed	O
on	O
the	O
PLATO	B-Operating_System
system	I-Operating_System
about	O
1973	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Multi-user	O
games	O
developed	O
on	O
this	O
system	O
included	O
1973	O
's	O
Empire	B-Application
and	O
1974	O
's	O
Spasim	B-Application
;	O
the	O
latter	O
was	O
an	O
early	O
first-person	O
shooter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Danielle	O
Bunten	O
Berry	O
created	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
multiplayer	O
video	O
games	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
her	O
debut	O
,	O
Wheeler	O
Dealers	O
(	O
1978	O
)	O
and	O
her	O
most	O
notable	O
work	O
,	O
M.U.L.E.	B-Application
</s>
<s>
Gauntlet	B-Device
(	O
1985	O
)	O
and	O
Quartet	B-Application
(	O
1986	O
)	O
introduced	O
co-operative	O
4-player	O
gaming	O
to	O
the	O
arcades	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
John	O
G	O
.	O
Kemeny	O
wrote	O
in	O
1972	O
that	O
software	O
running	O
on	O
the	O
Dartmouth	B-Operating_System
Time	I-Operating_System
Sharing	I-Operating_System
System	I-Operating_System
(	O
DTSS	O
)	O
had	O
recently	O
gained	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
support	O
multiple	O
simultaneous	O
users	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
games	O
were	O
the	O
first	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
university	O
's	O
computer	O
system	O
had	O
hundreds	O
of	O
terminals	O
,	O
connected	O
(	O
via	O
serial	O
lines	O
)	O
through	O
cluster	O
PDP-11s	B-Device
for	O
student	O
,	O
teacher	O
,	O
and	O
staff	O
access	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
games	O
had	O
a	O
program	O
running	O
on	O
each	O
terminal	O
(	O
for	O
each	O
player	O
)	O
,	O
sharing	O
a	O
segment	O
of	O
shared	B-Operating_System
memory	I-Operating_System
(	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
"	O
high	O
segment	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
OS	O
TOPS-10	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
games	O
became	O
popular	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
university	O
often	O
banned	O
them	O
because	O
of	O
their	O
RAM	B-Algorithm
use	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wasserman	O
and	O
Stryker	O
in	O
1980	O
described	O
in	O
BYTE	B-Application
how	O
to	O
network	O
two	O
Commodore	B-Device
PET	I-Device
computers	O
with	O
a	O
cable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Digital	O
Equipment	O
Corporation	O
distributed	O
another	O
multi-user	O
version	O
of	O
Star	O
Trek	O
,	O
Decwar	B-Application
,	O
without	O
real-time	O
screen	O
updating	O
;	O
it	O
was	O
widely	O
distributed	O
to	O
universities	O
with	O
DECsystem-10s	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1981	O
Cliff	O
Zimmerman	O
wrote	O
an	O
homage	O
to	O
Star	O
Trek	O
in	O
MACRO-10	B-Language
for	O
DECsystem-10s	B-Device
and	O
-20s	O
using	O
VT100-series	O
graphics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
VTtrek	O
"	O
pitted	O
four	O
Federation	B-Protocol
players	O
against	O
four	O
Klingons	O
in	O
a	O
three-dimensional	O
universe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Flight	O
Simulator	O
II	O
,	O
released	O
in	O
1986	O
for	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
and	O
Commodore	O
Amiga	O
,	O
allowed	O
two	O
players	O
to	O
connect	O
via	O
modem	O
or	O
serial	O
cable	O
and	O
fly	O
together	O
in	O
a	O
shared	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MIDI	B-Application
Maze	I-Application
,	O
an	O
early	O
first-person	O
shooter	O
released	O
in	O
1987	O
for	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
,	O
featured	O
network	O
multiplay	O
through	O
a	O
MIDI	O
interface	O
before	O
Ethernet	O
and	O
Internet	O
play	O
became	O
common	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
followed	O
ports	O
to	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
platforms	O
(	O
including	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
and	O
Super	B-Application
NES	I-Application
)	O
in	O
1991	O
under	O
the	O
title	O
Faceball	O
2000	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
handheld	B-Application
,	O
multi-platform	O
first-person	O
shooters	O
and	O
an	O
early	O
console	B-Application
example	O
of	O
the	O
genre	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
popular	O
video-game	O
title	O
with	O
a	O
Local	O
Area	O
Network(LAN )	O
version	O
,	O
1991	O
's	O
Spectre	O
for	O
the	O
Apple	O
Macintosh	O
,	O
featured	O
AppleTalk	B-Application
