What is a MMORPG?
Michael Anissimov
Michael Anissimov
MMORPG stands for massively multiplayer online role playing game, a type of massively multiplayer online game (MMOG). An MMORPG is a computer-based role playing game (RPG) which takes place in an online virtual world with hundreds or thousands of other players. In the game, a player uses a client to connect to a server, usually run by the publisher of the game, which hosts the virtual world and memorizes information about the player.
An MMORPG, like any RPG, allows the user to control a character represented by an avatar, which he directs to fight monsters for experience, interact with other characters, acquire items, and so on. MMORPGs have become extremely popular since the wider debut of broadband Internet connections, and now have millions of subscribers from hundreds of different countries. Some MMORPGs have as many as a million subscribers.
The roots of MMORPGs are in online, text-based adventures, which existed as early as the 1970s. The first real MMORPG, Meridian 59, was released in 1996, but it wasn't until the next year that Ultima Online popularized the genre. Both games were played on a pay-by-month basis, as are most modern MMORPGs. The genre surged into popularity throughout the late 90s, finding especially welcoming markets in Taiwan, South Korea, and America. In 1999, Sony Online Entertainment released EverQuest, a popular game to this day. Right around the same time, Asheron's Call was released, another MMORPG that would become extremely popular.
In 2001, the market appeared to plateau, causing the cancellation of some MMORPGs in development. New MMORPGs continue to be released, however, with dozens of popular games still being sold. One popular selling point is expansion packs, either downloaded from the server as patches or sold in stores. These expansion packs ensure that the virtual worlds in MMORPGs stay fresh and interesting, constantly changing.
Around 2000, MMORPGs began to attract the attention of academia — psychology and economics — and non-gaming publications. Reactions ranging from praise to distaste are common. Some critics say that such games turn players into lifeless zombies, while others celebrate the MMORPG as a fascinating new way for people to interact with each other.
Some MMORPGs have developed sophisticated economies with equipment, currency, and characters within the game being exchanged online for real money. This has led to the study of "synthetic economies" and how they relate to real world economies. As MMORPG worlds become increasingly more realistic and entertaining, they continue to permeate further into the mainstream, attracting both positive and negative reactions from all sides.
Michael Anissimov
Michael is a longtime EasyTechJunkie contributor who specializes in topics relating to paleontology, physics, biology, astronomy, chemistry, and futurism. In addition to being an avid blogger, Michael is particularly passionate about stem cell research, regenerative medicine, and life extension therapies. He has also worked for the Methuselah Foundation, the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence, and the Lifeboat Foundation.
Michael Anissimov
Michael is a longtime EasyTechJunkie contributor who specializes in topics relating to paleontology, physics, biology, astronomy, chemistry, and futurism. In addition to being an avid blogger, Michael is particularly passionate about stem cell research, regenerative medicine, and life extension therapies. He has also worked for the Methuselah Foundation, the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence, and the Lifeboat Foundation.
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![Characters are represented by an avatar in a MMORPG.]()
By: aid corporationCharacters are represented by an avatar in a MMORPG.
Discussion Comments
The first MMO wasn't Meridian 59, it was a little game from AOL in 1991 called Neverwinter.
@anon14371: You are not 13 yet. You need to be at least 13 to even begin some of the most basic and sad MMOs like rs or wow. Then after you turn 18, you can start trying out the real stuff.
You can save your game in some of them. And yes, in most MMORPGs you can play, interact and even talk with other players. But yeah I have also learned a lot from MMOs. In the game Mabinogi, I learned what synthesizing meant, and even used it for class one time. You can learn a lot of things from MMOs that even teachers don't teach.
That depends on which game you played. Some save automatically and some don't just save directly. A good example that saves automatically (but not mission) is AQworlds.
but what is the importance of playing it?
mmorpg games are definitely awesome. it helped me learn a lot from this article. I had no idea that I have been playing mmorpg games all this time. I also found a great discussion forum online. they have a huge community where people help you with anything related to mmorpg games and lots more.
Because it's an online game, it always saves, no matter where you are or what you are doing. You don't need to manually save your game, it is automatically saved.
I think you can save your game. Most likely they'll have these places where you save like in a village or something. However, in a quest you can't save your game. When you die, in some games you lose a level sometimes you start over. I'm not too sure.
thanks for info.
Good question... *Can* you save your game? Also, interact with other players, does that mean talk, exchange goods and possibly even fight? And if so what happens when you lose?
A massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of computer role-playing games in which a large number of players interact with one another in a virtual world.
This was a great article and it helped out a lot.
can you save your game on MMORPGs?
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