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What does MMO mean to you?

jmcdermottukjmcdermottuk Member RarePosts: 1,571
The question is this:

What does MMO mean to you?

The letters following MMO can be anything you like, MMORPG, MMOFPS, MMOG, whatever. It's those first three letters I'm interested in.

Massively Multiplayer Online.

I remember when mulit-player games first appeared. I used to haul my PC to a mates house and connect them via a null modem cable so we could play a dogfight flight sim against each other. I became interested in networks because of Doom and it's IPX network, something that ultimately led me into a career in IT as a network engineer.

Then came Meridian 59 and Ultima Online, where literally hundreds of players could interact. These were followed by Everquest, Asherons Call, Dark Age of Camelot, EVE. All MMO's in the sense that very large numbers of players could participate together.

Lately I've seen this term applied to games which I could never consider to be MMO's. DayZ, D3, World of Tanks, Vindictus to name a few all with forum space, news articles and such on this site. How can anyone call these games MMO's when they are so restricted in the number of players that can actually interact during gameplay?

WoT may have 3 million registered players but you only ever see 30 on a map. Is that massive? Does that make any of the Battlefield titles MMO's as they have 64 players on a map? Does anyone else think that we're losing the Massive from our MMO's?

There are a couple of games due for release or in development now that deserve the MMO title. Guild Wars 2 and Planetside 2 for example. On the other hand I see so many lobby based games mentioned and yet they seem to be thrown into the MMO pot as well.

I see people making posts about how they'd like more instant action in group dungeons or PvP maps but does that mean that MMO's should change or that they're simply playing the wrong genre?

I want my MMO's to be MASSIVE. I want to see hundreds of people in the virtual world I occupy. If I want to play multi-player games I can do that too, but that doesn't mean I want my MMO's to become mere multi-players, and that's exactly what games like WoT, DayZ and D3 are. Am I alone in thinking like this or are there others out there who are worried that were losing something important in our MMO games?

So, what does MMO mean to you?
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Comments

  • maplestonemaplestone Member UncommonPosts: 3,099

    To me, it means a big database that's not on my computer.

  • NadiaNadia Member UncommonPosts: 11,798

    More Munchkins Online!

     

    if i see 50 moving avatars online in the same zone its a mmo to me, but thats me

  • TibernicusTibernicus Member Posts: 433

    It means what is has always meant since the term was coined.

     

    A massive (thousands) number of people playing together in at the same time in a simulated virtual world. There's also the subtle implication that such games are designed to facilitate community and socializing.

    UO coined the term, I believe, and it applies to games like UO.

    Sadly, modern day online coop games have taken it over in order to try justifying the monthly fee model that only ever really worked in MMOs.

  • laokokolaokoko Member UncommonPosts: 2,004
    It means you can't find a game to play.  Terminology dont' matter.  What matters is there's not enough games you like. 
  • waynejr2waynejr2 Member EpicPosts: 7,769
    Originally posted by Tibernicus

    It means what is has always meant since the term was coined.

     

    A massive (thousands) number of people playing together in at the same time in a simulated virtual world. There's also the subtle implication that such games are designed to facilitate community and socializing.

    UO coined the term, I believe, and it applies to games like UO.

    Sadly, modern day online coop games have taken it over in order to try justifying the monthly fee model that only ever really worked in MMOs.

    Richard Bartle came up with the term.

    Massively, at the time, was reaching 500 concurrent connections.

    http://www.youhaventlived.com/qblog/2010/QBlog190810A.html  

    Epic Music:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAigCvelkhQ&list=PLo9FRw1AkDuQLEz7Gvvaz3ideB2NpFtT1

    https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos?&sort=-downloads&page=1

    Kyleran:  "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience because it lacks a few features you prefer."

    John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."

    FreddyNoNose:  "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."

    LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you playing an MMORPG?"




  • SicaeSicae Member Posts: 110

    It makes me think of big communities where you could do events with 100+ players participating. It also reminds me of old battles that lasted for more than a day. Sadly, it also reminds me of grinding same place in a group of 5 until you got your stuff.

  • TibernicusTibernicus Member Posts: 433
    Originally posted by waynejr2
    Originally posted by Tibernicus

    It means what is has always meant since the term was coined.

     

    A massive (thousands) number of people playing together in at the same time in a simulated virtual world. There's also the subtle implication that such games are designed to facilitate community and socializing.

    UO coined the term, I believe, and it applies to games like UO.

    Sadly, modern day online coop games have taken it over in order to try justifying the monthly fee model that only ever really worked in MMOs.

    Richard Bartle came up with the term.

    Massively, at the time, was reaching 500 concurrent connections.

    Heh, way way WAY beyond what most "MMOs" consider massive now.

    How many people can you have in an AoC zone, 30?

     

    Originally posted by Sicae

    It makes me think of big communities where you could do events with 100+ players participating. It also reminds me of old battles that lasted for more than a day. Sadly, it also reminds me of grinding same place in a group of 5 until you got your stuff.

