Did you find yourself very interested in the previous posts? You may be the addicted user the gaming world wants! If you want to join one of these communities, make sure you have plenty of time to kill, because once you’ve joined, you’ll never want to learn. If my blog hasn’t been informative enough, try out one of the links below. They may be able to help you further.
MMORPG stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. MMORPGs began just as MUVEs did. After Richard Bartle and Roy Trubshaw created MUDs (Multi-User Dungeons), Muti-user online programs quickly developed and improved. With this improvement came MMORPGs. Most of these games are fantasy based. MMORPGs are distinguishable because of their environments, which are controlled by the publishers, and are constantly evolving, even in the absence of players. One of the most popular MMORPGs is World of Warcraft, which has 10 million subscribers. These games can largely vary, but they share certain characteristics:
Most MMORPGs goal is the progression of each character. Levels are typically achieved through a points system where points are earned through the development of each characters, making the user better at whatever they do. Most of the time, these points are earned in battle. Fighting can occur between users, or between the environment. Environmental attacks include, monsters, quests, and loot.
The environment is typically able to progress without it’s users because of the client-server system architecture. The server software is able to constantly generate a progressing environment. Generally, publishers make their money by requiring subscribers to pay for the client software that accesses the server’s environment. Another common way to generate money is by allowing users to play for free, but requesting payment for certain things that will strengthen their character. There are hundreds of MMORPGS available online. A few commonly played ones include:
While MMORPGs are, I’m sure, very entertaining, I believe they are addictive. Their users begin ignoring their actual lives in order to further enjoy their virtual life. Because their environment is always progressing, users feel they are missing out on things if they are absent. WoW is particularly guilty of this. My brother, age 31, married, guardian of an 18 year old, recently quit the game because of his addiction. He took spent many hours every day partaking in this virtual community. Because he was part of a “team,” he felt his presence was necessary, and if he was absent we would be letting others down.
Lately, the MUVE Second Life has been receiving a lot of notoriety. This virtual reality program was created in 2003 by Linden Lab. The virtual environment is very similar to our own, unlike most MUVE environments. Users refer to themselves as “residents,” and their environment as the “grid.” Avatars interact with each other and trade goods/services. Second Life has even been used as an education tool, to assist non English speakers quickly learn the language. There are many benefits to being able to simulate a “second life;” however, I think this should be reserved for educational purposes, rather than entertainment. In the popular mockumentary series “The Office,” Dwight Schrute created a “second life” that is extremely similar to his own. He comically points out that although it’s identical to his own life, he finds more happiness it partaking in his alternate life.
“What is a MUVE?” you ask. Well, by definition, a MUVE is a Multi-user Virtual Environment. In other words, MUVEs are programs that allow users to create virtual worlds in a shared environment; users can interact with each other while keeping their virtual world persistent. These programs are not always game oriented, although they did start out that way.
In the late 70s, two professors from the University of Essex, Richard Bartle and Roy Trubshaw, created the first multi-user program. Richard Bartle originally studied at The University, where he received his PhD in artificial intelligence. In his final years there, he and Trubshaw began work on MUD (Mulit-User Dungeon/Domain/Dimension). These communities were able to experience many of the same characteristics an actual community would: fighting, friendships, unity, disputes. With the advancement in technology, Bartle and Trushaw’s MUD progress into more complex programs, such as MOOs (object-oriented MUDs), MUVEs (multi-user virtual environments), and MMORPGs (massively-multiplayer online roleplaying games).
The first graphical MUVE came about in 1987; Lucasfilm Games created a program called Habitat. Habitat was the first creation of a large scale virtual community. Next came Club Caribe in 1988. Since, then, MUVEs’ popularity has been growing, as has their complexity. MUVE first needs a user, that desires to partake in a virtual world. Secondly, the user needs a program which creates avatars and their virtual community. This program requires a server, or a group of servers, that host the virtual world. There are three types of MUVEs:
Recently, Multi-User Virtual Learning Environments have been growing in popularity. These environments allow users to create Avatars, in which they are able to represent themselves in a nonthreatening environment. Outside information is needed to succeed in this environment, forcing outside learning. At the end of the game, Avatars typically need to present a product of some kind, rather than just “winning,” as you do in other MUVEs. In general, MUVEs are quickly growing in popularity, and their followers will continue to grow the environment.
All of us know a group of people who play or have played the World of Warcraft. Actually, you, yourself, may be a part of that group. There is no secret that “WoW” players are a unique set of gamers. They don’t just enjoy the game; they obsess over it. It becomes an addiction, and users cannot seem to pull themselves away from it. Most of the users I know, have let the game reside in their past. They broke their addiction when they were younger; however, many of them lie about every being addicted in the first place. It’s a game that everyone loves, but everyone is embarrassed to admit so. My brother, a 31 year old man, with an established job at an engineering firm, and a lovely wife, plays the game every day. He is not embarrassed to admit this, but he has started to note that it consumes more of his time than he would like. However, he finds relief from his every day stressors by playing video games, and World of Warcraft, he explains, is more than just a video game. This alternate universe is so detailed and involved, that he is able to feel productive, while still gaming. Because all the players depend on each other, it becomes a form of social interaction where teammates depend on you, and you in turn depend on them.
WoW will be around for many more years, for its following has not declined in some time. The game will continue to strive as long as users remain as involved and as addicted. If you are interested in playing, there are now four options for you to choose from:
WoW requires their user to pay a subscription fee, through prepaid game cards, or by automatically taking money each month out of your bank account. In the World of Warcraft, servers are referred to as realms. There are four realm types:
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MUVE my MMORPG 