DragonSpires

Furcadia is a fantasy world of magic and creation, alive with adorable animals and mythical creatures. Choose your favorite customizable avatar and start exploring this friendly, user-empowering Online Social Game (MMOSG) with rich player-driven content. Use the free, simple yet powerful tools to build literally anything you can dream up! Whether you enjoy Socializing with friends, Exploring, Creating, or Roleplaying, we invite you to an interactive experience unlike any other.

Released: 16 December 1996
Platforms: Windows iOS
Genres: Adventure MMO MUDs Role-playing Simulation
Developers: —
Publishers: —
Modes: Multiplayer
Perspective: Text
Themes: Fantasy Science fiction Horror Historical Comedy Open world
Country: United States
Languages: English

About

Furcadia is a free-to-play MMOSG/MMORPG or graphical MUD, set in a fantasy world inhabited by magical creatures. The game is based on user-created content with emphasis on world building tools, exploring, socializing, and free-form roleplaying. Furcadia hosts a large volunteer program called the Beekin Helpers, allowing players to help with community moderation, welcoming new players, handling in-game technical support, running in game events, creating art for the game itself, accessing and updating the game's website, and bug hunting. Furcadia holds the Guinness World Records title for the longest continuously running social MMORPG, as well as being one of the first games to heavily encourage modding and let users build virtual worlds for themselves.

It was also one of the first freemium online games. In 2008, Furcadia was reported as having over 60,000 players.

Keywords

modern warfare
western
world war ii - ww2
martial arts
post-apocalyptic
anime
cyberpunk
adult
dating
vietnam war
steampunk
management

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The character, or avatar on Furcadia can be set to one of 11 free species, including both humans, insects, and anthropomorphic animals. Players can choose between one of three genders: male, female, and unspecified. These genders modify the default portrait, butler (the large character art), and specitags, icons seen to the left of players' names in chat.

Players can customize their avatars by choosing colors from a palette. These colors are shown on the butler, walkabout, and portrait. The walkabout has a walking animation with the ability to stand, sit, or lie down. There are default portraits for each avatar, however, players may upload a 95x95 custom portrait for a small fee. 22 Custom avatars (non-gendered) may be added and used inside private dreams, for free.

Development

David Shapiro (AKA Dr. Cat), a former employee of Origin Systems, launched DragonSpires as one of the Internet's first graphics-based multi-user dungeons (MUDs) in 1994. Unlike other graphical video games, DragonSpires focused on social relationships and peaceable community-building over combat and violence. The game was free to access.

The novelty of the game interested multiple venture capital firms as well as Origin. The developers remade the title as Furcadia.