What do gaming icons Richard Bartle and Ralph H. Baer have in common? They are meeting at the Games Convention Online in Leipzig to usher in the first trade show of its kind.

In case you didn't already know, Richard Bartle is the co-author of the text-based multi-user dungeons (MUD) and one of the pioneers of the massively multiplayer online game (MMO) industry. Ralph H Baer, on the other hand, helped bring gaming to the home with the Magnavox Odyssey console. He also created the first light gun game for the home.

The Games Convention Online will bring these two minds together and show audiences how far gaming has come. They will be there from July 31st to August 2nd and will have an open exhibition "From Pong to Ping: The History of Online Games" that will tell the story of gaming in four epochs.