MMORPG is a genre of video game. It refers to titles offering a massively multiplayer online adventure, in which you play a character. An example ? World of Warcraft.
What does MMORPG mean?
MMORPG is an English acronym which means: “Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game”, which is translated into French by “game de role en ligne massivement multijoueur”. This formula describes a genre in the video game, in the same way as strategy games, action games, simulation games – categories which can then be refined into subgroups, such as FPS.
What are the common characteristics of MMORPGs?
Since their emergence in the late 90s, MMORPGs have been a very common genre of video game. If the story, the artistic direction, the playability, the atmosphere and many other characteristics can change from one title to another, there are of course between them irreducible common traits. Attributes that make it possible to say that these are MMORPGs, precisely.
These three attributes are literally present in the acronym:
On line : an MMORPG needs an active connection to the Internet, since the adventure takes place online, from the servers of the studio that designed the game. There can’t be an offline MMORPG — that’s nonsense . In fact, MMORPGs arrived with the democratization of network access during the 1990s, and exploded with the generalization of broadband.
Multiplayer : the MMORPG is fundamentally multiplayer. You play with or against other people to fulfill objectives — to complete quests or capture a game area, for example. It’s a genre that has a pronounced social facet, since individuals end up coming together in communities with a common interest: guilds.
RPG : Finally, it’s a game in which you embody a character who has a background and a story. In short, you play a role — you can be a warrior, a mercenary, a knight, a commander, and so on. RPGs allow you, among other things, to choose a name and an identity, to define your sex, your appearance, your attributes. In short, who you are at stake.
To these three central characteristics can be added other specificities. The existence of a virtual world in which people evolve, the constant game availability (except during maintenance and update periods) and the character progressionwhich gains skill, experience, loot, and equipment.
Another indirect feature, which has developed over time, is that of extensions. To sustain an MMORPG, the studio must be able to renew the experience regularly, with more or less strong and regular updates. Thus, the video game remains attractive thanks to new challenges and new worlds to explore.
What is the difference between an RPG and an MMORPG?
The difference is in the multiplayer and online character. In the first case, the RPG is played alone and does not need Internet access (although studios may require a link for anti-piracy reasons or to deploy updates). The MMORPG has a social dimension, with other people.
What are the main MMORPGs?
World of Warcraft is undeniably the most representative game of MMORPGs. Born in 2004, it is on its ninth expansion — Dragonflight — which was released in November 2022. The game has become a cultural phenomenon, even being parodied in an episode of South Park. His influence on pop culture is notable. He even got a movie in 2016.
Today, World of Warcraft no longer has the same aura it had known at the turn of the 2010s, with the arrival of the expansion Wrath of the Lich King, undoubtedly the most appreciated by players. Nevertheless, wow remains a heavyweight in the sector. It remains frequented each month by hundreds of thousands of people and still brings in a lot of money for Blizzard, its publisher.
Beyond wowthere are other highly rated MMORPGs. Final Fantasy XIVdesigned by Square Enix, is set in the dreamlike fantasy world of Final Fantasy; The Old Republican MMORPG based on Star Wars ; The Elder Scrolls Onlinewhich takes place in the universe of Skyrim. All of these titles were released in the 2010 decade.
Other notable titles, past or present, can also be mentioned: one thinks of EVE Online, aion, Black Desert Online, New World, Lost Ark, Guild Wars 2, Dofus, Destiny 2, Runescape, StarCitizen and others. Their success is variable, and for some, already past. They have, however, been frequented by several hundred thousand players at one time or another.
What is the very first MMORPG?
Neverwinter Nights is considered the very first MMORPG. Developed by Beyond Software, published by Strategic Simulations, it was available from 1991 to 1997 on the servers of AOL (America OnLine). It was compatible with the MS-DOS (PC) operating system and its particularity is to have been the first to display graphics on the screen.
These visuals are obviously light years away from what is being done today. No wonder: thirty years separate this game from our time. Three decades. In other words, an almost infinite time in the world of video games. 1991 was the era of the Super Nintendo, sprites2D and a limited range of sounds and colors.
What was it about Neverwinter Nights ? The game took place in the forgotten realms, a universe of Dungeons and Dragons – a role-playing game, on paper this time. The player, once his character was created, could meet other braves and create a group to face enemies together. The social dimension was already present, through the guilds.
The operation of Neverwinter Nights relied on turn-based real-time combat. During a lapse of twenty seconds, such player must decide on the action which he makes (like to attack or to move), before it is with the following player. Today, turn-based is hardly used anymore: real-time action is preferred, each at their own pace.
Neverwinter Nights was well received in its time, but its success remained fairly confidential. We are talking about a few hundred to several thousand to tens of thousands of players overall. According to Wired, the game had around 2,000 people playing it on a regular basis over the past year, with an estimated community of nearly 115,000 players.
What is the first successful MMORPG?
Another game can also be considered as a precursor: it isUltima Online, titled developed first by Origin Systems, then by Electronic Arts and Mythic Entertainment. This is seen as the first truly mainstream MMORPG, with over 100,000 registrations in 1998, a year after the title was released.
Ultima Online is still playable in 2022. The title, although visually dated, has benefited from several graphical and visual improvements over the years, such as a 3D client in 2001 to compete with EverQuest, released in 1999, another very popular MMORPG, which had it natively. EverQuest is also still playable, free to play since 2012.
As Neverwinter Nights and EverQuest, Ultima Online takes place in a universe of heroic-fantasy — a world made of magic and supernatural creatures, in a medieval atmosphere. It is also through Ultima Online that the use of extensions for MMORPGs has become popular, which allow extending the experience with new adventures. There were about ten.
Ultima Online came out at a pivotal moment, since it was at the end of the 90s that Internet access was democratized in the West. A few years later, there was the arrival of ADSL which made it possible to no longer occupy the telephone line, but also more affordable Internet subscription formulas and more extensive connection times.
At the height of his notoriety, in 2003, Ultima Online peaked at nearly 250,000 players. The attendance ofUltima Online is no longer the same today. However, it should be noted that the title still benefits from technical and content support, like update 114 dated October 2022. Ditto for EverQuestwho had his in November.
What other MMO genres are there?
If an MMORPG is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, there are also other online video games that are massively multiplayer, but do not fall into the role-playing category. These other categories are, in fact, based on other genres of gameplay, for example, first-person shooters (FPS) or real-time strategy (RTS).
So an MMOFPS is a massively multiplayer first-person shooter — imagine, for example, doom in a persistent world and with many other people! An MMORTS is, you guessed it, a real-time strategy MMO. Perhaps, do you know in this genre Ogamewhose particularity is to work… on a web browser!
On the life simulation side, a metaverse like Second Life can also fall into the category of massively multiplayer “games”. This, even if there is no quest to accomplish and you can also play your own role, through an avatar. The Sims Online are another somewhat more recent example. The metaverse promoted by Meta also comes close.
How do you pronounce MMORPG?
You literally have to read every letter of the acronym. Sorry, Nathanaël, but “meuporg” is not an accepted pronunciation. But at least it spawned a fun meme.