Editing Browser game (section)

=== Early browser games  ===

When the Internet first became widely available and initial web browsers with basic [[HTML]] support were released, the earliest browser games were similar to text-based [[Multi-user dungeon|Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs)]], minimizing interactions to what implemented through simple browser controls but supporting online interactions with other players through a basic [[client–server model]].<ref>{{cite journal | last = Vanhatupa | first = Juha-Matti | title = Browser games for online communities | journal = International Journal of Wireless & Mobile Networks | volume = 2 | issue = 3 | year = 2010 |pages = 39–47 | doi = 10.5121/ijwmn.2010.2303 | doi-access = free }}</ref> One of the first known examples of a browser game was ''Earth 2025'', first released in 1995. It featured only text but allowed players to interact and form alliances with other players of the game.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Berzon |first=Alexandra |date=2011-01-14 |title=Jared Lee Loughner's Secret Online Life on Earth Empires |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-SEB-59439 |access-date=2025-05-06 |work=Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660}}</ref>

Browser technology quickly began to mature in the mid-1990s with support for browser plug-ins and the introduction of [[JavaScript]]. More advanced browser interactions, unbounded by the restrictions of HTML and that used client-side processing were possible. Among other browser extensions, these new plug-ins allowed users to run [[applet]]s made in the [[Java (programming language)|Java language]] and interactive animations created in [[Adobe Animate|Macromedia Flash]]. These technologies were initially intended to provide web page developers tools to create fully immersive, interactive websites, though this use fell out of favor as it was considered elitism and broke expected browsing behavior. Instead, these technologies found use by programmers to create small browser games among other unexpected uses such as general animation tools.<ref name="bbc eol">{{cite web | url = https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-55497353 | title = Adobe Flash Player is finally laid to rest | first= Chris | last = Fox | date = December 31, 2020| access-date = December 31, 2020 | work = [[BBC News]] }}</ref><ref name="gamasutra death">{{cite web | url = https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/374253/The_forgotten_Flash_Website_movement_when_websites_were_the_new_emerging_artform.php | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201124172810/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/374253/The_forgotten_Flash_Website_movement_when_websites_were_the_new_emerging_artform.php | url-status = dead | archive-date = November 24, 2020 | title = The forgotten Flash Website movement (when websites were 'the new emerging artform') | first= Nathalie | last = Lawhead | date = November 24, 2020 | access-date = November 24, 2020 | work = [[Gamasutra]] }}</ref>

Sites began to emerge in the late 1990s to collect these browser games and other works, such as [[Sun Microsystems]]' [[HotJava]].<ref name="vice yahoo games">{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/yahoo-games-demise-shows-what-the-death-of-flash-could-feel-like/|title=Yahoo! Games' Demise Shows What the Death of Flash Could Feel Like|last1=Maiberg|first1=Emanuel|last2=Smith|first2=Ernie|date=2017-08-10|website=Vice|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-10}}</ref> These sites started to become a popular commodity as they drew web visitors. [[Microsoft]] acquired one such site, The Village, in 1996, and rebranded it as the [[MSN Games|Internet Gaming Zone]], offering various card and board browser games.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Glaser |first=Mark |date=1997-10-09 |title=Come Into the Online Parlor, Relax With Board Games Like Checkers, Chess |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-09-ca-40708-story.html |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |issn=0458-3035}}</ref> [[Yahoo! Games|ClassicGames.com]] was created in 1997 to host a selection of classic, Java-based online [[Multiplayer Games|multiplayer games]] such as chess and checkers; its popularity led [[Yahoo!]] to purchase the site in 1998 and rebranding it as Yahoo! Games.<ref name=":4" />