What Is The Fascination With Online Role Playing Games?

I watched with amazement as my nephew went on a World of Warcraft raid. It wasn't just a fantasy world on the screen...it was an entirely different universe that he was living in.

There he was totally absorbed into the game and removed from the real world. He and his "gang" (not sure if that is the right word), were about to go on a raid against a rival gang and were out to steal their gold, weapons and land...at least I think that's what they were up to.

It was intense and I just didn't recognise the language and terms of reference they were using. It really was a different world and he was totally immersed in it. Nothing could gain his attention - not even dinner. Everything was cast aside to complete the raid successfully.

What also really amazed me was that he we were in Vancouver and his gang comprised people from Canada, the U.K, the U.S and even Australia...the poor chap in Australia had to be up at 3am to participate!

My nephew was 16 at the time, his team members were of all ages, across a wide variety of backgrounds and ethnicities, all totally hooked on this MMORPG as they are known.

Are you any the wiser?

O.K, I'll explain, an MMORPG is a "Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game".

In short these amazing, incredibly complex online "virtual worlds" have been created. You, as a player, assume a role within the environment and then go on crusades and missions to increase your skills and wealth within the virtual world.

They are hugely complex and highly addictive and hugely profitable for the makers. I understand as far back as 2005 the worldwide market was worth $500 million, and they have become far more popular since then.

You not only have to pay to get the game in the first place, you then have to pay a monthly fee to remain in the virtual world.

The makers of these games keep people interested by regularly releasing new worlds, tasks, characters, weapons etc etc.

And, because these virtual worlds (particularly in World of Warcraft) are hosted not only on the makers servers, but many other servers all over the world (the real world)...the virtual worlds can continue to develop and change even if you are offline (or AFK - away from keyboard to use the vernacular).

Popular games include EverQuest, Rune and of course the hugely popular World of Warcraft.

All games require you to complete certain taks to progress to higher levels within the game. For example in World of Warcraft you need to complete many boring tasks repeatedly (this is called grinding) to achieve new levels and collect the much vaunted gold.

However, it's interesting to note that real economnies have sprung up around WoW where people actually buy and sell virtual gold for real dollars. Most online stores and auction sites have banned this, but it still goes on.

A vibrant market for leveling guides has also sprung up. These are guides published and sold by experts that teach you how to get to certain levels quickly by cutting out a lot of the grind. The market is huge.

Many parents also worry about the addictive nature of these games, and having seen that at first hand I can see why parents are worried. There is no doubt these games are technically advanced and have a weird fascination and are hugely addictive, partiuclarly to the young mind.

I think playing in moderation would probably be a help to mental agility, but for 14 hours a day, at the expense of all else, that is more worrying...and costly!

Now, it could be argued that World of Warcraft has been the undisupted king of MMORPG's...until now.

2nd February 2010 saw the launch of a major new MMORPG - Star Trek Online.

Not only does this have many similar facets to World of Warcraft, it also plays on the "Trekkie" culture and huge commitment of Star Trek fans.

Set 40 years on from the last major Star Trek movie (Nemesis) which was the last in the Star Trek timeline (even post Voyager), some leaps in the storyline have been made to put the Federation at war with the Klingons again (well it had to be didn't it?)

The Borg do figure in clips I have seen, but are not mentioned in any of the instruction videos, I guess they're gonna come along and cause some havoc later on.

Having said that the writers (and makers), Cryptic Studios (who took the game on from a bust Perpetual Entertainment) have done a good job.

A full history and background plot have been developed and cartoon style filler videos have been released to bring everyone up to speed with the storyline as it applies in the 25th Century (2409 to be precise).

Having watched a 9 minute online demo I can see the same levels of complexity as World of Warcraft and I can see the same properties in Star Trek Online that made World of Warcraft so addictive and popular.

Already, as at 10th February the term "Star Trek Online" can boast nearly 25 million search results on Google, and the hype surrounding the game is building massively.

The beta testers are now out there boldly going where no MMORPG gamers have gone before. And the rest are playing catch up.

The game itself? Well, I'm not going to get involved. I don't mind the odd episode of any variant of Star Trek on late night cable T.V, but getting addicted to this, or indeed any MMORPG - no, not for me.

But, the graphics look good, better than Wow (in my opinion) the action is OK, although from what I can see the deck is very much stacked in the Federations favour :>)

In the clip I saw, a complete newbie took out three Klingon warships when he couldn't even get his own starship to fly in the right direction, but hey, it's all good clean fun.

The only tips I picked up, make sure you get the right crew, who have good skills and can help train the rest of your bridge crew. Make sure you get your ship equipment customisation right and that your crew and ship customisation are complimentary! These are the key areas to give
you an advantage in battle and the powers you have access to.

Amazingly the leveling guide industry has already picked up on Star Trek Online, so if you want to cheat your way to Captain (you have to start at Ensign) you can now do it in double quick time! I'm guessing the guide that is already available has been written by beta testers!

Anyway, enjoy boldly battling your your own way across the universe and destroying hundreds of Klingons as you go, but beware of the Klingons on the starboard bow!

Have fun!