Assignment 3: Web Play, Online Games & Gamification 302 Ever wanted to find out more about massively multiplayer online role playing games? Say no more, everything you need to know is right here!

1. MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ONLINE
ROLE- PLAYING GAMES (MMPORPG):
A LOOK IN TO WORLD OF WARCRAFT
Danica. C.
Web Play 302

2. What are MMPORPGs anyway?
This new and exciting gaming genre has grown extremely
popular within the last decade. It’s defined as a:
“persistent, networked, interactive game that allows players
to simultaneously play and interact with one another in
representations of fantasy 3D spaces” (Dickey, 2011, para.
3).

3. There are three main features that distinguish this genre
from other games. All MMPORGs must:
• Possess a massive number of players
• Have some degree of role playing involved
• Take place in a virtual world that continues to exist and
change even when the player is offline. (Leiser &
Mousavidin, 2015).
Image via
Shutterstock

4. A Brief History of MMORPGs
• The term was first coined in 1977 by Richard Garriott. It’s
previously been used to describe other similar games
including Ultima Online.
• Early games were lacking in graphics and therefore
heavily relied on player’s imagination to tell the story.
• They were loosely based on text-based role playing
games that were only popular within a small amount of
players.
• The games were also impacted by offline influences
including Dungeons & Dragons & Lord of the Rings
(Indvik 2012).

5. World of War Craft (WoW)
• This game was released in 2004 by Activision Blizzard
• It still holds the title of being the most popular MMORPG with
currently over 5 million subscribers after a slight decline (Tassi, 2015).
• This was the fourth game within the Warcraft universe series.
• The first was Warcraft: Orcs & Humans that was released in 1994
(Stickney, 2010).
Capitemflam!, 2013

6. Economic Factors
• Available on both PC and Mac, WoW follows a subscription based
payment method. It’s currently available from $14.30 per month.
• Players can also receive one month of free limited game play up to
level 20.
• In game service purchases available such as mythical pets, avatar
appearance changes and character boosts (World of War Craft,
2016).
Image via
Shutterstock

7. Game Play
• The game takes place in the virtual
world of Azeroth.
• Players create an avatar to play
as, they have the power to choose
their avatar’s race (such as
human, orc, elf), class (such as
warriors or priest), gender, skills,
occupation and more!
• Players also have the choice to
either enter the Alliance with or
Horde. This determines their allies
and enemies within the game.
“Legendz Of The Past”,rolo
tomassi, 2009.

8. Realms & Game Play
After installing the game, players will be
asked to choose a realm that will dictate
their gaming experience experience. The
four options are:
• Player Vs Environment (PVE)- If you
want to the opportunity to explore the
gaming world without participating in
combat, this is the option for you.
Although the option to fight other
players is still available.
• Player Vs Player (PVP)- This is very
similar to PVE realms, except once a
player leaves their faction they can be
attacked anywhere by opposing
players.
“World of War Craft”, Juanpol, 2005.

9. • Roleplay (RP)- For players wanting to enhance their escapism
experience, this is the perfect realm to tell a story through role
play and interact with other users.
• Roleplay Player versus Player (RP-PVP)- This realm allows
players to engage with the exciting virtual world while
participating in role play (Gray 2011).
• It’s up to the player to choose what realm is best for their
gaming experience.
• Players make progress within the game by taking on quests
from the gaming characters to acquire new skills and gain in-
game currency.

10. Motivations Behind Play
When playing WoW and other MMPORGs, there are three
broad types of motivators identified, there are features
within the game that specifically meet these motivations:
• Achievement- these are the players who use much more
time and effort to advance and progress throughout the
game.
• Social Activity- Players can communicate with each other
via audio and written. They are motivated to form new
relationships and solve problems as within a team.
• Immersion- These players want to escape into a brand
new virtual world and explore as much of it as possible.
Billieuxa et al., 2013).

11. Social Interactivity
There are specific quests and challenges throughout the game
deliberately too difficult to conquer as an individual player. Therefore
the only way to get past them is become a part of a community.
The game provides incentives for a collaborative culture, when players
embrace them by taking part in guilds and communities to overcome
challenges (Dickey, 2011).
This allows relationships to foster within the game and give players
social skills.
Image via
Shutterstock

12. What Separates Wow from other
MMORPGs
While there are other MMORPGs available, WoW is by far
the most successful for many reasons including:
• Superior graphics that highlight the beauty of the virtual
world
• Quicker loading time between exploring worlds
• Shorter time between injury generation so players can go
back into combat much quicker
• An engaging soundtrack that changes between when
players travel between worlds to create an immersive
experience (1UP Staff, 2004).

13. Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games
(MMPORPG): A Look Into World of Warcraft by Danica
C. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License.

14. References
• 1UP Staff (2004). World of War Craft. Retrieved from
http://www.1up.com/reviews/world-of-warcraft_2.
• Billieuxa, J.,Van der Lindenb, M., Achabc,S., Khazaalc. Y,
Paraskevopoulosb, L., Zullinoc, D.,…Thorensc, G. (2013).Why
do you play World of Warcraft? An in-depth exploration of self-
reported motivations to play online and in-game behaviours in
the virtual world of Azeroth. Computers in Human Behaviour,
23, 103-109. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012.07.021.
• Capitemflam!. (2013). Untitled [Image]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbYyMA5j4fQ.
• Dickey, M. (2011). World of Warcraft and the impact of game culture
and play in an undergraduate game design course. Computers
& Education, 56, 200-209.doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2010.08.005.
• Grey, M. (2011). WoW Rookie: How to Choose Your Realm.Retrieved
from http://www.engadget.com/2011
/10/27/wow-rookie-how-to-chose-your-realm-type/.
• Juanpol. (2005).World of War Craft [Image]. Retrieved from
https://www.flickr.com/photos/juanpol/8232592.

15. References
• Indvik, L. (2012). The Fascinating History of Online Role-
Playing Games. Retrieved from http://mashable.com
/2012/11/14/mmorpgs-history/#XDUfYDhc6uqD.
• Leiser, S., & Mousavidinb,E.(2015).Strategic thinking in virtual
worlds: Studying World of Warcraf. Computers in Human
Behaviour, 46, 168-180. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2014.12.047.
• Rolo Tomassi (2009). Legendz Of The Past [Image]. Retrieved from
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tidesofpewpew/3654858964.
• Stickney, A. (2010). Know Your Lore: Lore 101, part 1. Retrived from
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/22/know-your- lore-lore-101-
part-1/.
• Tassi, P. (2015). Activision No Longer Has To Fear Declining
'World of Warcraft' Subscriptions. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/
insertcoin/2015/11/03/activision-no-longer-has-to- fear-
declining-world-of-warcraftsubscriptions/#7 c47a0dd1273.
• World of Warcraft Products. (2016). Retrieved
https://us.battle.net/shop/en/product/world-of-warcraft-subscription