Massively multiplayer online game

Massively multiplayer online game (also called MMOG) is a computer game which is capable of supporting hundreds or thousands of players simultaneously. By necessity, they are played on the Internet, and feature at least one persistent world. Some [weasel words] argue that small player-count games, with 200 and fewer players, are also part of the genre; the persistent world is probably the only "hard" requirement.

MMOGs can enable players to cooperate and compete with each other on a grand scale, and sometimes to interact meaningfully with people around the world. They include a variety of gameplay types, representing many video game genres. Many MMOGs require players to invest large amounts of their time into the game. Most MMOGs require a monthly subscription fee, but some can be played for free.

Overview and history

The most popular type of MMOG, and the sub-genre that pioneered the category, is the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), which descended from university mainframe computer MUD and adventure games such as Rogue on the PLATO System and Dungeon on the PDP-10. These games pre-date the commercial gaming industry and the Internet, but still featured persistent worlds and other elements of MMOGs still used today.

The first graphical MMOG, and a major milestone in the creation of the genre, was the multi-player flight combat simulation game Air Warrior by Kesmai on the GEnie online service, which first appeared in 1987.

Commercial MMORPGs gained early acceptance in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The genre was pioneered by the GemStone series on GEnie, also created by Kesmai, and Neverwinter Nights, the first such game to include graphics, which debuted on AOL in 1991.

As computer game developers applied MMO ideas to other computer and video game genres, new acronyms started to develop, such as MMORTS. MMOG emerged as a generic term to cover this growing class of games. These games became so popular that a magazine, called Massive Online Gaming, released an issue in October 2002 hoping to cover MMOG topics exclusively, but it never released its second issue.

The debuts of The Realm Online, Meridian 59 (The first 3D MMOG), Ultima Online, Underlight and EverQuest in the late 1990s popularized the MMORPG genre. The growth in technology meant that where Neverwinter Nights in 1991 had been limited to 50 simultaneous players (a number that grew to 500 by 1995), by the year 2000 a multitude of MMORPGs were each serving thousands of simultaneous players.

Despite the genre's focus on multiplayer gaming, AI-controlled characters are still common. NPCs and mobs who give out quests or serve as opponents are typical mostly in MMORPGs. AI-controlled characters are not as common in action-based MMOGs.

The popularity of MMOGs was mostly restricted to the computer game market until the sixth-generation consoles, with the launch of Phantasy Star Online on Dreamcast and the emergence and growth of online service Xbox Live. There have been a number of console MMOGs, including EverQuest Online Adventures (PlayStation 2), and the multiconsole Final Fantasy XI. On PCs, the MMOG market has always been dominated by successful fantasy MMORPGs.

Science fiction has also been a popular theme, featuring games such as Anarchy Online, Eve Online, Star Wars Galaxies and The Matrix Online.

MMOGs emerged from the hard-core gamer community to the mainstream strongly in December 2003 with an analysis in the Financial Times measuring the value of the virtual property in the then-largest MMOG, Everquest, to result in a per-capita GDP of 2,266 dollars which would have placed the virtual world of Everquest as the 77th wealthiest nation, on par with Croatia, Equador, Tunisia or Vietnam.

World of Warcraft is currently the dominant MMOG in America.[citation needed] and with 9 million monthly subscribers worldwide, is the most popular Western title among MMOGs. The biggest MMOG in the world is Lineage 2 from South Korea, with over 14 million registered gamers, mostly in various Asian countries.

See also: History of MMORPGs

Virtual Economies

Within a majority of the MMOs created, there is virtual currency where the player can earn and accumulate money. The uses for such vitual currency are numerous and vary from game to game. What becomes very interesting, is there is an economy that is created from this development of virtual money. The virtual economies created within MMOs often blur the lines between real and virtual worlds. The result is often seen as an unwanted interaction between the real and virtual economies. This practice (economy interaction) is mostly seen in this genre of games. The two seem to come hand in hand with even the earliest MMOGs such as Ultima Online having this kind of trade, real money for virtual things.

