Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games

The People, the Addiction and the Playing Experience

R.V. Kelly 2 (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

207 Seiten

2004
McFarland & Co Inc (Verlag)
978-0-7864-1915-9 (ISBN)

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This book is about the fastest growing form of electronic game - the Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG). It introduces these self-contained three-dimensional virtual worlds, often inhabited by thousands of players, and describes their evolution; it also delves into the psychology of the people who inhabit the game universe.

This book is about the fastest growing form of electronic game in the world--the Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG). The evolution of these self-contained three-dimensional virtual worlds, often inhabited by thousands of players, is described here. This work also delves into the psychology of the people who inhabit the game universe and explores the development of the unique cultures, economies, moral codes, and slang in these virtual communities. It explains how the games are built, the spin-offs that players create to enhance their game lives, and peeks at the future of MMORPGs as they evolve from a form of amusement to an educational, scientific, and business tool.

Based on hundreds of interviews over a three-year period, the work explores reasons people are attracted to and addicted to these games. It also surveys many existing and upcoming games, identifying their unique features and attractions. Two appendices list online addiction organizations and MMORPG information sites.

R.V. Kelly 2 is the former head of Virtual Reality, Artificial Life, and Distance Learning Application Development at Digital Equipment Corporation and has been building synthetic worlds (for immersive biology, language development, and knowledge engineering) for 20 years. He currently works for Hong Kong Academy building worlds for the teaching of Chinese. He lives in Medfield, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Appeal of the Unreal

1. Out of the MUD: The Evolution of Synthetic Worlds

The Deep Past

D&D and MUDs

2. MMORPG Culture

A Quick Primer

Failsafe

Quests: Frodo, Take This Ring to Mordor

Guilds: The Three Thousand Musketeers

Game Economies: Greed as a Creed

Killer Be Killed

3. The Psychology of MMORPG Players

4. Attraction and Addiction

5. Sampling the Games

6. The Private World of MMORPGs

Spawned Enterprises: Go Forth and Multiply

Macros and Bots and Scripts, Oh My

Slang: Who You Callin’ a Twinked Noob

7. Making a MMORPG

Game Design

Art

Animation

Programming

Databases and Servers

Story, Sound, and Music

Final Touches

8. The Future of MMORPGs

Appendix

Bibliography

Index

Erscheint lt. Verlag	30.9.2004
Zusatzinfo	6 photos, appendices, bibliography, index
Verlagsort	Jefferson, NC
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Gewicht	318 g
Themenwelt	Mathematik / Informatik ► Informatik ► Web / Internet
	Informatik ► Weitere Themen ► Computerspiele
	Sozialwissenschaften
ISBN-10	0-7864-1915-6 / 0786419156
ISBN-13	978-0-7864-1915-9 / 9780786419159
Zustand	Neuware