Don't Just Role Play, MMORPG It!
16155
Computers > Computer Games
Nov 30, 1999
Don't Just Role Play, MMORPG It!
When role playing games were first introduced in the mid-1970s, they had a relatively small market, just small groups of high school students meeting in the cafeteria with pencils and dice in hand. Today, with the increased popularity of computers, participation in role-playing games has exploded with literally millions of people all over the world and from all walks of life enjoying the excitement of RPG's. Role Playing Game Basics Simply put, an RPG is any game where players take the roles of fictional characters and organize to tell a story together. Of course, this is an admittedly broad definition. Nonetheless, it captures the idea that storytelling is what role playing games are really all about. Not surprisingly, given how broad the above definition is, and the natural flexibility of RPG's, there are many different types of games covering a host of genres. The very first role-playing games centered around fantasy stories with wizards and dragons, knights and elves roaming across of mythical landscape. They quickly expanded to include science fiction stories with aliens and ray guns. Today, RPG's centered around historical situations, espionage, military actions, and horror can be found. Different Role Playing Games There are three broad types of role playing game: traditional RPG's, live action RPG's, and computer RPG's. In traditional role-playing games, participants sit around a table and act out the story verbally, with one person taking on a role similar to a narrator. Usually dice are used to determine the outcome of specific actions. Taking the game away from the tabletop and into the wider world, many adherents believe that the best way to really inhabit another character is to get up and try to be that person. Thus the development of live action role-playing games, some with rules as strict as traditional role-playing games, but most with a more flexible structure. Whereas traditional role-playing games can be thought of as story telling, live action role-playing games more closely resemble theater. Role-playing games made the jump to computers relatively early. At first, however, computer role-playing games just tried to simulate traditional role-playing games; in a sense, the computer was just used to make things easier for the players. With the development of network technology, computers allowed participants to play with each other regardless of physical distance. Live action role-playing gamers have also used computers to help develop a flexible rule-free style of play. Role Playing Games and MMORPGs The increasing popularity of massive multiplayer online role playing games, commonly known as MMORPGs, has been the most significant development in role playing games in the last decade. Today it is estimated that as many as 15 million people worldwide are playing MMORPGs. In MMORPGs, participants, as in all other role-playing games, take on the role of a character. What makes MMORPGs significant, however, is that thousands of participants can interact in a virtual universe, a universe that keeps going whether an individual user is in the system or not. Like traditional role-playing games, MMORPGs are situated in a variety of universes, from fantasy to science fiction.
Steve Dolan is a veteran gamer of more years than he cares to admit. RPG's of all types are his favorite past time. Click Role Playing Games, (RPGs) and MMORPGs to find out more
Write a Review
Add to My Favorite
Refer it to Friend
Report Article
Other links at Computers > Computer Games
How do car games work and which are some of the most popular titles for 2007?
Category:
Before Playstation and Nintendo became the latest home entertainment craze, computers have offered an array of games that helped many pass the time.
Category:
System requirements are not just applicable to some games; these are part of every game. There is no game that exists today that does not have any system requirement for the computer to properly run the game. Aside from that, almost all game requirements
Category:
Eye of The North is the first true expansion ins the Guild Wars Series of PC Games. As with the other installments of the series, Guild Wars: Eye of the North has absolutely no monthly subscription fees.
Category:
Form is beginning to take hold in the NL Central, as the Cincinnati Reds have come back to the pack and the St. Louis Cardinals have assumed their customary position atop the division standings. The Astros recently made a big splash, and things could
Category:
Site Sponsor
Directory Statistics
Articles: 68200
Categories: 501
Yahoo Entertainment