The results of this interaction between the virtual economy, and our real economy, which is really the interaction between the company that created the game and the third-party companies that want to share in the profits and success of the game. This battle between companies is defended on both sides. The company originating the game and the intellectual property argue that this is in violation of the terms and agreements of the game as well as copyright violation since they own the rights to how the online currency is distributed and through what channels[citation needed]. The case that the third-party companies and their customers defend, is that they are selling and exchanging the time and effort put into the acquisition of the currency, not the digital information itself. They also express that the nature of many MMOs is that they require time commitments not available to everyone. As a result, without external acquisition of virtual currency, some players are severely limited to being able to experience certain aspects of the game.

The practice of acquiring large volumes of virtual currency for the purpose of selling to other individuals for tangible and real currency is called gold farming. Many players who have poured in all of their personal effort feel violated that there is this exchange between real and virtual economies since it devalues their own efforts. As a result, the term 'gold farmer' now has a very negative connotation within the games and their communities. This slander has unfortunately also extended itself to racial profiling and in-game and forum insulting and verbal abuse.

The reaction from many of the game companies varies. In games that are substantially less popular and have a small player base, the enforcement of the elimination of 'gold farming' appears less often. Companies in this situation most likely are concerned with their personal sales and subscription revenue over the development of their virtual economy, as they most likely have a higher priority to the games viability via adequate funding. Games with an enormous player base, and consequently much higher sales and subscription income, can take more drastic actions more often and in much larger volumes. Blizzard Entertainment and their wildly successful World of Warcaft, are not afraid to publicly announce that tens of thousands of accounts that have been banned due to violations regarding currency selling[citation needed]. This account banning could also serve as an economic gain for these large games, since it is highly likely that, due to demand, these 'gold farming' accounts will be recreated with freshly bought copies of the game.

Comparing MMOGs to other computer games

There are a number of factors shared by most MMOGs that make them different from other types of computer games. MMOGs create a persistent universe where the game continues playing regardless of whether or not anyone else is. Since these games strongly or exclusively emphasize multiplayer gameplay, few of them have any significant single-player aspects or client-side artificial intelligence. As a result, players cannot "finish" MMOGs in the typical sense of single-player games. Some MMOGs, such as Star Sonata, do have an end condition that includes awarding a "winner" based on a player's standing in the game at the finale.

Most MMOGs also share other characteristics that make them different from other multiplayer online games. MMOGs host a large number of players in a single game world, and all of those players can interact with each other at any given time. Popular MMOGs might have thousands of players online at any given time, usually on a company owned server. Non-MMOGs, such as Battlefield 1942 or Half-Life usually have less than 50 players online (per server) and are usually played on private servers. Also, MMOGs usually do not have any significant mods since the game must work on company servers. There is some debate if a high head-count is the requirement to be a MMOG. Some say that it is the size of the game world and its capability to support a large number of players that should matter. For example, despite technology and content constraints, most MMOGs can fit up to a few thousand players on a single game server at a time.

To support all those players, MMOGs need large-scale game worlds, and servers to connect players to those worlds. Sometimes a game features a universe which is copied onto different servers, separating players, and this is called a "sharded" universe. Other games will feature a single universe which is divided among servers, and requires players to switch. Still others will only use one part of the universe at any time. For example, Tribes (which is not an MMO) comes with a number of large maps, which are played in rotation (one at a time). In contrast, the similar title PlanetSide uses the second model, and allows all map-like areas of the game to be reached via flying, driving, or teleporting.

MMORPGs usually have sharded universes, as they provide the most flexible solution to the server load problem, but not always. For example, the space sim Eve Online uses only one large cluster server peaking at over 32,000 simultaneous players.

There are also a few more common differences between MMOGs and other online games. Most MMOGs charge the player a monthly or bimonthly fee to have access to the game's servers, and therefore to online play. Also, the game state in an MMOG rarely ever resets. This means that a level gained by a player today will still be there tomorrow when the player logs back on. MMOGs often feature ingame support for clans and guilds. The members of a clan or a guild may participate in activities with one another, or show some symbols of membership to the clan or guild.

