A directory of massively multiplayer online role-playing games with descriptions

MMORPG description

A Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, sometimes also referred to as a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. In these types of games large numbers of players battle together, or against one another, in an online environment. The RPG element of MMORPG indicates that games of this type also include Role Playing Elements, suggesting that the characters you play as will 'level up,' or increase their abilities as their experience and time put into the game increases.

Warning Gaming can be addictive

A list of some MMORPG's

Asheron's Call

Asheron's Call (AC) is a fantasy MMORPG for Microsoft Windows-based PCs, released in late 1999. It features a vast, nearly-seamless 3D world simultaneously occupied by hundreds of players and fantasy creatures.

AC was developed by Turbine Entertainment Software and published by Microsoft. The first expansion, Dark Majesty, was released in 2001. A second expansion, Throne of Destiny, which includes a graphics upgrade, new player race and new landmass was released on July 18, 2005. In addition to the expansion packs, the in-game story is advanced by monthly updates, which introduce new quests and gameplay dynamics as part of the subscription package.

A race of humans called the Viamontians managed to find their way to Dereth from Ispar during a war back on the homeworld. The violent Viamontians, led by King Varicci II, were trapped on an island hub for eight years. With the help of a mage named Nuhmudira, the barrier around the islands was destroyed and the Viamontians were unleashed upon Dereth.

Release date(s) October 31, 1999

http://ac.turbine.com/

City of Heroes (CoH)

City of Heroes was developed by Cryptic Studios and published by NCSoft. The game was launched in North America on April 28, 2004

Players begin by using the game's extensive character creation system to select an archetype and Power Sets, design a unique costume, and write a back story for their hero. They start their adventure in a tutorial zone that teaches them how to play the game. It is here they learn about the level system and how to determine which enemies to attack. Players may choose to skip this tutorial if they like and head straight to one of two starting areas (Atlas Park and Galaxy City).

City of heroes is a comic book style game. Where it is the job to save the city of Paragon City (City of Heroes Specific).

http://www.cityofheroes.com/

EVE Online

EVE Online is a persistent world multiplayer online game set in space. It is developed by CCP Games and was published from May to December 2003 by Simon & Schuster Interactive, after which CCP purchased the rights back and began a digital distribution scheme.

The fictional background story for EVE Online explains that long ago mankind had used up almost all of the Earth's resources, and was on the verge of extinction. The game's environment is a fictional area of space once accessible from Earth through a wormhole (the gate of EVE) into a solar system named New Eden which has since closed, isolating the new colonies.

After the wormhole had closed, links to Earth had been severed and supply routes halted. Space flight was lost as common knowledge and New Eden entered a dark age. Once it was rediscovered, five distinct colonies survived. These make up the five major empires in EVE and players may choose from four of these when creating a new character.

http://www.eve-online.com/

EverQuest Online Adventures (EQOA) is a fantasy tolkien style game.

EverQuest Online Adventures is set in Norrath 500 years prior to the original EQ in the "Age of Adventure". The world features many places familiar to fans of the original and most of the differences were explained in the lore of EverQuest.

The gameplay is similar to EverQuest in its focus on character development, player versus environment combat, quests, exploration, grouping, and socializing.

There are fifteen playable classes, and eleven races.

Classes include Cleric, Druid, Shaman, Enchanter, Wizard, Alchemist, Necromancer, Magician, Bard, Ranger, Rogue, Monk, Paladin, Shadowknight, and Warrior.

Races consist of Dwarves, Elves, Dark Elves, Human (Eastern and Western), Gnome, Troll, Ogre, Barbarian, Erudite, and Halfling.

http://everquestonlineadventures.station.sony.com/
Final Fantasy XI

Final Fantasy XI takes place in a world named Vana'diel.

There are currently 32 servers available for play, and one server used by Square-Enix for testing. These worlds are named after summoned creatures from earlier Final Fantasy games (Ifrit, Ramuh, Asura, etc.). PC, PS2, and Xbox 360 players from across all nationalities play together on all servers.

There are five races that a player may choose from in Final Fantasy XI:

Elvaan — the "Elves" of Final Fantasy XI. Steeped in the tradition of knighthood, the Elvaan consider themselves superior to the other races. There are male and female Elvaan. They founded the Kingdom of San d'Oria and the Marquisate of Tavnazia. Elvaan players experience the highest Strength and Mind stats in the game, and a higher HP rating, while suffering from a weakened Intelligence, Dexterity and MP rating.
Hume — An adaptable race most resembling humans. There are male and female Humes. They formed the Republic of Bastok and the Grand Duchy of Jeuno using the natural resources of the surrounding area. Hume players experience a very average array of stats, MP and HP ratings.
Galka — large, beast-like humanoids who possess incredible strength and endurance. The Galka reproduce through reincarnation and therefore have no specific gender, though the race is generally considered male. They form the minority population of the Republic of Bastok but originated in the lands of Kuzotz in the far south, where their civilization was destroyed by the Antican beastmen. Galkan players experience a very high Vitality stat, with decently high Strength and the highest HP rating, while having a low Intelligence, Agility and Charisma stat, and the lowest MP rating.
Mithra — Cat-like humanoids with agility and grace. There are very few male Mithra and only females venture into Vana'diel. (Male Mithra are not playable at this time, only females). They live in the Federation of Windurst and the tropical island of Kazham. It has been hinted that Mithra from Kazham come from a southern island known as Tsahya. Mithran players experience the highest Dexterity and Agility in the game, Mithras also have the lowest Vitality stat and the second-lowest Mind stat, and share the exact same Charisma as a Galka character (on any Job or level that would be the same).
Tarutaru — Tiny humanoids with incredible intellect and an innate talent for magic. The difference between a child and an adult is sometimes hard to make out. They founded the Federation of Windurst, and live there alongside Mithra. Tarutaru players experience the highest Intelligence and MP rating, but also have the lowest Mind and HP rating, they have the second lowest Vitality in the game and the lowest Strength.

