MMORPG

Prashant Musale 102010033

Contents
Introduction History RPGs (Role Playing Games) Computer Games MMORPG Terms Game Play Technology Client-Server Interaction Future Development

Introduction
Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game.
Similar to Role Playing Game. Large Number of Players. Virtual game world as a real place with real rules. Characters (PC/NPC) Goal is to develop players character. Eg. Warcraft, Ragnarok.

History
Ultima Online- 1997 EverQuest (EverCrack)- 1999 Guild Wars City of Heroes EVE Online Lord of the Rings Online Ragnarok. World of Warcraft.

RPGs (Role Playing Games)

Less Number of Players. Played in LAN.

Game Master Creates Campaign/world from Existing Worlds.

Own Rules can be set. Tasks can be assigned to PCs. Game Cannot be Saved. World is fixed. Static World. Choice of PCs (Limited).

Computer Games
Played on Stand-Alone Machines. World cannot be created. World is Fixed. World is Static.

No choice of PCs.
Game can be Saved.

Rules are according to Game publisher.

MMORPG Terms
Player Character(PC)
Human Created. Interacts With Other NPCs and PCs. Different Type of Classes(Warriors, mages, healers etc.) Move through the world kills monsters, complete tasks assigned, gain experience, cash, weapons etc. After Certain Experience they level up Each level up makes PCs Stronger and they get access to new weapons, gears.

Once selected a PC by player he cannot change the character .(if he wants to change he has to start game from the start).

MMORPG Terms
Non-Playing Character(NPCs)
Computer Controlled Character. PCs fight with NPCs to gain experience, cash points.

Groups / Clans / Guilds

Groups of PCs formed by players mutually. Aim is to defeat a monster or clear a level. Help lower level player to acquire experience and gear.

MMORPG Terms
Virtual Game World
Virtual World as a real place with real rules. Persistent. Publisher makes frequent changes to world to keep user involved in Game. As changes are made frequently patches have to be downloaded by Client every time a change is made to a World.

Game Play
When a new character enters the world, it starts out in a zone with lowlevel enemies and lots of quests. Once the player completes the quests, the character is usually strong enough to move on to a neighboring zone, which has slightly harder quests and enemies. While this gives most games a logical progression, some players find it repetitive and refer to the quest-and-level cycle as the Level Treadmill. In general, as players progress, they gain access to better abilities, higher-quality gear and faster transportation methods. But the game doesn't stop when players reach the level cap. Reaching the highest level often gives characters access to endgame dungeons. These dungeons are exceptionally difficult and sometimes require large numbers of players to complete. For some people, these dungeons, or raids, are the point of the game. But for others, the game is as much about socializing as it is about getting gear and loot.

Game Play
Features :
Classes and skills allow players to customize their characters. Different classes have different strengths and weaknesses, as do different skill sets.

Mobile objects, also known as mobs, give players opponents to fight. Mobs are any enemies that players can kill to gain treasure or experience.
Transportation methods, such as boats, space ships, mounts and teleportation devices allow characters to move over large distances in shorter amounts of time. Containers, like backpacks and bags, let players manage their characters' inventories. Often, these containers display items in a grid. Some worlds allow characters to carry only a certain amount of weight. In many games, players can keep part of their inventory in virtual banks.

Technology
The term "server" is really a misnomer -- most MMORPGs require lots of servers. The most obvious, the world server, is where the game takes place. Sometimes, a world server is really several servers, and each one contains a particular zone or continent.

Many games divide the player population into multiple world servers, also known as worlds or realms.
On a physical level, different realms are virtually identical, and each has its own group of players, which can't often communicate with players on other servers. However, communities on each sever can develop distinct personalities. One realm might be dedicated to player-versus-player combat, while another might be primarily used by players who are interested in raiding.

Technology
The server has several responsibilities as well. Sometimes, these require input from the client, but in general, the server:
Compares where your character is to where mobs, players and NPCs are. Calculates whether a character is in range of the mob the player wants to attack. Notifies your client when you're being attacked. Calculates the probability of whether your attacks are successful. Reports how much damage or healing you do to you and the rest of your party. Notifies other players' clients when you damage or heal their characters. Instructs your computer to display a mob's death animation when you kill it. Determines what loot drops when you kill a mob.

Technology
MMORPGs require other servers as well:
A login server allows players to log in to the game and access the game world. Some games route players from multiple realms through one login server. A chat server relays all the text players use to communicate with one another. A VoIP or voice server does the same for voice traffic. A Web server allows players to access their account information. Some games display characters' statistics and gear on a Web page -- in these cases, the game's databases have to have access to the Web server. Some games have their own game logic server, which performs all the necessary calculations related to game play and physics.

Technology
A client is a combination of the playing board and the window used to view the game world. Nearly everything about the world -- including maps, landscapes and even what different mobs look like -- exists in files and databases on your computer. Your computer uses algorithms, or sets of rules, to translate these files into a representation of the game world and what's in it. Your computer processes the game's sound and graphics. The game client on your computer also houses your user interface (UI), or the buttons and keystrokes you use to participate in the game. The client also tells the server where you are, where you're going and what actions your character takes. A game client receives lots of information from the server as the game progresses, and handling it all requires lots of processing power. Game play can slow to a crawl for players with slow processors or poor graphics processing power, particularly in high-traffic areas. For this reason, many players find that they have to exceed a game's minimum system requirements in order to have a good playing experience.

Client-Server Interaction
The group approaches the mob. The groups' clients inform the server of where they are, and the server tells the clients which monster is nearby. The client accesses files relating to the monster's appearance and movement, which are stored on the computer's hard drive. A tank, or a character designed to be able to absorb a lot of damage, attacks the mob. The tank's client sends a message to the server, informing it of the attack. The server relays that information to the rest of the group's clients. The party's damage dealers, known as damage per second (DPS) or nukes, attack the mob. Their clients inform the server of what actions they take. The server calculates damage dealt and received and informs each client. The party's healer casts healing spells on the members of the party. The healer's client informs the server of what spells are being cast and on whom. The server calculates how much healing is done and relays the information to the rest of the party.

Client-Server Interaction
The mob's artificial intelligence (AI) protocols determine how the mob behaves during the fight, and the server relays that information to the clients. If the party successfully kills the monster, the server informs each client to display the monster's death animation, which is stored on the computer's hard drive.

A member of the party loots the monster to see what treasure it carried. The server selects items from a loot table at random and tells the clients which items dropped. If some of the players in the group have a quest that requires a certain item from the mob, the server instructs the client to display the icon for that item.
The players, using text or voice chat, decide who will get an item according to the rules of their group or guild. They may use a built-in random number generator to determine who gets what item. If so, the server which distributes the results to all the other clients. The player who wins the loot clicks on it to pick it up. The client informs the server that the player has done so. The server informs the client to add the item to the player's visible inventory. It also stores the change in the player's inventory in that player's database entry.

MMORPG Development
Time Consuming Expensive Lots of Contents Story Security Designs Frequents changes n design Maintenance

Sources
www.howstuffworks.com

www.mmorpg.com
Alexander, Thor, ed. "Massively Multiplayer Game Development 2." Charles River Media. 2005. Alexander, Thor, ed. "Massively Multiplayer Game Development." Charles River Media. 2003.

Thank You