Massively Multiplayer Online RPGs

MUD (Multi-User Dungeon) became the first online multiplayer RPG in 1980. MUD was originally designed by Roy Trubshaw and Richard Bartle in homage to the Dungeon game, a variant of the text-adventure Zork. Later, similar online fantasy games were called MUDs, named after the original game. MUDs feature a mostly text-based interface, similar to an online chat group, but with moderators who act like Dungeon Masters.


Many of today’s massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), including World of Warcraft  and Second Life, trace their lineage back to MUDs.


The vast majority of MMORPGs are based on traditional fantasy themes, often occurring in a game universe comparable to that of Dungeons & Dragons. They also have some degree of tools built around players communicating with and working together with other players, including teamwork (going on dungeon raids together) and trading (sharing resources with one another).


The standards for MMORPGs today consist of a persistent fantasy world maintained by the game’s publisher. This persistent world continues to grow and evolve even when players are not plugged in (called being “offline”). Players subscribe so they can play in this persistent world.


In 2008, Western consumers spent $1.6 billion on MMORPGs subscriptions. To keep players plugged in and paying to play, MMORPG developers and publishers have to come up with new and unique tricks to hook their audience, including innovative and rare downloadable content and expansion packs. Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft (WOW) holds over 62% of all MMORPG subscribers to date and even made the Guinness World Record for the most popular MMORPG by subscribers. WOW exemplifies the best in MMORPGs.


Because of the amount of revenue capable in MMORPG subscriptions, video games that should not be or have never been multiplayer or online are quickly becoming so, leading to a whole new trend in game developing.