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First, definitions;
MPOG - MultiPlayer Online Game
MMPORPG - Massively MultiPlayer Online Role Playing Game
pretty much the same thing, unless you want to get into a semantic argument about it. But for those that do not know (and how you could not know is a mystery to me, but i'm being thorough), these games are the type that are played over the internet, and in most cases are designed specifically to be played exclusively that way. Ultima Online, and that Camelot game are good examples. Also, there are the browser based games; Planetarion and Unity Wars, Alien Adoption Agency, and even Lycos' Fight Club.
So, we should have a pretty good idea of what is available in this new market. In most cases, the games are of a somewhat inferior quality to the sort of game that you can generally expect from an offline game. The reasons for this difference in quality are obvious - limitations in internet connections and limitations on game servers.
However, despite the reduced quality of these games, they still pull in the punters. Planetarion, a browser based game that you have to PAY for, rakes in 25,000 players per round, plus special "speed rounds" and the current "Planetarion World Cup". Ultima OL and it's ilk generally pull in far more than those numbers again. Why? Why do people pay to play games that are inferior? The answer is simple. The opposition. MPOG's offer the internet gamer something nothing else can match. A huge pool of intelligent opposition. Not as intelligent as their programmers could make them, with set routines and some "nifty" AI learning ability. But scores of individuals, thinking, learning, decieving, teaming and all acting in their own unique way. The MPOGs allow people to against their fellow man, interactive with them, meet them, and ultimately, prove themselves against them.
You play an offline game, and, over time, you win. Great. "pld". the joy ends there. But MPOGs are the school playground of the gaming world. No matter how good you think you are, there is always someone better - and you're going to find him and do everything you can to beat him.
This holds true in offline PC events or "LAN" events such as i10 or whatever. People come together at what is often quite a cost to themselves for the opportunity to pit themselves against other sentient opponents.
But as more and more people choose to go online via a broadband connection, and as technology continues to advance almost geometrically, the gap in quality between MPOGs and 'ordinary' offline games will inevitably thin, and may eventually close. What can we expect then? in 5-10 years, what will the internet look like for the gaming community?
For the browser based games, is it feasible that a move away from simple text interaction can be made? A shockwave version of Planetarion perhaps, more graphical interfaces and something that possibly even resembles an ordinary game? They've said it can't really be done, but it's only a matter of technology. I recall the days when RPGs were entirely text based, the possibility of making them with 3d characters and 3rd edition AD&D rules colourful, interactive landscapes and characters etc was simply unthinkable.
And if they can do that to a browser based game, what then, can they do to an ordinary online game? The possibilities are almost mindboggling. Certainly, more depth can be added to these games, more complexity.
But what are the repurcussions? Already, with what we have, these games can be extremely addictive (i'll point out the 15 months I've been away from here playing planetarion); the need to compete with your peers is inherrent in all mankind. The more readilly available this opportunity is, and the greater the experience it can be moulded to be, do we not run the risk of making it too good? too addictive? and if we do, who do we blame? The game producers? Surely not, they're just trying to make a living. Our internet providers? no. Ourselves then? Possibly, but can we blame ourselves for our competitive instincts? Our wants and needs to prove ourselves against others are what will make the future of MPOGs a lucrative business, but it could also possibly make our own futures lose quality at a similar rate that the MPOGs increase quality.
The future is coming. Be wary. Be ready. Be afraid.
IB
MPOG - MultiPlayer Online Game
MMPORPG - Massively MultiPlayer Online Role Playing Game
pretty much the same thing, unless you want to get into a semantic argument about it. But for those that do not know (and how you could not know is a mystery to me, but i'm being thorough), these games are the type that are played over the internet, and in most cases are designed specifically to be played exclusively that way. Ultima Online, and that Camelot game are good examples. Also, there are the browser based games; Planetarion and Unity Wars, Alien Adoption Agency, and even Lycos' Fight Club.
So, we should have a pretty good idea of what is available in this new market. In most cases, the games are of a somewhat inferior quality to the sort of game that you can generally expect from an offline game. The reasons for this difference in quality are obvious - limitations in internet connections and limitations on game servers.
However, despite the reduced quality of these games, they still pull in the punters. Planetarion, a browser based game that you have to PAY for, rakes in 25,000 players per round, plus special "speed rounds" and the current "Planetarion World Cup". Ultima OL and it's ilk generally pull in far more than those numbers again. Why? Why do people pay to play games that are inferior? The answer is simple. The opposition. MPOG's offer the internet gamer something nothing else can match. A huge pool of intelligent opposition. Not as intelligent as their programmers could make them, with set routines and some "nifty" AI learning ability. But scores of individuals, thinking, learning, decieving, teaming and all acting in their own unique way. The MPOGs allow people to against their fellow man, interactive with them, meet them, and ultimately, prove themselves against them.
