Dungeon instancing, a technique used in online games to provide individual players or groups of players with their own instance of some sort of content at the same time
There have been finds of sub-Mycenaean votive figures and of votive figures from the Geometric period, but with a gap in continuity between them: "it is clear that a radical reinterpretation has taken place" Walter Burkert has observed, instancing many examples of this break in cult during the "Greek Dark Ages", including Amyklai (1985, p 49).
Brad McQuaid, lead designer of EverQuest and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes (both of which did not feature instancing at launch), wrote an essay in 2005 arguing that instances can negatively affect the game's community, virtual economy, churn rate, and other factors.