BBS Door Game (Concept)

An external game application accessed via BBS software, many door games can also be run locally and are still played today.

Summary
Short summary describing this concept.

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Overview

Between the introduction of internet MUDs and before there were dedicated MMORPGs on PCs, there were Bulletin Board System door games. A "door" is any external program designed to be launched from a BBS, and transmitted across the connection. A typical user "dialed in" with computer and modem, and launched a door game from a menu. Upon quitting, the user returned to the BBS menu.

Methods of Play

Most games were primarily text-based with ASCII and ANSI (colored and/or animated) based graphics, and could only allow one user per connection to play concurrently. A daily time or turn limit allowed all players an equal chance at progressing. Modern MMOs use a Fatigue System to similar effect.

Very popular door games often made use of a customized graphical front-end program (e.g. "Ansiterm") that the player could download and launch while connected to the BBS. This gave the player all of the game's resources locally, ensuring a smoother experience not dependent on connection speed, and could even offer full graphics and sound.