ImagiNation Network

From Free net encyclopedia

Image:INN springmap.jpg

"The ImagiNation Network is a place where you can play games, make friends and have fun. Find out for yourself how the ImagiNation Network is changing the way the world makes friends (Manual, pg 1)."

The ImagiNation Network, originally known as The Sierra Network, was a pioneer in graphical online gaming networks. TSN began for a select few in 1989 when a Beta Test invitation was sent out to registered Sierra game owners. In 1991 it opened to the public thanks to Sierra On-Line founder Ken Williams. In 1994 the name of the online experience was changed to "ImagiNation Network" after AT&T bought the rights to this gaming community.

Based in Oakhurst, California, the ImagiNation Network enabled people from all over the United States of America to play games and chat with each other online. Tournaments were held for many games in which winning players or teams could win prizes. Top chess and bridge players played regularly on the network, as well as several celebrities. Players were invited to compete against them and regular challenges were setup.

Users were represented by cartoon icons, including such famous Sierra characters as Leisure Suit Larry. The company also boasted of having "more than 200 groups, clubs and special events online."

It could originally be accessed by either going to http://www.INNGAMES.com (a domain now occupied by a gambling site) or by calling 1-800-IMAGIN-1.

Contents

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Games

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ClubHouse

"The Clubhouse is the place to go when you want to meet new people, play traditional card and board games, read the Bulletin Boards, and chat with your friends. It's where you'll find the Welcome Room for new members and the INN Help Room. You can also join an online conference while you're in the Clubhouse, or learn something new at INN University(Manual, Pg 15)."

  • Checkers
  • Chess
  • FlipFlop (previously called Reversi)
  • Go
  • Backgammon
  • Bridge
  • Hearts
  • Spades
  • Euchre
  • Cribbage
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LarryLand

(a.k.a. CasinoLand, which was an added feature a few years later)

"CasinoLand is the ImagiNation Network's casino and resort area, with fantasy gambling and games. Sorry, but no one udner the age of 18 is allowed in CasinoLand. (If you would like access to CasinoLand, please fill out and return the CasinoLand Access Card included in this kit.)[Manual, pg 15]."

  • Poker
  • Black Jack
  • Craps
  • Roulette
  • Veracity
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MedievaLand

"...is a fantasy-filled land where you can find adventures as a knight, wizard or another character of your own creation(Manual, pg 15)."

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SierraLand

"...is the place for exciting arcade style games, challenging board games and other amusements(Manual, pg 15)."

an Ataxx clone

  • 3D Tic Tac Toe
  • Red Baron (later moved into the Arena Land)
  • Graffiti

collaborative art drawing board

  • Rocket Quiz (later moved into the school house)
  • Stratego

the classic board game

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FunHouse

( A.K.A. School House, Little Red Funhouse)

"The Little Red Funhouse is the future home to `edutainment' games and activities. It's a place for kids who want to have fun learning(Manual, pg 15)."

  • RocketQuiz

a 1 to 3 player math quiz game

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Arena

"The Arena is where you'll find exciting sports and action games(Manual, pg 15)."

Red Baron had numerous "clans" that would face off in tournaments. The clans included the Arabian Knights, Black Knights, Dawn Patrol, Strike Eagles, Lafayette Escadrille, Naked Crisco Twister, and Wing Walkers.

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History

  • 1989: Limited private Beta Testing began.
  • 1991: ImagiNation Network launches
  • 1994: AT&T buys ImagiNation Network
  • October 6, 1996: AOL buys ImagiNation Network
  • 1996: AOL renames ImagiNation Network to WorldPlay Entertainment and orders termination of existing game network.
  • 1997: WorldPlay develops GameXpress, a two-dimensional set of online games for Windows
  • 1997: WorldPlay works on CyberPark, a somewhat three-dimensional world in which players can interact and play games.
  • 1998: WorldPlay Entertainment delivers CyberPark to AOL and is rewarded with a 60% reduction in staff.
  • 2000: AOL lends surviving WorldPlay engineers to Electronic Arts in order to help build out ea.com
  • 2003: Electronic Arts finally convinces AOL to pull the plug on the WorldPlay game servers.
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Pricing

When owned by Sierra Online, one was given a certain amount of hours per month which one could play, with multiple monthly fee plans available. Only one plan, for $119.99, allowed for unlimited hours of play. These fees did not include any additional dial-up charges the user may have incurred with their phone services as this was a dial-up modem access only service.

Once acquired by AT&T however, no unlimited hour plan was available, and using hours beyond the monthly plan involved a hefty $2.50 per hour fee. AT&T also added a surcharge for those subscribers who did not access TSN/INN through a "Preferred Access Number" (PAN). This surcharge, plus the general increase in subscription fees, contributed to the decline in users until TSN/INN's shutdown in 1996.

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1995 Rates:

  • Welcome Plan: 5 hours for $9.95, $2.95 each additional hour
  • 10 Plan: 10 hours for $19.95, $2.75 each additional hour
  • 15 Plan: 15 hours for $29.95, $2.50 each additional hour
  • 25 Plan: 25 hours for $49.95, $2.25 each additional hour
  • 50 Plan: 50 hours for $99.95, $1.95 each additional hour

Without a preferred access number, all weekday time between 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. was billed $6.00 an hour, additional time in one minute increments. AT&T users had a 10% discount on their monthly membership fee.


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Protocol

The protocol was a simple stop-and-wait protocol with explicit acknowledgment of packets. Packets had a start marker, a sequence number, a 16-bit CRC, the data, and a stop marker. If the start or stop marker occurred within the data, it had to be escaped. All good packets received in the proper order were acknowledged. Any packet out of sequence cause a NAK for the missing packets that came before it. Any packet with a bad CRC also got a NAK. If a NAK was received, or an ACK did not occur within a reasonable amount of time, the packet was retransmitted.

They later moved to a sliding window version of the same protocol to cut down on the number of ACKs that were sent. This didn't change the packet format, but it did cut back on retransmissions.

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System Requirements

The 1995 version required a "386 or better IBM compatible personal computer with a hard disk drive with 12MB free, 640K conventional memory with at least 580K available, a 2400 baud or faster modem, VGA graphics and a Microsoft compatible mouse" and, for Windows users, "at least a 386SX computerwith 4MB of RAM running in 386 Enchanced Mode (Manual, inside cover)."

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External links

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