However, the boundaries between multiplayer online games and MMOGs are not always as clear or obvious. Neverwinter Nights (2002) and Diablo II are usually called online role-playing games, (RPGs) but are also sometimes incorrectly called MMORPGs (a type of MMOG).

Types of MMOGs

There are several types of massively multiplayer online games.

MMORPG

Main article: Massively multiplayer online role-playing game

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games, known as MMORPGs, are the most famous type of MMOG. See list of MMORPGs for a list of notable MMORPGs. Some MMORPGs are designed as a multiplayer browser game in order to reduce infrastructure costs and utilise a thin client that most users will already have installed. The acronym BBMMORPGs has sometimes been used to describe these as browser-based.

Examples: World of Warcraft, Ragnarok Online, Star Wars Galaxies, RuneScape, City of Heroes, Ultima Online, Final Fantasy XI, and Guild Wars.

MMOFPS

Main article: Massively multiplayer online first-person shooter

Several MMO first-person shooters have been made. These games provide large-scale, sometimes team-based combat. The addition of persistence in the game world means that these games add elements typically found in RPGs, such as experience points. The first MMOFPS, 10SIX (now known as Project Visitor) released in 2000. World War II Online, released in 2001, is often quoted with the same honour, because it more closely fits the traditional FPS mold, and was more widely published. Another popular MMOFPS game is Sony Online Entertainment's PlanetSide. For building one's own MMOFPS, there are also now free MMOG game engines.Examples of a MMOFPS are, Soldier Front, Counter-Strike Source and 1.6, and WarRock.

MMORTS

Main article: Massively multiplayer online real-time strategy

Massively multiplayer online real-time strategy, known as MMORTS, are games that combine real-time strategy (RTS) with a large number of simultaneous army commanders in resource competition like StarCraft, Shattered Galaxy and Dreamlords. However, most of these are disputed as they do not include the main requirement to qualify for MMO status, which is one persistent world.

MMODG

MMODG stands for Massively Multiplayer online dance game. This idea was influenced by Dance Dance Revolution.

Examples: DANCE! Online, Super Dancer Online, StepMania Online, O2 Jam and Audition Online.

MMOMG

MMOMGs, or massively multiplayer online manager games, are easy to play and don't take much time. The player logs in few times per week, sets orders for the in-game team and find how to defeat human opponents and their strategies. The most popular MMOMG is Hattrick.

MMOR

Massively multiplayer online racing. Massive online versions of racing games. Currently there's only five racing based MMORs: RaceLands , KongKong Online and Kart Rider and "upshift strikeracer" and "project torque" The Trackmania series comes close to being a MMOR. Although Auto Assault and Darkwind: War on Wheels are more combat based than racing, they are also considered a MMOR. "Test Drive Unlimited" is also considered a MMOR.

MMOTG

Massively multiplayer online tycoon game. Online versions of tycoons games. Mainly all browser based however there are two client based games, Starpeace and Industry Player.

MMOSG

MMOSG may stand for "Massively Multiplayer Online Sports Game" or "Massively Multiplayer Online Strategy Game" or "Massively Multiplayer Online Social Game".

Massively Multiplayer Online Social Games focus on socialization instead of objective-based gameplay. There is a great deal of overlap in terminology with "Online Communities" and "Virtual Worlds".

One example that has garnered widespread media attention is Linden Labs' Second Life, emphasizing socializing, world-building and an in-world virtual economy that depends on the sale and purchase of user-created content. It is technically an MMOSG by definition, though its stated goal was to realize the concept of the Metaverse from Neal Stephenson's novel Snow Crash[citation needed]. Instead of being based around combat, one could say that it was based around the creation of virtual objects, including models and scripts. In practice, it has more in common with Club Caribe than Everquest. It was the first game of its kind to achieve widespread success (including attention from mainstream media); however, it was not the first (as Active Worlds was released in June 1995). Competitors in this relatively new subgenre (non-combat-based MMORPG) would come to include There, Entropia Universe and Dotsoul.The PlayStation HOME coming soon is also another MMOSG of sorts.

