Massively multi-player online role-playing game (MMORPG) is an electronic game that enables a large number of players to participate in a virtual world via the internet . The game world is typically stored on and run by remote computers called servers . Players use their own computers to access the server, often paying a subscription fee to do so. Once connected to a server, each player creates or assumes the role of a character in the game, sometimes called the player’s avatar . A single virtual world can host thousands of players at once, creating a virtual population of avatars.
Like other role-playing games, MMORPG’s focus on character development and problem-solving rather than fast action. Unlike traditional electronic games, most MMORPG’s do not have a single objective (goal). Instead, players and groups of players can explore, battle, or complete errands called quests. In completing such tasks, a player’s avatar can gain wealth, experience, and power, enabling the player to pursue new and more difficult tasks. Meeting other avatars and forming cooperative groups is an essential part of many MMORPG’s.
Many MMORPG’s have a style and design based on traditional role-playing games. Such games are played using simple equipment—such as books and dice—rather than computers. But the games feature complex storylines, detailed character development, and social play. Dungeons & Dragons (1974), the first widely popular traditional role-playing game, introduced the medieval fantasy theme common to many MMORPG’s.
MMORPG’s developed over time from the first electronic role-playing games. These early games, created in the 1970’s, featured no sound and few or no graphics (visual elements). Players interacted with the games by reading text descriptions of the action and entering text commands. Some games enabled players to connect with one another in small networks. These games later developed into multi-user domains (MUD’s), text-based games that enabled large numbers of players to interact with a game world and with one another.
In the 1980’s, companies created several successful multi-user electronic games. However, players connected to the game through private networks, and the number of users that could play at one time was limited. The first MMORPG’s, developed in the mid-1990’s, worked over the internet, which was open to everyone. These games combined advanced graphics and sound with the larger multi-player capabilities of a MUD.
Since the mid-1990’s, millions of players around the world have joined MMORPG communities, playing such games as Everquest (1999), Final Fantasy XI (2002), and World of Warcraft (2004). Many MMORPG’s are based on popular fantasy and science-fiction stories, such as The Lord of the Rings Online (2007), based on the works of the English author J. R. R.Tolkien , and Star Wars: The Old Republic (2011), based on the Star Wars films.
Although often not considered games, some online social communities use avatars and feature virtual worlds similar to those found in MMORPG’s. Second Life, released in 2003, is an example of one such community.
