Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
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A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game.
As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a
MMORPGs are played throughout the world. Global revenues for MMORPGs exceeded half a billion dollars in 2005,[1] and the western world's revenues exceeded a billion dollars in 2006.[2] In 2008, the spending on subscription MMORPGs by consumers in North America and Europe grew to $1.4 billion.[3] World of Warcraft, a popular MMORPG, had over 10 million subscribers as of November 2014.[4] World of Warcraft's total revenue was $1.04 billion US dollars in 2014.[5] Star Wars: The Old Republic, released in 2011, became the world's "fastest-growing subscription MMO in history" after gaining more than 1 million players within the first three days of its launch.[6][7]
Common features
Although modern MMORPGs sometimes differ dramatically from their predecessors, many of them share the same basic characteristics. These include several common features:
- persistent game environment
- some form of level progression
- social interaction within the game
- in-game culture
- membership in a group
- character customization.
Themes
The majority of popular MMORPGs are based on traditional
Progression
In nearly all MMORPGs, the development of the
In some MMORPGs, there is no limit to a player's level, allowing the grinding experience to continue indefinitely. MMORPGs that use this model often glorify top ranked players by displaying their avatars on the game's website or posting their stats on a high score screen. Another common practice is to enforce a maximum reachable level for all players, often referred to as a level cap. Once reached, the definition of a player's progression changes. Instead of being awarded primarily with experience for completing quests and dungeons, the player's motivation to continue playing will be replaced with collecting money and equipment.
Often, the widened range of equipment available at the maximum level will have increased aesthetic value to distinguish high ranking players in game between lower ranked players. Colloquially known as endgame gear, this set of empowered weapons and armor adds a competitive edge to both scripted boss encounters as well as player vs player combat. Player motivation to outperform others is fueled by acquiring such items and is a significant determining factor in their success or failure in combat-related situations.
Social interaction
MMORPGs almost always have tools to facilitate communication between players. Many MMORPGs offer support for in-game
In addition, most MMOGs require some degree of teamwork in parts of the game. These tasks usually require players to take on roles in the group, such as protecting other players from damage (called tanking), "healing" damage done to other players or damaging enemies.
MMORPGs generally have Game Moderators or
Relationships formed in MMORPGs can often be just as intense as relationships formed between friends or partners met outside the game, and often involve elements of collaboration and trust between players.[10]
Roleplaying
Most MMORPGs provide different types of classes that players can choose. Among those classes, a small portion of players choose to
For example, if a player wants to play a priest role in his MMORPG world, that player might buy a cope from a shop and learn priestly skills, proceeding to speak, act, and interact with others as their character would. This may or may not include pursuing other goals such as wealth or experience. Guilds or similar groups with a focus on roleplaying may develop extended in-depth narratives using the setting and resources similar to those in the game world.[11]
Culture
Over time, the MMORPG community has developed a sub-culture with its own slang and metaphors, as well as an unwritten list of social rules and taboos. Players will often complain about 'grind' (a slang term for any repetitive, time-consuming activity in an MMORPG), or talk about 'buffs' and 'nerfs' (respectively an upgrade or downgrade of a particular game mechanic).
As with all such cultures, social rules exist for such things as invitations to join an adventuring party, the proper division of treasure, and how a player is expected to behave while grouped with other players.[11]
System architecture
Most MMORPGs are deployed using a
Depending on the number of players and the system architecture, an MMORPG might be run on multiple separate servers, each representing an independent world, where players from one server cannot interact with those from another; World of Warcraft is a prominent example, with each separate server housing several thousand players. In many MMORPGs the number of players in one world is often limited to around a few thousand, but a notable example of the opposite is
Business models
MMORPGs today use a wide range of business models, from free of charge, free with
- Free-to-play (F2P) means that there is no cost to purchase the software and there is no subscription charge. Variably applies to traditionally bought and forever available games (see Buy-to-play below). Most newer MMOs that fall under this category now includes microtransactions however, which causes them to overlap with the Freemium model.