Before the RTS games appeared, strategic games, like Empire, were turn-based and offered PBeM modes to compete with others. Nowadays turns can be processed on central (web)servers, allowing massive amounts of players. Unification Wars is a good example which relies heavily on diplomacy and player interaction. Instead of quickly mouse-clicking units into action RTS style, players carefully plan their moves.

MMOVSG

Main article: Massively Multiplayer Online Virtual Sex Game

Massively multiplayer online virtual sex games. The umbrella term MMOVSG summarizes games of the different MMOG subtypes that support simulation of virtual sexual intercourse between player characters. For Example: Sociolotron (MMORPG), Red Light Center (MMOSG). Some of these games even give primacy to sexual aspects..

MMCAP

Massively Multiplayer Collaborative Art Projects are typically browser based. In contrast to traditional MMOGs, MMCAPs place an emphasis on creative collaboration. An example of an MMCAP is TheBroth, a collaborative mosaic art application or DeviantArt.

Real-world simulations

Some MMOGs have been designed to accurately simulate certain aspects of the real world. They tend to be very specific to industries or activities of very large risk and huge potential loss, such as rocket science, airplanes, battle tanks, submarines etc. Gradually as simulation technology is getting more mainstream, so too various simulators arrive into more mundane industries.

The MMOG genre of air traffic simulation is one example, with networks such as VATSIM and IVAO striving to provide rigorously authentic flight-simulation environments to players in both pilot and air traffic controller roles. In this category of MMOGs, the objective is to create duplicates of the real world for people who cannot or do not wish to undertake those experiences in real life. For example, flight simulation via a MMOG requires far less expenditure of time and money, is completely risk-free, and is far less restrictive (fewer regulations to adhere to, no medical exams to pass, and so on).

Another specialist area is mobile telecoms operator (carrier) business where billion-dollar investments in networks are needed but marketshares are won and lost on issues from segmentation to handset subsidies. A specialist simulation was developed by Nokia called Equilibrium/Arbitrage to have over a two day period five teams of top management of one operator/carrier play a "wargame" against each other, under extremely realistic conditions, with one operator an incumbent fixed and mobile network operator, another a new entrant mobile operator, a third a fixed-line/internet operator etc. Each team is measured by outperforming their rivals by market expectations of that type of player. Thus each player has drastically different goals, but within the simulation, any one team can win. Also to ensure maximum intensity, only one team can win. Telecoms senior executives who have taken the Equilibrium/Arbitrage simulation say it is the most intense, and most useful training they have ever experienced. It is typical of business use of simulators, in very senior management training/retraining.

Others

A large amount of games categorize under MMOBBG (very similar to MMOBBRPGs), having the entire game primarily made up of text and descriptions, although images are often used to enhance the game. One of the games that set the precedent for these (many elements can be seen as similar) was Archmage. Another game that would fit under this category is KingsOfChaos.

Most other MMOGs are apparently simulation games, such as Motor City Online, The Sims Online (though this is often called an MMORPG), and Jumpgate.

In April 2004, the United States Army announced that it is developing a massively multiplayer training simulation called AWE (asymmetric warfare environment) that was expected to begin operation among soldiers by June. The purpose of AWE is to train soldiers for urban warfare and there are no plans for a public commercial release. Forterra Systems Inc. is developing it for the Army based on the There engine.

Alternate reality games (ARGs) can be massively multiplayer, allowing thousands of players worldwide to co-operate in puzzle trails and mystery solving. ARGs take place in a unique mixture of online and real-world play that usually does not involve a persistent world, and are not necessarily multiplayer, making them different from MMOGs.

Considered by some to be a MMORPG, Castle Infinity was the first MMOG developed for children. Its gameplay, however, is somewhere between puzzle and adventure, making it more like a massively multiplayer platformer than a MMORPG.

'Quick Fix' MMOGs, such as Racing Frogs are MMOGs that can be played with only a small amount of time every day.

There are also Massively Multiplayer Collectible Card Games: Magic: The Gathering Online, Astral Masters and Astral Tournament, sometime abbreviated MTGO or MODO. Other MMOCCGs might exist (Neopets has some CCG elements) but are not as well known.

