Line #7 VideoGame/NeverwinterNightsAOL


1	[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nwn_aol_box_art_cropped.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:320:The original ''[[VideoGame/NeverwinterNights Neverwinter]]''.]]
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4	The original ''Neverwinter Nights'', released in 1991, was the first ever graphical MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame, several years before Creator/OriginSystems coined the phrase as a marketing term for ''VideoGame/UltimaOnline''. Using a modified version of ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' Second Edition ruleset, it was exclusive to AOL for its entire 7-year history. NWN is a part of the ''Forgotten Realms'' universe, and was initially one of the ''VideoGame/GoldBox'' games, though eventually it was made free for all AOL subscribers.
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6	%%Note about below: Wikipedia said it was a 4000% increase, while the "video game archaeologist" claims original capacity was 200. Going with Wikipedia.
7	Successful for its time, ''Neverwinter Nights'' had to continuously increase server capacity, starting with 50 in 1991 (when users had to pay hourly fees to access it) and ending with 2000 in 1997, about a year after AOL shifted to monthly fees. The game [[DefunctOnlineVideoGames ended service]] abruptly due to a disagreement between the companies involved ([[Creator/StrategicSimulationsInc SSI]], TSR, AOL), though various reverse engineering efforts have tried to revive it in various ways: private servers, single player mods, and the like.
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9	It is remembered fondly for its community as well, which was quite active: Hosting unofficial events, maintaining guilds, with some even gaining ascended status (with AOL's support) as new player guides. Even AOL's president Steve Case got in on the action from time to time, playing as his alias Lord Nasher, who was also the regent of Neverwinter (akin to [[Creator/OriginSystems Richard Garriott]] playing Lord British in ''VideoGame/UltimaOnline'').
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11	Its name was eventually reused for a single-player/LAN multiplayer [[VideoGame/NeverwinterNights game]] by Creator/{{Bioware}} in 2002.
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13	!!This game provides examples of:
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15	* AscendedGlitch: PlayerVersusPlayer, initially just a holdover from the other Gold Box games' friendly fire, was slated to be removed altogether. Due to a BrokenBase over the role of [=PvP=] in the game (a debate that rages to this day), a compromise limited [=PvP=] to some of the western maps.
16	* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: In an era where perma-death was commonplace , death in NWN merely returned you to town with a lighter coin purse.
17	* PeninsulaOfPowerLeveling: An area north of Luskan was popular due to one square having multiple Dracoliches, which were used not only as a source of easy powerleveling (10-20 battles will max a player out), but was also a source of valuable loot.
18	* PlayerVersusPlayer: While more of a [[AscendedGlitch happy accident]], [=PvP=] was a feature that was eventually restricted to certain zones. It also had a quirk where melee attacks could not be used to attack other players.
19	* RandomNumberGod: NWN is not-so-fondly remembered for having a twofold importance in random luck when it came to statistics; first for rerolling your character, which could take hours if you wanted to get something "perfect" for your character class. After that, HP on level was also randomized, which cause one four-perfect to be far weaker than another four-perfect.
20	* TurnBasedTactics: Common to the ''VideoGame/GoldBox'' series, but a bit problematic in MMORPG form, for while there was a time limit for moving, this time limit was client based. Cue the groans from players waiting for someone with a slower machine to take their turn.

Context VideoGame / NeverwinterNightsAOL