- portmanteauof free-to-play and premium) means that the majority or all of the game's content is available for free but players can pay for extra content, character customization, added perks or faster advancement into the game via microtransactions. Freemium thus overlaps with both the free-to-play and pay-to-play models.
- Buy-to-play (B2P) means that the MMO can only be played by purchasing the game, but there is no subsequent subscription fee for playing the game. These games may or may not include additional microtransactions, or may sell additional content in the form of expansions instead of asking for an ongoing subscription fee.
- Pay-to-play (P2P) means that the MMO requires a monthly subscription fee or other ongoing fee in order to continue playing the game. It may also require an up-front purchase of the game in addition to the monthly subscription fee, though many of these up-front purchases include a month of game time. This was once the most common way for MMOs to finance themselves, but has fallen out of favor in recent years as an increasing number of games have switched to other business models due to difficulty in retaining a stable playerbase.
History
MMORPG is a term coined by
The financial success of these early titles has ensured competition in the genre since that time. MMORPG titles now exist on
Development
The cost of developing a competitive commercial MMORPG title often exceeded $10 million in 2003.[22] These projects require multiple disciplines within game design and development such as 3D modeling, 2D art, animation, user interfaces, client/server engineering, database architecture, and network infrastructure.[23]
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
Developing an MMOG server requires expertise with client/server architecture, network protocols, security, and 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 games data at regular intervals, without stopping the game, is also important.[25]
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. Peer-to-peer MMORPGs could theoretically work cheaply and efficiently in regulating server load, but practical issues such as asymmetrical network bandwidth, CPU-hungry rendering engines, unreliability of individual nodes, and inherent lack of security (opening fertile new grounds for cheating) can make them a difficult proposition. 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 large numbers of players with less hardware and network investment.[26]
In addition, the development team will need to have expertise with the fundamentals of game design: world-building, lore and game mechanics,[27] as well as what makes games fun.[28]
Non-corporate development
Though the vast majority of MMORPGs are produced by companies, many small teams of programmers and artists have contributed 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 "
Some independent MMORPG projects are completely open source, while others feature proprietary content made with an open-source game engine. 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 Foundation has also created a platform specifically for independent MMOG developers.[31]
Trends
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
Instance dungeons
.Player-created content
Increased amounts of "player-created content" is another trend.[33]
Use of licenses
The use of
Additionally, several licenses from television have been optioned for MMORPGs, for example Star Trek Online and Stargate Worlds (which was later canceled).
Console-based MMORPGs
The first console-based MMORPG was
Browser-based MMORPGs
With the popularization of Facebook and microtransactions came a wave of Flash and HTML5 based MMORPGs that use the free to play model. They require no download outside of a browser and usually have heavily integrated social media sharing features.
Smartphone-based MMORPGs
. The games are enhanced by location and distance based tracking, bench marking goals or facilitating trade between players.In society and culture
Psychological effects
This section may contain information not important or relevant to the article's subject. (April 2014) |
Since the interactions between MMORPG players are real, even if the environments are virtual,
Nick Yee has surveyed more than 35,000 MMORPG players over the past several 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;[37] and that players spend a considerable amount of time (often a third of their total time investment) doing things that are external to gameplay but part of the metagame.[38]
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.[39] 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.[40]
In a study by Zaheer Hussain and Mark D. Griffiths, it was found that just over one in five gamers (21%) said they preferred socializing online to offline. Significantly more male gamers than female gamers said that they found it easier to converse online than offline. It was also found that 57% of gamers had created a character of the opposite gender, and it is suggested that the online female persona has a number of positive social attributes.[41]
