Running head: MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ONLINE ROLE-PLAYING GAMES 1

MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ONLINE ROLE-PLAYING GAMES

AUTHOR

INSTITUTION
MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ONLINE ROLE-PLAYING GAMES 2

MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ONLINE ROLE-PLAYING GAMES

Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games or MMORPG offers a wide

range of possibilities to players since they can create their character, interact with other

participants, explore a virtual world, carry out actions online and, at the same time, develop

the skills of the avatar. The concept of "massive" games is because millions of people can

be playing at the same time, and "online" because it is necessary to be connected to the

Internet to play. MMORPGs are role-playing games in which characters can evolve, for

example, in their attributes and equipment. This evolution is usually reflected in a

progressive increase in "power" (or progression of levels), as well as in constant learning of

new techniques or skills that allow the player to interact differently with their environment.

Some examples of these games are Game of War, World of Warcraft (WoW), or Lineage,

which have millions of players in the world.

In today's society, video games are an important form of entertainment. They

continue to increase their share of penetration, and their industry leads the segment of

digital and interactive entertainment in several countries of the world, such as South Korea,

especially among teenagers, who usually dedicate an important part of your time to play

with them. The specific characteristics of the MMORPG encourage players to use a high

number of hours in these games and that some of them come to manifest serious problems.

For example, in the case of Game of War or World of Warcraft, it is estimated that the

average number of hours spent per player is twenty-five per week, reaching more than ten

hours per day or fifty hours per week, according to some studies (Hwa, 2009).
MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ONLINE ROLE-PLAYING GAMES 3

On the other hand, face to face games allows the interaction of no more than four

people in the same physical environment, that is a table inside a room. The considered

example is the game Spades, which requires the use of Poker Cards and two or four players

play until the victory of one individual or a couple against the other three individuals or the

other couple.

One biggest difference between MMORPG and face-to-face games is that the

MMORPG does not have an end, different to a face-to-face game, such as Spades. A player

of MMORPG evolves in the game, in the same way, a human being from the birth until a

death that never comes, transforming the MMORPG game into eternal life without an end.

A face-to-face game has a beginning and an end that is influenced by the physical

conditions of the game, that is, the number of cards of the poker pack. A Spades game may

endure minutes or hours in the worst case scenario. An MMORPG game may take from

hours to years according to the interest of the game (Zhong, 2011).

A second difference between the two games is that, in the face-to-face game the

player acts like himself in the game, he cannot hide its characters and take other attributes

that he does not have in real life. A face-to-face game provides limitations in time, space

and resources to take decisions and evolve as a player. An MMORPG game allows the

player to hide its real personal features and acquire other attributes creating an avatar

(character) that represent himself in the game. The avatar could have a different gender,

age, principles or knowledge different from the real characteristics of the individual.

The MMORPG may have similarities to a dream or subconscious experience,

because the MMORPG introduces the mind of the individual inside the game, no matter
MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ONLINE ROLE-PLAYING GAMES 4

how the body of the individual behaves. The previous is because the new body of the

individual is the avatar inside the game and the individual communicates to other players

between the avatars. In the case of a face-to-face game, there is a conscious and "wake-up"

experience of the game with the other players, when the communication language with the

other players is the "body language" (Hou, 2012).

A third difference between the two games is the expectation of each from the game

experience. If the individual requires a long-term experience in a game, an MMORPG is

the best option for a player, because it will provide an experience of dozens of hours a day

and hundreds of hours a month with an avatar that evolves in time and have its own life,

environment, and consequences of its acts. If the individual requires a short-term

experience in a game, the face-to-face game is the best option for a player, because it

provides the experience of a win-lose game in minutes or hours. The switch of an

MMORPG player to a face-to-face game or from a face-to-face player to an MMORPG

game may provoke the abandonment of both players, due to the difference of expectations

and experience.

The MMORPG may have similarities to a dream experience or subconscious states of the

individual, because the MMORPG introduces the mind of the individual inside the game,

no matter how the body of the individual behaves, because the new body of the individual

is the avatar inside the game and the individual communicates to other players between the

avatars. In the case of a face-to-face game, there is a conscious and “wake-up” experience

of game with the other players, when the communication language with the other players is

the “body language” [ CITATION Hou12 \l 8202 ].

MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ONLINE ROLE-PLAYING GAMES 5

A third difference of the two games is the expectation of each individual from the game

experience. If the individual requires a long-term experience in a game, a MMORPG is the

best option for a player, because it will provide an experience of dozens of hours a day and

hundreds of hours a month with an avatar that evolves in time and have its own life,

environment and consequences of its acts. If the individual requires a short-term experience

in a game, the face-to-face game is the best option for a player, because it provides the

experience of a win-lose game in minutes or hours. The switch of a MMORPG player to a

face-to-face game or from a face-to-face player to a MMORPG game may provoke the

abandonment of both players, due to the difference of expectations and experience.

MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ONLINE ROLE-PLAYING GAMES 6

Reference List

Hou, H.-T. (2012). Exploring the behavioral patterns of learners in an educational

massively multiple online role-playing game (MMORPG). Computers & Education

Volume 58, Issue 4, 1225-1233.

Hwa, S. (2009). Exploring user experiences as predictors of MMORPG addiction.

Computers & Education Volume 53, Issue 3, 990-999.

Zhong, Z.-J. (2011). The effects of collective MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online

Role-Playing Games) play on gamers’ online and offline social capital. Computers

in Human Behavior Volume 27, Issue 6, 2352-2363.