Massively multiplayer online role-playing game or MMORPG is a genre of role-playing game in which multiple players interact simultaneously in a virtual game world through the internet. As in all role-playing games (RPGs), the players take up the role of a character usually in a fictional setting and gain control over all its actions.
What sets MMORPG from its RPG predecessor is the huge number of players it can support all at once. For example, World of Warcraft, the Guinness World Record holder for most subscribed MMORPG, has 11.4 million subscribers as of March 2011. Thanks to the advancements in game design and development, particularly in creating sufficient servers, it becomes possible for MMORPG to gather millions of gamers together online at the same time.
There is also the notable presence of MMORPG’s persistent world, in which the virtual world continues to exist even after the player has exited the game. Most of the in-game universe is based on traditional fantasy, like Dungeons and Dragons. Others draw their themes from science fiction, crime fiction, sword and sorcery, the occult and comic books.
Whatever the themes may be, MMORPGs involve the creation and development of player characters. These player characters, sometimes called avatars, can interact with one another in-game and with non-player characters (NPCs) that are controlled by the computer and game host. Avatars are chosen according to the player’s class preference, be it a warrior, mage, rogue or healer. The different classes possess different strengths and weaknesses, as do different skills, which are used to combat monsters in order to gain experience points for character level progression. Apart from killing monsters, finishing quests for NPCs can also gain huge experience points. For every level gained, player characters can be enhanced by adding points to skills, attributes and special abilities. Further enhancement in character development can be achieved by changing equipped clothing, weapons and jewelry.
MMORPGs are also highly social worlds. It is common for players to band together to form guilds- otherwise known as clans or crews. The guild can help its low-level playing members, can go on guild quests and can even wage war with other groups in a guild war. Apart from guild wars, the players can also combat each other in a player-versus-player (PVP) combat usually held in a specific arena or battleground. Socialization can be achieved through chat channels which can be dedicated to the whole world, amongst guild members and between two players on a private chat.
Other known elements of MMORPG are buffing which enhances and strengthens player’s skills for a specific period and nerfing which weakens it. Popular terms used in in-game chats are aggro which refers to nearby monsters that would attack players aggressively and noob, which refers to someone new in the game and is often used as a mockery. Furthermore, all MMORPG players would attest to the “grinding” experience or the repetitive killing of AI-controlled monsters on a prolonged duration in the game in order to advance.
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