Some recent attempts to build peer-to-peer (P2P) MMOGs have been made. 'Outback Online' may be the first commercial one , however, so far most of the efforts have been academic studies . A P2P MMOG may potentially be more scalable and cheaper to build, but notable issues with P2P MMOGs include security and consistency control, which can be difficult to address given that clients are easily hacked.

Massively multiplayer online role-playing game

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Massive(ly) multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a genre of online role-playing video games (RPGs) in which a large number of players interact with one another in a virtual world.

As in all RPGs, players assume the role of a fictional character (most commonly in a fantasy setting) and take control over many of that character's actions. MMORPGs are distinguished from single-player or small multi-player RPGs by the number of players, and by the game's persistent world, usually hosted by the game's publisher, which continues to exist and evolve while the player is away from the game.

MMORPGs are very popular throughout the world, with combined global memberships in subscription and non-subscription games exceeding 15 million as of 2006. Worldwide revenues for MMORPGs exceeded half a billion dollars in 2005, and Western revenues exceeded one billion USD in 2006.

Contents [hide] 1 Common features 1.1 Themes 1.2 Progression 1.3 Social roles 1.4 System architecture 2 History 3 Psychology 4 Economics 5 Development 5.1 Trends as of 2007 5.2 Non-corporate development 6 See also 7 Notes and references 8 External links

Common features

Though MMORPGs have evolved considerably, and modern versions sometimes differ dramatically from their antecedents, many of them share some basic characteristics.

Themes

The majority of MMORPGs are based on traditional fantasy-themed game play, occurring in an in-game universe comparable to that of Dungeons & Dragons. Some employ hybrid themes that either merge or substitute fantasy elements with those of science fiction, sword and sorcery, crime fiction, the occult, or other recognizable literary genres. Often these elements are developed using similar tasks and scenarios involving quests, monsters, and loot.

Progression

In nearly all MMORPGs the development of the player's character is a primary goal. Many titles feature a character progression system in which players earn experience points for their actions and use those points to reach character "levels", which makes them better at whatever they do. Traditionally, combat with monsters and completing quests for NPC's, either alone or in groups, is the primary way to earn experience points. The accumulation of wealth (including combat-useful items) is also a way to progress in many titles, and again, this is traditionally best accomplished via combat. The cycle produced by these conditions, combat leading to new items allowing for more combat with no change in gameplay, is sometimes pejoratively referred to as the level treadmill. The role-playing game Progress Quest was created as a parody of this trend.

Also traditional in the genre is the eventual demand on players to team up with others in order to progress at the optimal rate. This tends to force players to change their real-world schedules in order to "keep up" within the game-world. Though some titles recognize this trend as a problem and provide ways to progress within short, unscheduled periods of time, this is still a widespread criticism of games in the genre.^{[citation needed]}

Social roles

MMORPGs always allow players to communicate with one another. Depending on the other interactions allowed by the game, other social expectations will be present.

Many MMORPGs exploit their players' social skills and offer support for in-game guilds or clans (though these will usually form whether the game supports them or not). As a result many players will find themselves as either a member or a leader of such a group after playing a MMORPG for some time. These organizations will likely have further expectations for their members (such as intra-guild assistance).

Even if players never join a formal group, they are still usually expected to be a part of a small team during game play, and will probably be expected to carry out a specialized role. In combat-based MMORPGs, usual roles include the "tank", a character who absorbs enemy blows and protects other members of the team, the "healer", a character responsible for keeping up the health of the party, the "Damage Dealer," a character suited to inflicting damage, with less ability to resist large amounts of it, and a "nuker," usually a magic user, that has abilities that inflict large amounts of damage, but is the most physically weak compared to its counterparts. Additionally there might be classes dedicated to "buffing", using abilities that help oneself or a team by increasing their attributes or abilities, or "debuffing", using abilities to hinder enemies by lowering their attributes and abilities. Each game might have these roles, additional hybrid roles, or might eliminate them. Some players might enjoy one role over others and continue to play it through many different MMORPG titles.