A German fMRT-study conducted by researchers of the Central Institute of Mental Health points towards impairments in social, emotional and physical aspects of the self-concept and a higher degree in avatar identification in addicted MMORPG players, compared to non-addicted and naive (nonexperienced) people.[42] These findings generally support Davis' cognitive behavioral model of Internet addiction, which postulates that dysfunctional self-related cognitions represent central factors contributing towards the development and maintenance of MMORPG addiction.[43] The high degree of avatar identification found by Leménager et al. in the addicted group of this study indicates that MMORPG playing may represent an attempt to compensate for impairments in self-concept. Psychotherapeutic interventions should therefore focus on the development of coping strategies for real-life situations in which addicted players tend to experience themselves as incompetent and inferior.[42]
There have been numerous discussions and evaluations by various scholarly institutions regarding the long-term effects of video game overuse. Many news agencies have criticized video games as promoting violent tendencies in its player base and encouraging anti-social behaviors. Ultimately this culminated in the World Health Organization classifying the overuse of video games as "Technological Addiction" in May 2019.[47]
Disease research
In World of Warcraft, a temporary design glitch attracted the attention of psychologists and epidemiologists across North America, when the "Corrupted Blood" disease of a monster began to spread unintentionally—and uncontrollably—into the wider game world. The Centers for Disease Control intended to use the incident as a research model to chart both the progression of a disease, and the potential human response to large-scale epidemic infection. However, due to Blizzard Entertainment's failure to keep statistical records of the event, the 2005 Corrupted Blood Outbreak ultimately failed to produce any results. Nevertheless, the CDC has continued to express interest in the use of MMORPGs for disease research.[48][49]
Education
It has been suggested by Springer University in Germany that MMORPGs encourage and provide opportunities to study and improve in economic theory by providing a controlled environment for the natural development of economic practices between players of including professions, trade, and services.[50]
Research has shown that for the positive learner, game-based interaction could reduce inhibition as well as enhance the enjoyment and motivation of second language learning, but appears to be more suitable for learners of intermediate and higher levels of proficiency than language beginners.[51]
Therapeutic applications
The Division of Autism and developmental disabilities published a significant report detailing the value of MMORPGs for the treatment of individuals with
Economics
Many MMORPGs feature living economies. Virtual items and currency have to be gained through play and have definite value for players.[53] Such a virtual economy can be analyzed (using data logged by the game)[53] and has value in economic research. More significantly, these "virtual" economies can affect 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.[54] 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 invention of user-created meta-currencies such as Dragon kill points to distribute in-game rewards.[55]
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.
Game publishers usually prohibit the exchange of real-world money for virtual goods, but others actively promote the idea of linking (and directly profiting from) an exchange. In Second Life and 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, and some players of Second Life have generated revenues in excess of $100,000.[60]
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.[61]
- The use of unsanctioned auction sites, which has led publishers to seek legal remedies to prevent their use based on intellectual-property claims.[62]
- 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.[63]
Linking real-world and virtual economies was rare in MMORPGs as of 2008, as it is generally believed to be detrimental to gameplay. If real-world wealth can be used to obtain greater, more immediate rewards than skillful 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.[64]
See also
References
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[pp. 474] experience points A point value that is accumulated by gameplay activity such as leveling and is used as a measure of a character's power. Popularized by the classic dice version of TSR's Advanced Dungeons & Dragons back in the 1970s and carried over to online gaming by designers. [pp. 477] level A rank or rating of a character's power. [...] leveling Activity in-game devoted to increasing a character's experience, level, and/or skills. Leveling usually consists of killing mobs.
- ^ Nicholas, Munn J. "The Reality of Friendship Within Immersive Virtual Worlds." Springer Science+Business Media (2011): 1-10. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.
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Further reading
- Jøn, A. Asbjørn (2010). "The Development of MMORPG Culture and The Guild". Australian Folklore: A Yearly Journal of Folklore Studies. 25: 97–112.
- Dyer-Witheford, Nick; de Peuter, Greig (2009). Games of empire: Global capitalism and video games. University of Minnesota Press.
- Jenkins, Henry (2004). "Game Design as Narrative Architecture". First Person: New Media as Story, Performance, and Game. MIT Press: 118–30.
- Tekinbaş, Katie Salen; Zimmerman, Eric (2006). The game design reader: a Rules of play anthology. MIT Press.