You play an offline game, and, over time, you win. Great. "pld". the joy ends there. But MPOGs are the school playground of the gaming world. No matter how good you think you are, there is always someone better - and you're going to find him and do everything you can to beat him.
This holds true in offline PC events or "LAN" events such as i10 or whatever. People come together at what is often quite a cost to themselves for the opportunity to pit themselves against other sentient opponents.
But as more and more people choose to go online via a broadband connection, and as technology continues to advance almost geometrically, the gap in quality between MPOGs and 'ordinary' offline games will inevitably thin, and may eventually close. What can we expect then? in 5-10 years, what will the internet look like for the gaming community?
For the browser based games, is it feasible that a move away from simple text interaction can be made? A shockwave version of Planetarion perhaps, more graphical interfaces and something that possibly even resembles an ordinary game? They've said it can't really be done, but it's only a matter of technology. I recall the days when RPGs were entirely text based, the possibility of making them with 3d characters and 3rd edition AD&D rules colourful, interactive landscapes and characters etc was simply unthinkable.
And if they can do that to a browser based game, what then, can they do to an ordinary online game? The possibilities are almost mindboggling. Certainly, more depth can be added to these games, more complexity.
But what are the repurcussions? Already, with what we have, these games can be extremely addictive (i'll point out the 15 months I've been away from here playing planetarion); the need to compete with your peers is inherrent in all mankind. The more readilly available this opportunity is, and the greater the experience it can be moulded to be, do we not run the risk of making it too good? too addictive? and if we do, who do we blame? The game producers? Surely not, they're just trying to make a living. Our internet providers? no. Ourselves then? Possibly, but can we blame ourselves for our competitive instincts? Our wants and needs to prove ourselves against others are what will make the future of MPOGs a lucrative business, but it could also possibly make our own futures lose quality at a similar rate that the MPOGs increase quality.
The future is coming. Be wary. Be ready. Be afraid.
IB
Semajal wrote:
> planetarion USED to take 150,000 people per round but now its pay
> there arn't many left.
it's not free anymore though is it?
The fact that anyone pays the price for that game at all is testament to the addictiveness of the game. The fact that 25,000 people play is just incredible.
> planetarion USED to take 150,000 people per round but now its pay
> there arn't many left.
it's not free anymore though is it?
The fact that anyone pays the price for that game at all is testament to the addictiveness of the game. The fact that 25,000 people play is just incredible.
planetarion USED to take 150,000 people per round but now its pay there arn't many left.
First, definitions;
MPOG - MultiPlayer Online Game
MMPORPG - Massively MultiPlayer Online Role Playing Game
pretty much the same thing, unless you want to get into a semantic argument about it. But for those that do not know (and how you could not know is a mystery to me, but i'm being thorough), these games are the type that are played over the internet, and in most cases are designed specifically to be played exclusively that way. Ultima Online, and that Camelot game are good examples. Also, there are the browser based games; Planetarion and Unity Wars, Alien Adoption Agency, and even Lycos' Fight Club.
So, we should have a pretty good idea of what is available in this new market. In most cases, the games are of a somewhat inferior quality to the sort of game that you can generally expect from an offline game. The reasons for this difference in quality are obvious - limitations in internet connections and limitations on game servers.
However, despite the reduced quality of these games, they still pull in the punters. Planetarion, a browser based game that you have to PAY for, rakes in 25,000 players per round, plus special "speed rounds" and the current "Planetarion World Cup". Ultima OL and it's ilk generally pull in far more than those numbers again. Why? Why do people pay to play games that are inferior? The answer is simple. The opposition. MPOG's offer the internet gamer something nothing else can match. A huge pool of intelligent opposition. Not as intelligent as their programmers could make them, with set routines and some "nifty" AI learning ability. But scores of individuals, thinking, learning, decieving, teaming and all acting in their own unique way. The MPOGs allow people to against their fellow man, interactive with them, meet them, and ultimately, prove themselves against them.
You play an offline game, and, over time, you win. Great. "pld". the joy ends there. But MPOGs are the school playground of the gaming world. No matter how good you think you are, there is always someone better - and you're going to find him and do everything you can to beat him.
This holds true in offline PC events or "LAN" events such as i10 or whatever. People come together at what is often quite a cost to themselves for the opportunity to pit themselves against other sentient opponents.
But as more and more people choose to go online via a broadband connection, and as technology continues to advance almost geometrically, the gap in quality between MPOGs and 'ordinary' offline games will inevitably thin, and may eventually close. What can we expect then? in 5-10 years, what will the internet look like for the gaming community?