Some MMORPGs also may expect players to roleplay their characters - that is, to speak and act in the way their character would act, even if it means shying away from other goals such as wealth or experience. Most MMORPG players never actually play the roles of their characters, however, and so this behavior is far from being the norm. Still, MMORPGs may offer "RP-only" servers for those who wish to immerse themselves in the game in this way.

Often titles will also feature Game Moderators or Game Masters (frequently abbreviated to GM), which may be paid employees or unpaid volunteers who attempt to supervise the world. Some GMs may have additional access to features and information related to the game that are not available to other players and roles.

System architecture

Most MMORPGs are deployed using a client-server system architecture. The software that generates and persists the "world" runs continuously on a server, and players connect to it via client software. The client software may provide access to the entire playing world, or further 'expansions' may be required to be purchased to allow access to certain areas of the game, Everquest and World of Warcraft are two examples of games that use such a format. Players generally must purchase the client software for a one-time fee, although an increasing trend is for MMORPGs to work using pre-existing "thin" clients, such as a web browser. A notable example is Runescape, which players connect to via a browser, allowing access to the game independent of platform and location.

Some MMORPGs require payment of a monthly subscription to play. By nature, "massively multiplayer" games are always online, and most require some sort of continuous revenue (such as monthly subscriptions and advertisements) for maintenance and development. Games that feature massively-multiplayer functionality, but do not include roleplaying elements, are referred to as MMOGs.

Depending on the number of players and the system architecture, a MMORPG might actually be run on multiple separate servers, each representing an independent world, where players from one server cannot interact with those from another.

History

Main article: History of massively multiplayer online role-playing games

MMORPGs, as defined today, have only existed since the early 1990s. Still, all MMORPGs can trace a lineage back to the earliest multi-user games which started appearing in the late 1970s. The first of these was Mazewar, though more would soon be developed for the PLATO system. 1984 saw a Roguelike (semi-graphical) multi-user game, called Islands of Kesmai. The first "truly" graphical multi-user RPG was Neverwinter Nights, which was delivered through America Online in 1991 and was personally championed by AOL President Steve Case.

When NSFNET restrictions were lifted in 1995, the internet was opened up to developers, and this allowed for the first really "massive" titles. The first success after this point was Meridian 59, which also featured first-person 3D graphics, although The Realm Online appeared nearly simultaneously and may be credited with bringing the genre to a wider player-base. Ultima Online, released in 1997, may be credited with first popularizing the genre, though Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds was primarily responsible for mainstream attention throughout Asia and it was EverQuest that brought MMORPGs to the mainstream in the West.

These early titles' financial success has ensured competition in the genre since that time. MMORPG titles now exist on consoles and in new settings, and their players enjoy higher-quality gameplay. The current market for MMORPGs has Blizzard's World of Warcraft dominating as the largest pay-to-play MMORPG, though an additional market exists for free-to-play MMORPGs, which are supported by advertising and purchases of in-game items. One major exception is Guild Wars, which only requires the initial purchase of the game and mandates no further payment. There are a few other games of this nature but Guild Wars is by far the dominant title in this sub-category with it being the only real competitor to World of Warcraft in the West.

Psychology

Since the interactions between MMORPG players are real, even if the environments are not, psychologists and sociologists are able to use MMORPGs as tools for academic research. Sherry Turkle, a clinical psychologist, has conducted interviews with computer users including game-players. Turkle found that many people have expanded their emotional range by exploring the many different roles (including gender identities) that MMORPGs allow a person to explore.

Nick Yee has surveyed more than 35,000 MMORPG players over the past few years, focusing on psychological and sociological aspects of these games. Recent findings included that 15% of players become a guild-leader at one time or another, but most generally find the job tough and thankless; and that players spend a considerable amount of time (often a third of their total time investment) doing things that are directly-related to, but outside of, the game itself.

Many players report that the emotions they feel while playing an MMORPG are very strong, to the extent that 8.7% of male and 23.2% of female players in a statistical study have had an online wedding. Other researchers have found that the enjoyment of a game is directly related to the social organization of a game, ranging from brief encounters between players to highly organized play in structured groups.

