Massively Multiplayer Online Games
Games which support hundreds or thousands of players to inhabit the same game world and interact with each others.
While many games have several players, some games have very many players. This games, which for practical reasons need to be computer mediated to let many players share play sessions, are known as Massively Multiplayer Online Games.
Contents
Examples
Depending on how one defines massively, text-based multiuser adventures such as DragonMud and Kingdoms are among the first Massively Multiplayer Online Games. These were however not explicitly designed and deployed to support concurrent players numbering in the thousands, examples of games that do this include Ultima Online, World of Warcraft, Entropia Universe, and Eve Online. While all these are Computer-based Roleplaying Games to a larger or smaller degree, other game genres are possible. World War II Online is a FPS-based example and Hattrick is one simulating Soccer Management.
See the category Massively Multiplayer Online Games for all examples on the wiki.
Using the pattern
For practical reasons, Massively Multiplayer Online Games need to have some features. First, they have several players so designing them includes considering the various options connected to Multiplayer Games. Of these, supporting Late Arriving Players and Drop-In/Drop-Out are necessary since one cannot demand that all players should have their play sessions completely synchronized. Further, they need computer programs as Dedicated Game Facilitators to handle the large game states and to mediate the gameplay and the Communication Channels between players. This may be augmented with Game Masters to handle problematic Social Interaction between players and to collect information to develop Evolving Rule Sets.
Most often, Massively Multiplayer Online Games are designed to have players spend many play sessions interacting with them. This may be due to the intended Emergent Gameplay or Social Interaction only can occur when enough players are active simultaneously or they have spent enough time in the game. Encouraged Return Visits in general can be used for this purpose but more specific ways include Evolving Rule Sets and Events Timed to the Real World. The encouraging of Social Organizations such as Guilds is another way to have Encouraged Return Visits and may over time be the most efficient; the use of Invites make players use their own social networks outside the game to populate these.
Some patterns are not required in Massively Multiplayer Online Games but are still quite common in them. Massively Multiplayer Online Games often have Persistent Game Worlds but do not need to - Hattrick suffices with players, teams, and leagues. Purchasable Game Advantages may be difficult to avoid since players can discuss possible deals both within and outside the games, but Entropia Universe shows how this can also be accepted and encourage in the design.
Instances are a way to handle many players in the same area of a Game World but also a way to encourage Team Play in Guilds or the creation of Dynamic Alliances.
Game-Induced Player Social Status
Some Live Action Roleplaying games do approach the same numbers of players as Massively Multiplayer Online Games but differ in many other ways and the two patterns have relatively little in common.
Although similarly named, Massively Multiplayer Online Games mainly share functionality outside the actual gameplay with Massively Single-Player Online Games.
Diegetic Aspects
Interface Aspects
Narrative Aspects
Massively Multiplayer Online Games often have problems maintaining Diegetic Consistency, either due to using Instances or to the practical problem of continuously generating enough context to support Never Ending Stories for large Persistent Game Worlds.
Consequences
Putting many players into the same game make it more or less impossible for Social Interaction and Emergent Gameplay not to occur. Further, since the games nearly always need updates to handle bugs, Events Timed to the Real World, or issues with Player Balance due to the Emergent Gameplay, they also have Evolving Rule Sets.
Relations
Can Instantiate
Social Interaction, Emergent Gameplay, Evolving Rule Sets Purchasable Game Advantages
with Instances
with Purchasable Game Advantages
Can Modulate
Can Be Instantiated By
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with Dedicated Game Facilitators and Multiplayer Games
Drop-In/Drop-Out, Late Arriving Players
Can Be Modulated By
Communication Channels, Game Masters, Guilds, Instances, Invites, Persistent Game Worlds, Purchasable Game Advantages, Encouraged Return Visits, Events Timed to the Real World, Evolving Rule Sets, Social Organizations
Possible Closure Effects
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Potentially Conflicting With
History
New pattern created in this wiki.
References
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Acknowledgements
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