Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
A persistent online world where players role-play and interact.
People all over the world play massively multiplayer online role-playing games.[1]
Making and release
Ultima Online, released in 1997, is often credited with first popularizing the genre.[2] More mainstream attention was garnered by 1999's EverQuest and Asheron's Call in the West.[2] Richard Garriott created the term "MMORPG" to describe massive multiplayer online role-playing games and the social communities that form around them.[3] Neverwinter Nights, which launched on America Online in 1991, was the earliest multi-user RPG to feature full graphics.[4]
A key turning point occurred in 1995 when the lifting of NSFNET restrictions made the Internet more accessible to game developers.[2] The modern concept of MMORPGs started with Meridian 59 in 1996, a title that introduced first-person 3D visuals.[2] By 2003, the expense of creating a commercially viable MMORPG could surpass $10 million.[5] A contemporary commercial MMORPG's client-side software uses 3D graphics.[6]
Phantasy Star Online, released for the Dreamcast, was the first MMORPG on a console.[7] Final Fantasy XI, available on the PlayStation 2, holds the distinction of being the first open-world MMORPG on a console.[7]
What the cited sources add
Erwin Andreasen expanded on Bartle's classifications, developing the thirty-question Bartle Test.[8] A German fMRT-study pointed towards impairments in self-concept and higher avatar identification in addicted MMORPG players.[9] Psychotherapeutic interventions should focus on developing coping strategies for real-life situations where addicted players feel incompetent.[10] As of 2011, the Bartle Test had collected over 650,000 responses, making it potentially the biggest continuous survey of multiplayer game participants.[8]
The bonds players form within MMORPGs can be just as strong as those they develop with friends or partners in real life.[11]
References
- Wikipedia, "Massively multiplayer online role-playing game" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Parks Associates, "Online Gaming Revenues to Triple by 2009", 2005; Harding-Rolls, "Western World MMOG Market: 2006 Review and Forecasts to 2011", Screen Digest, 2006; Harding-Rolls, "Subscription MMOGs: Life Beyond World of Warcraft", Screen Digest, 2009; Reilly, "World of Warcraft Subscriptions Back Over 10 Million", IGN, 2014-11-19; Tassi, "'World of Warcraft' Still A $1B Powerhouse", Forbes; "Star Wars: The Old Republic Jumps to Light Speed (NASDAQ:EA)", Investor.ea.com, 2011-12-23; Rundle, "Star Wars: en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Massively multiplayer online role-playing game" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Koster, "Online World Timeline", Raph Koster's Website, 2002-02-20; Koster, "Online World Timeline", Raph Koster's Website, 2002-02-20; Koster, "Online World Timeline", Raph Koster's Website, 2002-02-20 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Massively multiplayer online role-playing game" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jøn, "The Development of MMORPG Culture and The Guild", Australian Folklore: A Yearly Journal of Folklore Studies, 2010, p. 97–112; Safko, "The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success", Wiley, 2009; Castronova, "Synthetic Worlds: The Business and Culture of Online Games", University Of Chicago Press, 2006, p. 10, 291; Bainbridge, "Berkshire Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction", Berkshire Publishing Group, 2004, p. 474 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Massively multiplayer online role-playing game" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mulligan, "Developing Online Games: An Insider's Guide", New Riders, 2003, p. 447; "Bringing Habitat Back to Life", pastemagazine.com, 3 February 2016; Koster, "Online World Timeline", Raph Koster's Website, 2002-02-20 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Massively multiplayer online role-playing game" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Adam Carpenter (2003), Applying Risk-Based Analysis to Play Balance RPGs, Gamasutra, gamasutra.com; Jon Radoff (2007), "Anatomy of an MMORPG," PlayerVox, radoff.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Massively multiplayer online role-playing game" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Frank Luna (2006), "3D Game Programming with DirectX 9.0c, a Shader Approach," Worldware Publishing, (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Massively multiplayer online role-playing game" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Console MMOs: a brief history of one man's couch-laden adventures", 18 April 2007 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Massively multiplayer online role-playing game" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Bartle Test of Gamer Psychology"; "Game Player Motivations"; Radoff, "Game On: Energize Your Business with Social Games", Wiley, April 2011 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Massively multiplayer online role-playing game" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Leménager, Tagrid; Gwodz, Alexander; Richter, Anne; Reinhard, Iris; Kämmerer, Nina; Sell, Madlen; Mann, Karl (2013): "Self-Concept Deficits in Massively Multipl; Davis, RA (2001): A cognitive-behavioral model of pathological internet use. Computers in Human Behavior 17: 187-195. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Massively multiplayer online role-playing game" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Leménager, Tagrid; Gwodz, Alexander; Richter, Anne; Reinhard, Iris; Kämmerer, Nina; Sell, Madlen; Mann, Karl (2013): "Self-Concept Deficits in Massively Multipl (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Massively multiplayer online role-playing game" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: R.Schroeder & A. Axelsson, "Avatars at Work and Play: Collaboration and Interaction in Shared Virtual Environments", Springer-Verlag, 2006, p. 187–207 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Massively multiplayer online role-playing game (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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