TL;DR
A cheap computer dismissed as a 'game machine' spawned the first virtual world through its low-cost online service, shaping today's social networks and games.
In 1982, the Commodore 64 went on sale for $595 with only 64K of memory, yet became the best-selling computer in history. It was cheap enough to use a TV as a monitor and booted with a built-in system, earning the dismissive label 'game machine'.
An Unlikely Legacy
But this very 'game machine' brought gaming out of coin-fed arcades and into homes, granting players unlimited time. It also offered a low-cost online service, Q-Link, letting players chat and play chess for $3 an hour.
The First Virtual World
In 1986, Lucasfilm launched Habitat on Q-Link. It had no plot and no goal, only tools to create a mini-society. Here was born the term 'avatar', the first in-game currency, the first purchase of virtual cosmetics, and players spontaneously started a newspaper and a church.
Humanity Is a Coral Reef
Players' self-directed actions astounded the creators: one solved a weeks-long puzzle in 8 hours, others exploited price differences to quintuple the money supply overnight, and still others choreographed synchronized dances. The creators realized they had to think like lawmakers, not designers.
Today's online worlds—with all their wonders and chaos—trace back to that 64K machine. It proved that given space, people will do everything, good and bad.
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