Avatar

Avatar is a multiplayer RPG for the PLATO system, a kind proto-internet developed at the University of Illinois. Avatar built on Oubliette was previously the biggest multiplayer RPG on the system. According to Designing Virtual Worlds by Richard Bartle, Avatar accounted for 6% of all the hours spent on the system between September 1978 and May 1985.

The game is a grid-based first person perspective type game much like Oubliette where players can create characters and form parties to explore dungeons. Like many games on the PLATO system it was continually developed over the years which makes dating specific innovations tricky.

Avatar’s innovations include a somewhat procedural quest system of the type “Find X and Kill it”. Swords and Sorcery had a similar quest system but the goal of the quest would exist in the same one-screen level, Avatar’s quest requires the player to go out and hunt down a particular creature that could be anywhere in the game world.

Environment wise it was probably the first RPG to simulate drowning. The grid spaces had various new traps including quicksand that can cause characters to lose items as they struggle to free themselves and a number of other similar interesting tile types.

Gameplay Screenshots

You’ll note the game view is quite tiny compared to the on-screen text.

Interesting Bits

I haven’t played Avatar much, so I’m just going dump what I have here! If someone, familiar with the game, wants to write an overview then please contact me. In the meantime here are somethings from the in-game help that were notable.

One refreshing change in Avatar, compared to previous PLATO RPGs, is that you can just walk through doors with the same key you’d walk down a corridor. Previous games required you to always bash or kick down doors.

Sometimes one or more monsters may offer to “j”oin you and become your companions. Once a companion it will fight for you in combat and will act as another target for the monsters you are fighting. Your charisma will determine how likely a monster is to join you and once joined how long it will stay around. You may heal and raise a companion just like another character. If you don’t keep your companion at “full hits” he is more likely to leave you. Taking on a new companion will cause your current companions to leave you.

An early version of quickslots.

0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 - will “load” a spell or item for casting. Type the spell name (partial match) or the item number to load the number you chose. To clear a slot press DATA at the arrow (⪢). Note: 1,2,3, and 4 are not active for this function in combat – they are used to choose which group of monsters to fight.

0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 - will “load” a spell or item for casting. Type the spell name (partial match) or the item number to load the number you chose. To clear a slot press DATA at the arrow (⪢). Note: 1,2,3, and 4 are not active for this function in combat – they are used to choose which group of monsters to fight.

Character Creation Process

Game Help Listings

Here’s most of the in-game help.