Graal

Graal started its existence in the early 2000 as a relatively simple Java game. Shortly after a new game called Graalonline (Graal as short name) has been introduced with a similar theme, but new graphics and new name.

Perhaps Graal's greatest strength is its customisability. An intuitive editor allows even the most technically-inept players to build levels of their own, complete with custom graphics and interactive NPCs. The latter are developed using a simple - yet surprisingly powerful - language named Graal (GScript).

The creative power afforded by these features means that groups of players can combine their skills to produce entire worlds for other Graalians to explore. Indeed, GraalOnline offers hosting options that allow such groups to develop their Playerworlds online, making them (if they so wish) accessible to regular Graalians.

In addition to these player-operated servers, GraalOnline also runs official worlds. Though they are usually considered conceptually distinct from Playerworlds, they are still largely developed and maintained by volunteer players.

The Graal client is now in C++ and have cross-platform compatibility. Its available for Windows, Linux and Mac operating systems. In addition, this new version offer fully 3D graphics[1] along with a rehauled scripting engine. Graal3D was released to some criticism around Christmas 2004. In July 2005, A small group of beta testers tested a new Graal client, dubbed Graal4. Graal4 is based on Graal 3.0 but offer better compatibility with Graal 2.0 and offer lot of new features.

Starting in July 2008 GraalOnline games were launched on the App Store for iPhone, gaining millions of additional players. In 2011 a Facebook version followed and in 2013 the first Android version has been released. Thousands of Graal players are now playing the game at any time.

Between 2014 and 2022 a new Graal client has been developed partly in C++ and partly with the Unity game Engine.