For the browser based games, is it feasible that a move away from simple text interaction can be made? A shockwave version of Planetarion perhaps, more graphical interfaces and something that possibly even resembles an ordinary game? They've said it can't really be done, but it's only a matter of technology. I recall the days when RPGs were entirely text based, the possibility of making them with 3d characters and 3rd edition AD&D rules colourful, interactive landscapes and characters etc was simply unthinkable.
And if they can do that to a browser based game, what then, can they do to an ordinary online game? The possibilities are almost mindboggling. Certainly, more depth can be added to these games, more complexity.
But what are the repurcussions? Already, with what we have, these games can be extremely addictive (i'll point out the 15 months I've been away from here playing planetarion); the need to compete with your peers is inherrent in all mankind. The more readilly available this opportunity is, and the greater the experience it can be moulded to be, do we not run the risk of making it too good? too addictive? and if we do, who do we blame? The game producers? Surely not, they're just trying to make a living. Our internet providers? no. Ourselves then? Possibly, but can we blame ourselves for our competitive instincts? Our wants and needs to prove ourselves against others are what will make the future of MPOGs a lucrative business, but it could also possibly make our own futures lose quality at a similar rate that the MPOGs increase quality.
The future is coming. Be wary. Be ready. Be afraid.
IB
MPOG - MultiPlayer Online Game
MMPORPG - Massively MultiPlayer Online Role Playing Game
pretty much the same thing, unless you want to get into a semantic argument about it. But for those that do not know (and how you could not know is a mystery to me, but i'm being thorough), these games are the type that are played over the internet, and in most cases are designed specifically to be played exclusively that way. Ultima Online, and that Camelot game are good examples. Also, there are the browser based games; Planetarion and Unity Wars, Alien Adoption Agency, and even Lycos' Fight Club.
So, we should have a pretty good idea of what is available in this new market. In most cases, the games are of a somewhat inferior quality to the sort of game that you can generally expect from an offline game. The reasons for this difference in quality are obvious - limitations in internet connections and limitations on game servers.
However, despite the reduced quality of these games, they still pull in the punters. Planetarion, a browser based game that you have to PAY for, rakes in 25,000 players per round, plus special "speed rounds" and the current "Planetarion World Cup". Ultima OL and it's ilk generally pull in far more than those numbers again. Why? Why do people pay to play games that are inferior? The answer is simple. The opposition. MPOG's offer the internet gamer something nothing else can match. A huge pool of intelligent opposition. Not as intelligent as their programmers could make them, with set routines and some "nifty" AI learning ability. But scores of individuals, thinking, learning, decieving, teaming and all acting in their own unique way. The MPOGs allow people to against their fellow man, interactive with them, meet them, and ultimately, prove themselves against them.
You play an offline game, and, over time, you win. Great. "pld". the joy ends there. But MPOGs are the school playground of the gaming world. No matter how good you think you are, there is always someone better - and you're going to find him and do everything you can to beat him.
This holds true in offline PC events or "LAN" events such as i10 or whatever. People come together at what is often quite a cost to themselves for the opportunity to pit themselves against other sentient opponents.
But as more and more people choose to go online via a broadband connection, and as technology continues to advance almost geometrically, the gap in quality between MPOGs and 'ordinary' offline games will inevitably thin, and may eventually close. What can we expect then? in 5-10 years, what will the internet look like for the gaming community?
For the browser based games, is it feasible that a move away from simple text interaction can be made? A shockwave version of Planetarion perhaps, more graphical interfaces and something that possibly even resembles an ordinary game? They've said it can't really be done, but it's only a matter of technology. I recall the days when RPGs were entirely text based, the possibility of making them with 3d characters and 3rd edition AD&D rules colourful, interactive landscapes and characters etc was simply unthinkable.
And if they can do that to a browser based game, what then, can they do to an ordinary online game? The possibilities are almost mindboggling. Certainly, more depth can be added to these games, more complexity.
But what are the repurcussions? Already, with what we have, these games can be extremely addictive (i'll point out the 15 months I've been away from here playing planetarion); the need to compete with your peers is inherrent in all mankind. The more readilly available this opportunity is, and the greater the experience it can be moulded to be, do we not run the risk of making it too good? too addictive? and if we do, who do we blame? The game producers? Surely not, they're just trying to make a living. Our internet providers? no. Ourselves then? Possibly, but can we blame ourselves for our competitive instincts? Our wants and needs to prove ourselves against others are what will make the future of MPOGs a lucrative business, but it could also possibly make our own futures lose quality at a similar rate that the MPOGs increase quality.
The future is coming. Be wary. Be ready. Be afraid.
IB