Understanding MMOGs

Video games have come a long way since a couple of early computer scientists got together and decided that people might like to play a game like tennis on video screens rather than on a clay court. Since then, the quality and depth of video gaming has been improving almost exponentially. The end of the twentieth century saw what is arguably the single most important evolution in video gaming since families first started bringing consoles home in the late 1970's. The Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG) was born.

MMOG's were an instant hit the moment they entered the video game world. They brought the final missing link of the video gaming world to fruition -- being able to game and interact with friends and family in different locations and interact with people half a world away without leaving your home. MMOG's are identical to other video games in that they're played on a home computer or laptop -- with a few versions being released for console platforms -- and the user inputs commands via keyboard and mouse, and receives feedback through the monitor/display, and speakers. While most of the similarities end here, all MMOG's share, to some degree, the following three characteristics:

In an MMOG, typically, the setting or environment is persistent. It doesn't matter if the player is playing the game or not, the world that the game takes place in continues to age and progress with or without them. Events occur, the date changes, night becomes day, and day becomes night, regardless as to whether the player is an active part of the game or not.

The second major characteristic of an MMOG environment is that there is some sort of progression of their custom-created in-game persona, or "avatar", and a built-in social reward system encouraging frequent play. As the player guides their avatar through the world, they fulfill missions and quests, and gain, in one form or another, some sort of quantifiable metric for advancing their avatars status in the world in which they persist.

The final, and probably the most important common thread between all MMOG's is that they all require some amount of social interaction, and that interaction is almost completely unavoidable. With the exception of the relatively new game mechanic of instancing, where the players get to chose to leave the massive world for a short time and enter an area that is locked out to all but their chosen group, game worlds in MMOG's are open for business all day, every day, and to everyone. Gameplay is set up in such a way that progression is almost always tied to being able to find people to play with, and forming alliances with those people to work towards goals of game progression and advancement of the character. MMOG's are intentionally designed to prevent the player from being able to access the majority of content on their own.

When MMOG's first hit the scene, they were typically based in the fictional fantasy worlds. Players would create Tolkien-esque avatars, and go forth to battle ogres and goblins to find their virtual fame and fortune. As games advanced, newer frontiers have been established, from the Star Wars Universe in "Star Wars Galaxies", to the realms of a modern virtual society, as in "The Sims" and "Second Life", broadening their appeal, and becoming less and less esoteric.

MMOG's are no longer just for the basement geeks of yesteryear. Online gaming has opened up new worlds of entertainment to everyone, from adolescents to grandparents. Their expansive appeal, short learning curves, the proliferation of high speed broadband internet access in addition to the sharp reduction in cost for computer hardware have opened online gaming to hundreds of thousands of people who would not have had access to it just fifteen years ago. Plug and play computers that are ready to go within 15 minutes of taking them out of the box, and operating systems that do almost all of the program installation work, assuming the operator can get the CD media right side up in the tray, make installation quick and painless. Chances are good, if you have a Facebook page, or other similar social networking page, and have tried any of the application programs, such as Mafia Wars or Dragon Wars, then you've played a very basic version of an MMOG. You just didn't know it.

Jason Cole, writer for Digital Landing