Though there are thousands of players, any one player can still achieve a sense of individual heroism by completing quests and missions. Cutscenes and conversations with NPCs place you as an important character who participates with the plot as it progresses. From the player's first steps in their starting city to important tasks completed for certain characters, the player is treated as if he or she is the first to interact with such characters, giving the impression of such events taking place in the present moment.

Developer(s) Square Co., Ltd.
Publisher(s) PlayStation 2
Sony Computer Entertainment
http://www.playonline.com/ff11eu/index.shtml
Ragnarok Online

created by Lee Myung-Jin. An anime was created, Ragnarok The Animation, which is based on the game. A sequel is currently in development, Ragnarok Online 2.

The MMORPG is set in the world of Rune Midgard. For the most part, the game lacks a plotline, but there are small quests or events set up by the administrators of the game sporadically to add depth and maintain interest.

The game's tutorial does mention there is a war between man and monsters, an accurate observation given the experience is given to the player when they kill monsters. However, warring is not limited to man versus monster combat, as ingame guilds can fight against each other in a War of Emperium, a battle between several guilds for castles in towns, which gives access to dungeons and treasures not accessible to people not in the residing guild.

RuneScape -free to join

Players set their own goals in the game, deciding which of the available activities they wish to pursue. Players can increase their experience (train) in any of the available skills from combat to construction, complete quests, develop skills, and hang out with friends and other players. Players interact with each other through chat, trade, mutual missions, mini-games, and visiting each other in their houses. There are numerous different areas of the map to visist, mountians mines, towns, haunted houses.

Developer(s) Jagex
Publisher(s) Jagex
Designer(s) Jagex
http://www.runescape.com/

Second Life

Second Life (SL) is a privately-owned, subscription-based 3-D virtual reality application that went online in March 2002 [1] and was released to the public in 2003 by San Francisco-based Linden Lab.

Residents of Second Life are represented in the environment by an avatar, which may be customized in a variety of ways. The basic avatar is humanoid in shape and, through a series of GUI controls, allows for a large amount of modification as to size, build, color and hair style.
http://www.secondlife.com/

World of Warcraft

Developer(s) Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher(s) Vivendi Universal

The game was officially released in Korea on November 12, 2004. Although the game was downloadable online, client CD was also distributed for free for 150,000 people who had signed up

Races and classes
Players create characters which serve as their avatars in the online world of Azeroth. When creating a character in World of Warcraft, the player can choose from eight different races and nine different character classes. The races are split into two diametrically opposed factions, the Alliance and the Horde.

The Alliance currently consists of Humans, Night Elves, Dwarves and Gnomes. Draenei will be added in the upcoming Burning Crusade expansion. [4]
The Horde currently consists of Orcs, Tauren, Undead (a.k.a. Forsaken) and Trolls. Blood Elves will be added in the upcoming Burning Crusade expansion.
Additionally, there are many NPC races such as Goblins, Ogres, Murlocs and Nagas.

Characters in World of Warcraft are tied to specific user accounts that can be used in all servers, or realms. However, characters created on one server are not usable on another, unless a server transfer is enabled. Users can create up to 10 characters per realm (with a maximum total of 50[5] ) which range from a diverse amount of races and classes. The two factions currently in the game are the Alliance and Horde, both consisting of four different races.

In 2004 it was suggested that Gaming has economic value too, even if it is virtual. Analysis of how long people spend in the games and what they do there has shown that game-playing has a significant economic value too. According to the analysis this gaming activity has a gross economic impact equivalent to the GDP of the Southern African nation of Namibia.

In 2005 gamers in China were facing new limits on how much time they can spend playing their favourite online game.
The government in Beijing is reported to be introducing the controls to deter people from playing for longer than three consecutive hours. The measures are designed to combat addiction to online role-playing games such as World of Warcraft and Lineage II. More than 20 million Chinese play games regularly, mainly in net cafes.

Games are serious business in China. Last 2004, Chinese players spent almost US$500m on online games. The government has been encouraging the growth of online gaming. It is hosting a two-day games conference in September in Beijing in the hope of attracting more foreign investment. But the phenomenal popularity of online games has fuelled concerns that some people may be losing themselves in the virtual worlds of massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG). The new system will impose penalties on players who spend more than three hours playing a game by reducing the abilities of their characters.

Evolving language The lure of the MMORPG is also having an effect on the ways in which we communicate. In the same way as text messages on mobile phones spawned a new language of abbreviations and short cuts, the immediacy of written chat in MMORPGs goes a step further. World of Warcraft is hugely popular in China Anybody familiar with Instant Messenger programmes or chat rooms may have already used terms such as "lol" (laugh out loud) or "brb" (be right back). But this language is expanding rapidly as gamers try to find ways to type more rapidly, trying to attain a level of speed more usually associated with speech. "Languages evolve and adapt,". "One of the fascinating things about when you do type - and we all know this from when we've received e-mails from colleagues that are a bit sniffy - in black and white things do sometimes come across as a little bit harsh." "So what people have done is learn to use smileys [made up from punctuation marks], which are the little faces with a wink or a smile which indicate mood." What some will see as a spectacularly relaxed use of the English language will be a worry for some. For others, it is the only way to communicate effectively in real time with friends and other gamers who could be sitting a thousand miles away and whose first language is not the same as yours.

GAMING ADDICTION CAN BE A PROBLEM

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