The Development Of Online Role Playing Games

Background

The mid 1970s gave birth to a new genre of role

playing video games. Online RPG were the results of
early university mainframe text-based role playing
games on Unix-based computers (such as pedit5, dnd,
and Dungeon) and PDP-10.

When the 1980s came, Rogue, a very popular dungeon

crawler, was released. Because of this, a deep system
of gameplay was observed in the settings, items, and
monsters. As a result, new genres of "roguelike"
replicas were made.

One of the most influential among the role playing

games invented was Dungeons and Dragons. Ever since
its release, improvements have been made on online
role playing games in general. In 1988, SSI formed a
series of "Gold Box" Computer Role Playing Games with
Pool of Radiance. The rules were based on Advanced
Dungeons and Dragons. It also featured overhead
tactical displays for combat and a first-person
display for movement.

Initially, role playing games offered only a single

player mode of playing. But with the advent of games
like Diablo, multiplayer options of the games became
available and quickly became all the rage especially
in the mid-1990s. With more success, these multiplayer
games became massively multiplayer online role-playing
games (MMORPGs) with the advent of the internet. Games
such as Everquest where produced as MMORPGs.

Dungeons and Dragons and other traditional ORPGS

became the basis for the game mechanics and the
settings found in the new role playing games.

They all involve a team, group of characters, usually

called a "party" that join together to accomplish a
mission or quests. Challenges and enemies await the
players and they become more and more difficult to
overcome as the game progresses.

Some obstacles are dragons, monsters, or evil wizards.

Most of these are inspired by science fiction,
mythology, and fantasy.

Rewards and Points

The players themselves build their own avatars or

characters. They also have different options on how
they can modify these characters basing on their
skills, attributes, equipment, special abilities, and
personalities.

However, the improvements of their characters are

highly dependent on how they play the game. New
powers, equipment, and better health are given as
rewards and prizes for achievement of their goals and
accomplishment of quests. It can also be given as
reciprocate to the service they offer to the locals of
the fantasy setting.

Rewarding the characters may be done based on these 3

systems. The training system awards the characters
with proficiency in using equipment. With training and
practice, the character will become more accustomed to
it.

The skill point system rewards the character skill

points based on the quests he or she completed.

The experience system awards the player with

experience points upon winning battles and destroying
monsters in the game.

Complex Fun

Normally, status screens are displayed on the gamer�s

monitor to know the attributes and hit points of the
character. It uses a more complex abstract graphical
representation because bars and meters are not
utilized in describing the character�s status.
Instead, numerical values are designated to do the
job.

Multiplayer Experience

Single and multiplayer options are available with

online role playing games. These games allow you to be
part of a group or a team. They give chance for player
to player interaction through chat. A sense of
competition is also experienced during battles with
other teams.

With revenues exceeding more than a billion dollars

each year, it is then, with no doubt, that online
gaming encompasses other role playing game genres.