Richard Bartle has classified multiplayer RPG-players into four primary psychological groups. His classifications were then expanded upon by Erwin Andreasen, who developed the concept into the thirty-question Bartle Test that helps players determine which category they are associated with. With over 200,000 test responses as of 2006, this is perhaps the largest ongoing survey of multiplayer game players.

Economics

See also: Virtual economy

Many MMORPGs feature living economies, as virtual items and currency have to be gained through play and have definite value for players. Such a virtual economy can be analyzed (using data logged by the game) and has value in economic research; more significantly, these "virtual" economies can have an impact on the economies of the real world.

One of the early researchers of MMORPGs was Edward Castronova, who demonstrated that a supply-and-demand market exists for virtual items and that it crosses over with the real world. This crossover has some requirements of the game:

• The ability for players to sell an item to each other for in-game (virtual) currency.
• Bartering for items between players for items of similar value.
• The purchase of in-game items for real-world currency.
• Exchanges of real-world currencies for virtual currencies.

The idea of attaching real-world value to "virtual" items has had a profound effect on players and the game industry, and even the courts. Castronova's first study in 2002 found that a highly liquid (if illegal) currency market existed, with the value of Everquest's in-game currency exceeding that of the Japanese yen. Some people even make a living by working these virtual economies; these people are often referred to as gold farmers, and may be employed in game sweatshops.

Game publishers usually prohibit the exchange of real-world money for virtual goods. However, a number of products actively promote the idea of linking (and directly profiting from) an exchange. Some players of Second Life have generated revenues in excess of $100,000. However, in the case of Entropia Universe, the virtual economy and the real-world economy are directly linked. This means that real money can be deposited for game money and vice versa. Real-world items have also been sold for game money in Entropia.

Some of the issues confronting online economies include:

• The use of "bots" or automated programs, that assist some players in accumulating in-game wealth to the disadvantage of other players.
• The use of unsanctioned auction sites, which has led publishers to seek legal remedies to prevent their use based on intellectual-property claims.
• The emergence of virtual crime, which can take the form of both fraud against the player or publisher of an online game, and even real-life acts of violence stemming from in-game transactions.

Linking real-world and virtual economies is rare in MMORPGs, as it is generally believed to be detrimental to gameplay. If real-world wealth can be used to obtain greater, more immediate rewards than skilful gameplay, the incentive for strategic roleplay and real game involvement is diminished. It could also easily lead to a skewed hierarchy where richer players gain better items, allowing them to take on stronger opponents and level up more quickly than less wealthy but more committed players.^{[citation needed]}

Development

In general, the cost of developing a competitive commercial MMORPG title often exceeds ten million dollars. These projects require multiple disciplines within game design and development: 3D modeling, 2D art, animation, user interfaces, client/server engineering, database architecture and network infrastructure.

The front-end (or client) component of a commercial, modern MMORPG features 3D graphics. As with other modern 3D games, the front-end requires expertise with implementing 3D engines, real-time shader techniques and physics simulation. The actual visual content (areas, creatures, characters, weapons, spaceships and so forth) is developed by artists who typically begin with two-dimensional concept art, and later convert these concepts into animated 3D scenes, models and texture maps.

Developing an MMOG server requires expertise with client/server architecture, network protocols, security and relational database design. MMORPGs include reliable systems for a number of vital tasks. The server must be able to handle and verify a large number of connections; prevent cheating; and apply changes (bug fixes or added content) to the game. A system for recording the game's data at regular intervals, without stopping the game, is also important.

Maintenance requires sufficient servers and bandwidth, and a dedicated support staff. Insufficient resources for maintenance lead to lag and frustration for the players, and can severely damage the reputation of a game, especially at launch. Care must also be taken to ensure that player population remains at an acceptable level by adding or removing servers ("shards"). Peer-to-peer MMORPGs could theoretically work cheaply and efficiently in regulating server load, but practical issues such as asymmetrical network bandwidth and CPU-hungry rendering engines make them a difficult proposition. Additionally, they would probably become vulnerable to other problems including new possibilities for cheating. The hosted infrastructure for a commercial-grade MMORPG requires the deployment of hundreds (or even thousands) of servers. Developing an affordable infrastructure for an online game requires developers to scale to large numbers of players with less hardware and network investment.

