Avatar

Avatar is an early graphics-based multi-user highly interactive role-playing video game, created on the University of Illinois' PLATO system in the late 1970s. It has graphics for navigating through a dungeon and chat-style text for player status and communication with others. It can currently be played online via Cyber1 or a simulation called Javatar. What makes Avatar popular is the high level of interactivity with other players and the sense of community that develops. Development on Avatar began on the University of Illinois PLATO system around 1976 by Bruce Maggs and Andrew Shapira, who were junior high school students at the time. They were soon joined by David Sides, who was a student at the University of Illinois. The first version was released in 1979.