support	O
for	O
up	O
to	O
eight	O
players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
followed	O
1993	O
's	O
Doom	B-Application
,	O
whose	O
first	O
network	O
version	O
allowed	O
four	O
simultaneous	O
players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
online	B-Application
games	I-Application
are	O
"	O
massively	B-Application
multiplayer	I-Application
"	O
,	O
with	O
many	O
players	O
participating	O
simultaneously	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
massively	B-Application
multiplayer	I-Application
genres	O
are	O
MMORPG	B-Protocol
(	O
such	O
as	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Warcraft	I-Protocol
or	O
EverQuest	B-Protocol
)	O
and	O
MMORTS	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
First-person	O
shooters	O
have	O
become	O
popular	O
multiplayer	O
games	O
;	O
Battlefield	B-Application
1942	I-Application
and	O
Counter-Strike	B-Application
have	O
little	O
(	O
or	O
no	O
)	O
single-player	O
gameplay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Developer	O
and	O
gaming	O
site	O
OMGPOP	B-Application
's	O
library	O
included	O
multiplayer	O
Flash	O
games	O
for	O
the	O
casual	O
player	O
until	O
it	O
was	O
shut	O
down	O
in	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
networked	O
multiplayer	O
games	O
,	O
including	O
MUDs	B-Application
and	O
massively	B-Application
multiplayer	I-Application
online	I-Application
games	I-Application
(	O
MMOs	O
)	O
such	O
as	O
RuneScape	B-Protocol
,	O
omit	O
a	O
single-player	O
mode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
largest	O
MMO	O
in	O
2008	O
was	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Warcraft	I-Protocol
,	O
with	O
over	O
10million	O
registered	O
players	O
worldwide	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Warcraft	I-Protocol
would	O
hit	O
its	O
peak	O
at	O
12	O
million	O
players	O
two	O
years	O
later	O
in	O
2010	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
2020	O
earned	O
the	O
Guinness	O
World	O
Record	O
for	O
best	O
selling	O
MMO	O
video	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
category	O
of	O
games	O
requires	O
multiple	O
machines	O
to	O
connect	O
via	O
the	O
Internet	O
;	O
before	O
the	O
Internet	O
became	O
popular	O
,	O
MUDs	B-Application
were	O
played	O
on	O
time-sharing	O
computer	O
systems	O
and	O
games	O
like	O
Doom	B-Application
were	O
played	O
on	O
a	O
LAN	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Beginning	O
with	O
the	O
Sega	B-Application
NetLink	I-Application
in	O
1996	O
,	O
Game.com	B-Operating_System
in	O
1997	O
and	O
Dreamcast	B-Operating_System
in	O
2000	O
,	O
game	O
consoles	O
support	O
network	O
gaming	O
over	O
LANs	B-General_Concept
and	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
mobile	O
phones	O
and	O
handheld	B-Application
consoles	I-Application
also	O
offer	O
wireless	O
gaming	O
with	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
(	O
or	O
similar	O
)	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
early	O
2010s	O
online	B-Application
gaming	I-Application
had	O
become	O
a	O
mainstay	O
of	O
console	B-Application
platforms	O
such	O
as	O
Xbox	B-Protocol
and	O
PlayStation	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
applies	O
to	O
all	O
arcade	O
games	O
,	O
but	O
also	O
to	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
console	B-Application
,	O
and	O
personal	O
computer	O
games	O
too	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Local	O
multiplayer	O
games	O
played	O
on	O
a	O
singular	O
system	O
sometimes	O
use	O
split	O
screen	O
,	O
so	O
each	O
player	O
has	O
an	O
individual	O
view	O
of	O
the	O
action	O
(	O
important	O
in	O
first-person	O
shooters	O
and	O
in	O
racing	O
video	O
games	O
)	O
Nearly	O
all	O
multiplayer	O
modes	O
on	O
beat	B-Application
'	I-Application
em	I-Application
up	I-Application
games	I-Application
have	O
a	O
single-system	O
option	O
,	O
but	O
racing	O
games	O
have	O
started	O
to	O
abandon	O
split-screen	O
in	O
favor	O
of	O
a	O
multiple-system	O
,	O
multiplayer	O
mode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Not	O
all	O
local	O
multiplayer	O
games	O
are	O
played	O
on	O
the	O
same	O
console	B-Application
or	O
personal	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
local	O
multiplayer	O
games	O
are	O
played	O
over	O
a	O
LAN	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
involves	O
multiple	O
devices	O
using	O
one	O
local	B-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
