The story of the one of the earliest flight simulator games, Airfight, a favourite among the PLATO community back in 1973, based on an interview with its creator. Airfight was a multiplayer flight combat sim with wireframe graphics and real-time chat, and it was an influence on the first home computer flight simulator, subLOGIC's fittingly-named 1980 game Flight Simulator for the Apple II and TRS-80.

Related links:

• Ars Technica article on PLATO games: lifeandtimes.games/arsplatofeature
• The Friendly Orange Glow by Brian Dear, out November 14 2017: friendlyorangeglow.com
  • to order Kindle or physical editions from Amazon using my affiliate link, go to lifeandtimes.games/platobookamazon
  • or to order the iBook edition from iTunes using my affiliate link, go to lifeandtimes.games/platobookapple
• Cyber1: cyber1.org

Music Credits:All music written/composed by me, except:

• Evan Schaeffer - Riser from the album Glow
• Evan Schaeffer - Portal and Insurmountable from the album Big Splash
• Symphonie inachevee de Franz Schubert - archive.org/details/SymphonieInacheveeDeFrantzSchubert
• 1920s jazz recordings - archive.org/details/Free20sJazz_Collection

The Life & Times of Video Games on the Web:

• Official site: lifeandtimes.games
• Twitter: @LifeandTimesVG
• Patreon: patreon.com/lifeandtimesofvideogames

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Tags: game design, airfight, brand fortner, bruce artwick, flight simulator, multiplayer games, plato, silas warner, simulation, sublogic