In addition, the team will need to have expertise with the fundamentals of game design: world-building, lore and game mechanics, as well as what makes games fun.

Trends as of 2007

As there are a number of wildly different titles within the genre, and since the genre develops so rapidly, it is difficult to definitively state that the genre is heading in one direction or another. Still, there are a few obvious developments. One of these developments is the raid group quest, or "raid", which is an adventure designed for large groups of players (often twenty or more).

Another is the use of instance dungeons. These are game areas that are "copied" for individual groups, which keeps that group separated from the rest of the game world. This reduces competition, and also has the effect of reducing the amount of data that needs to be sent to and from the server, which reduces lag. World of Warcraft's "raids", mentioned above, are often instance dungeons, as are all of the combat areas in Guild Wars.

Increased amounts of "Player-created content" may be another trend. From the beginning the Ultima Online world included blank 30-page books that players could write in, collect into personal libraries and trade; in later years players have been able to design and build houses from the ground up. Some non-combat-based MMORPGs rely heavily on player-created content, including everything from simple animations to complete buildings using player-created textures and architecture like A Tale in the Desert. However, these games are very different from the far more popular "standard" MMORPGs revolving around combat and limited character trade skills. Player-created content in these games would be in the form of areas to explore, monsters to kill, quests to carry out and specific in-game items to obtain. The Saga of Ryzom was the first of these "standard" MMORPGs to offer players the ability to create this type of content. Again, whether or not this becomes mainstream is anyone's guess.

The use of licenses, common in other video game genres, has also appeared in MMORPGs. 2007 saw the release of The Lord of the Rings Online, based on J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. Other licensed MMORPGs include The Matrix Online, based on the Matrix trilogy of films, and Star Wars Galaxies. Additionally, several licenses from television have been optioned for MMORPGs, for example Stargate Worlds, which is currently in development. The process is also apparently being applied in reverse, with James Cameron designing a MMORPG that will precede a film (Project 880) it is tied to.

The introduction of free trials, making titles into shareware, has also become more common, as developers expect that players will become "hooked" by their worlds and begin to pay for them. World of Warcraft and EVE Online have both incorporated short free-play periods with the creation of game accounts, while others, like Anarchy Online, RuneScape and Rappelz have unlimited free-to-play periods, though with caveats; these titles may display in-game advertisements to non-paying customers, or restrict some content.

Another trend that has shown great presence in MMORPGs is "player-driven" gameplay. Player-driven gameplay relies on the players themselves for events and wars, instead of having these things come from non-player characters (NPCs). Although all MMORPGs try to maximize player interactions, as it provides immersion, some take the concept to an extreme. One example is Shadowbane, which provides neither quests nor dungeons, and instead has players enlisting each other to control land, properties, provinces, and nations.

Non-corporate development

Though the vast majority of MMORPGs are produced by companies, many small teams of programmers and artists have attempted to contribute to the genre. As shown above, the average MMORPG development project requires enormous investments of time and money, and running the game can be a long-term commitment. As a result, non-corporate (or independent, or "indie") development of MMORPGs is less common compared with other genres. Still, many independent MMORPGs do exist, representing a wide spectrum of genres, gameplay types, and revenue systems.

Some independent MMORPG projects are completely open source,while others like PlaneShift feature proprietary content made with an open-source game engine. The developers of Endless Online have also released development information with details about their coding.

The WorldForge project has been active since 1998 and formed a community of independent developers who are working on creating framework for a number of open-source MMORPGs. The Multiverse Network is also creating a network and platform specifically for independent MMOG developers.

See also

• History of MMORPGs
• List of MMORPGs
• List of free MMOGs
• List of text-based MMORPGs
• Comparison of MMORPGs
• MMORPG terms and acronyms
• MMOFPS
• MMORTS
• Computer addiction
• Private server
• Exploit (online gaming)

Notes and references