to	O
play	O
together	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Networked	O
multiplayer	O
games	O
on	O
LAN	B-General_Concept
eliminate	O
common	O
problems	O
faced	O
when	O
playing	O
online	O
such	O
as	O
lag	B-Application
and	O
anonymity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Games	O
played	O
on	O
a	O
LAN	B-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
are	O
the	O
focus	O
of	O
LAN	B-General_Concept
parties	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
local	O
co-op	O
and	O
LAN	B-General_Concept
parties	O
still	O
take	O
place	O
,	O
there	O
has	O
been	O
a	O
decrease	O
in	O
both	O
due	O
to	O
an	O
increasing	O
number	O
of	O
players	O
and	O
games	O
utilizing	O
online	O
multiplayer	O
gaming	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
local	O
multiplayer	O
,	O
players	O
playing	O
online	O
multiplayer	O
are	O
not	O
restricted	O
to	O
the	O
same	O
local	B-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gamers	O
refer	O
to	O
latency	O
using	O
the	O
term	O
"	O
ping	B-Protocol
"	O
,	O
after	O
a	O
utility	O
which	O
measures	O
round-trip	O
network	O
communication	O
delays	O
(	O
by	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
ICMP	B-Protocol
packets	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
player	O
on	O
a	O
DSL	O
connection	O
with	O
a	O
50-ms	O
ping	B-Protocol
can	O
react	O
faster	O
than	O
a	O
modem	O
user	O
with	O
a	O
350-ms	O
average	O
latency	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
problems	O
include	O
packet	B-Protocol
loss	I-Protocol
and	O
choke	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
prevent	O
a	O
player	O
from	O
"	O
registering	O
"	O
their	O
actions	O
with	O
a	O
server	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
games	O
with	O
light	O
asymmetry	O
,	O
the	O
players	O
share	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
basic	O
mechanics	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
movement	O
and	O
death	O
)	O
,	O
yet	O
have	O
different	O
roles	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
;	O
this	O
is	O
a	O
common	O
feature	O
of	O
the	O
multiplayer	O
online	O
battle	O
arena	O
(	O
MOBA	O
)	O
genre	O
such	O
as	O
League	B-Application
of	I-Application
Legends	I-Application
and	O
Dota	B-Application
2	I-Application
,	O
and	O
in	O
hero	O
shooters	O
such	O
as	O
Overwatch	B-Application
and	O
Apex	B-Application
Legends	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
of	O
games	O
with	O
strong	O
asymmetry	O
include	O
Dead	B-Application
by	I-Application
Daylight	I-Application
,	O
Evolve	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Left	O
4	O
Dead	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similar	O
games	O
were	O
developed	O
for	O
bulletin	B-Application
board	I-Application
systems	I-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
Trade	B-Protocol
Wars	I-Protocol
,	O
where	O
the	O
turn	O
structure	O
may	O
not	O
be	O
as	O
rigorous	O
and	O
allow	O
players	O
to	O
take	O
actions	O
at	O
any	O
time	O
in	O
a	O
persistence	O
space	O
alongside	O
all	O
other	O
players	O
,	O
a	O
concept	O
known	O
as	O
sporadic	O
play	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Further	O
,	O
many	O
mobile	B-Application
games	I-Application
are	O
based	O
on	O
sporadic	O
play	O
and	O
use	O
social	O
interactions	O
with	O
other	O
players	O
,	O
lacking	O
direct	O
player	O
versus	O
player	O
game	O
modes	O
but	O
allowing	O
players	O
to	O
influence	O
other	O
players	O
 '	O
games	O
,	O
coordinated	O
through	O
central	O
game	B-Application
servers	I-Application
,	O
another	O
facet	O
of	O
asynchronous	O
play	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Online	O
cheating	O
(	O
in	O
gaming	O
)	O
usually	O
refers	O
to	O
modifying	O
the	O
game	O
experience	O
to	O
give	O
one	O
player	O
an	O
advantage	O
over	O
others	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
using	O
an	O
"	O
aimbot	B-Protocol
"	O
a	O
program	O
which	O
automatically	O
locks	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
crosshairs	O
onto	O
a	O
targetin	O
shooting	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
hacking	O
"	O
or	O
"	O
glitching	B-Error_Name
"	O
(	O
"	O
glitching	B-Error_Name
"	O
refers	O
to	O
using	O
a	O
glitch	B-Error_Name
,	O
or	O
a	O
mistake	O
in	O
the	O
code	O
of	O
a	O
game	O
,	O
whereas	O
"	O
hacking	O
"	O
is	O
manipulating	O
the	O
code	O
of	O
a	O
game	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
