The world of MMORPGs
Most games these days are MMORPGs. Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games is a form of online gaming where players from all over the world interact through the game. The players take up the character of a certain fictional character and control all his actions and behavior. MMORPGs are different from single player games or even small multiplayer games because these games are hosted on servers and many thousands of people take part in it, so even when a player exits the game it doesn’t cease to exist. MMORPGs are very popular and more than 15 million people play these games and the revenue from these exceeds a billion US dollars.
Though the first multi player games came out in the 70s, the first MMORPGs only started in the early nineties.
Most MMORPGs are based on fantasy and fiction and involve the performance of certain tasks and reaching certain goals. Thus players accumulate points, wealth, buy weapons and combat each other. Most MMORPGs also have built-in support on the site and form guilds which players join. Most players join within a few months of playing on that MMORPG. Most MMORPGs have similar environments and elements and even though there are different games a common culture has developed among players of MMORPGs.
MMORPGs are developed on a client server system wherein the game runs continuously on a certain server and players use client software to connect to the game. Some client software may provide access to the entire site while some may be restricted.
MMORPGs however have had more than their share of criticism. Parents fear that the addiction to the game might severely affect their children’s development. Many people put in huge amounts of time and lack any real social skills. It has been urged that a time limit be put on gaming.
