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| '''Massive(ly) multiplayer online role-playing games''' or '''MMORPG'''s, are virtual persistent worlds located on the ] in which players interact with each other through cybernetic ]s, that is, graphical representations of the characters they play. | |||
| MMORPGs are ] that trace their roots to non-graphical online ] games, to text-based computer games such as ] and ], and to pen and paper ]s like ]. | |||
| Some of the most popular MMORPGs are ] (]), ] (]), ] (1999), and ] (2001). Of all MMORPGs, ] has the most subscribers and is the most popular in ]. These commercial MMORPGs generally require a monthly fee to play. There are also several projects in development to create a free MMORPG, such as ], or a free ] for MMORPGs, such as Arianne. | |||
| MMORPGs have begun to attract significant academic attention, for example in ]. | |||
| == Genre Challenges == | |||
| MMORPG developers face many challenges: | |||
| * It is impossible for one player to realistically affect the overall state of the world. In a normal RPG, the player or party is the hero and singlehandedly saves the world. In an MMORPG, every player can't save the world. | |||
| * ]. In many MMORPGs, the economy becomes imbalanced. | |||
| * ]s. In many MMORPGs, you can set up scripts to play the game, performing the same task over and over again, and reap a huge rewards. This lets you build up a powerful character just by letting your computer run unattended. | |||
| * ] (PKing). In order for a world to be realistic, players should be able to kill anything, even other players. However, this is very discouraging to new players, who are slaughtered by experienced player killers. | |||
| * Time Commitment. A character's power represents how much time is invested in playing, rather than skill. This is discouraging for casual players, who are interested in 1-3 hours a week without dedicated their entire life to the game. This also leads to the problem that powerful characters and items are sold on ]. | |||
| * Rude Players. There also is a problem of rudeness by other players. Some MMORPGs discipline nasty players. | |||
| == External Links == | |||
| *http://www.stratics.com/ (Stratics, massively multiplayer news and information) | |||
| *http://rpgvault.ign.com/ (RPG Vault, MMORPG news and information) | |||