What if you combined an 8-bit RPG with global access in a sort of 1988 meets the modern Internet mashup? You’d end up with Realm of the Mad God, a sprite-fueled massive multiplayer adventure.

Realm of the Mad God mashes together so many different aspects of modern gaming that it’s immediately intuitive to use. You navigate using the standard FPS shooter WASD keyboard keys, you aim and use your weapons using the mouse and left click button, you gather gold and experience to get more gear, and so on. While that alone would make for a pretty fun retro-looking game, Realm of the Mad God has all sorts of neat innovations lurking under it’s block shell. Rather than follow the fixed-map-and-bad-guys model that most MMORPGs follow, Realm of the Mad God has built-in regeneration. Once players level up, they are summoned to fight the Mad God and, if they defeat him, the entire Realm is rebooted and regenerated with new content.

The game has a freemium model. It’s totally free to play and, if you’re so inclined and become addicted to the game, you can pay small fees to expand your on-character inventory, have a second character in the game, or partake in other fun (but not essential) upgrades.

Realm of the Mad God [via Boing Boing]