     

    Yeah and now instead you just grind quests that dictate where you can go and when, and you do it by yourself.

  • FoomerangFoomerang Member UncommonPosts: 5,628

    A virtual world populated by real people from across the globe.

  • dudeduder45dudeduder45 Member Posts: 67
    Man on man orgy
  • MeowheadMeowhead Member UncommonPosts: 3,716
    Originally posted by Foomerang

    A virtual world populated by real people from across the globe.

     .... what does across the globe have to do with it? :(

    I'm pretty sure if a game was only popular in say... Peru, it could still be an MMO.

    MMO means to me that it's massively multiplayer and it's online.  Not sure why being able to log on from around the world has anything to do with it!

    (Though you should tell the Koreans that.  Damn them and their closed betas that require Korean social security numbers...)

     

  • FoomerangFoomerang Member UncommonPosts: 5,628


    Originally posted by Meowhead

    Originally posted by Foomerang A virtual world populated by real people from across the globe.
     .... what does across the globe have to do with it? :(

    I'm pretty sure if a game was only popular in say... Peru, it could still be an MMO.

    MMO means to me that it's massively multiplayer and it's online.  Not sure why being able to log on from around the world has anything to do with it!

    (Though you should tell the Koreans that.  Damn them and their closed betas that require Korean social security numbers...)

     


    I put the globe thing up there to indicate that it was across the internet as opposed to a giant lan party. It was a big deal to me to be able to play in a virtual world with someone halfway across the planet. You could easily switch out "globe" for "internet". That probably defines my answer better anyway.

  • laokokolaokoko Member UncommonPosts: 2,004

    So basically if we make a seperate terms for Wow and Wow clones.  And still do not make any "quote quote mmorpg" you guys will be happier?

    It's just terminology.  If you have a problem with it, tell the staff of this site to remove 90% of the mmorpg game list.

    The problem is you guys don't have games to play.  Developer isn't developing games you like.

  • TibernicusTibernicus Member Posts: 433
    Originally posted by laokoko

    So basically if we make a seperate terms for Wow and Wow clones.  And still do not make any "quote quote mmorpg" you guys will be happier?

    It's just terminology.  If you have a problem with it, tell the staff of this site to remove 90% of the mmorpg game list.

    The problem is you guys don't have games to play.  Developer isn't developing games you like.

    The developers aren't developing MMORPGs, yes that is indeed the problem.

  • laokokolaokoko Member UncommonPosts: 2,004
    Originally posted by Tibernicus
    Originally posted by laokoko

    So basically if we make a seperate terms for Wow and Wow clones.  And still do not make any "quote quote mmorpg" you guys will be happier?

    It's just terminology.  If you have a problem with it, tell the staff of this site to remove 90% of the mmorpg game list.

    The problem is you guys don't have games to play.  Developer isn't developing games you like.

    The developers aren't developing MMORPGs, yes that is indeed the problem.

    ya but wow is a mmorpg, and so is all the wow clone.  they are called mmorpgs.  So you are wrong.  The developers are developing mmorpg.  And if you look to your left.  There's a listing of 900 mmorpg.

  • 3-4thElf3-4thElf Member Posts: 489

    Pay to play single player games with bossy raid-based multiplayer end games.

    Kind of sad really.

    There was a time when it meant I'd log in and upkeep my castle and go explore a world.

    a yo ho ho

  • ariestearieste Member UncommonPosts: 3,309

    Means a game with a persistent world that supports more simultaneous players than a "multiplayer game" (hence "massively").   Multiplayer games tend to cap out at 100-200, so anything bigger is probably "massively".

     

    "I’d rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."

    - Raph Koster

    Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO
    Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall
    Currently Playing: ESO

  • MMOExposedMMOExposed Member RarePosts: 7,387
    Originally posted by arieste

    Means a game with a persistent world that supports more simultaneous players than a "multiplayer game" (hence "massively").   Multiplayer games tend to cap out at 100-200, so anything bigger is probably "massively".

     

    I agree. Persistent world with large scale multiplayer. No Instanced World beyond servers.

    Philosophy of MMO Game Design

  • MephsterMephster Member Posts: 1,188
    MMO means to me not a rpg with tacked on multiplayer. MMOs are supposed to be worlds you make not instanced maps with persistance inside.

    Grim Dawn, the next great action rpg!

    http://www.grimdawn.com/

  • IcewhiteIcewhite Member Posts: 6,403

    Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.

  • JuJutsuJuJutsu Member Posts: 331
    To me it means Massively Multiplayer Online.
  • TibernicusTibernicus Member Posts: 433
    Originally posted by laokoko
    Originally posted by Tibernicus
    Originally posted by laokoko

    So basically if we make a seperate terms for Wow and Wow clones.  And still do not make any "quote quote mmorpg" you guys will be happier?

    It's just terminology.  If you have a problem with it, tell the staff of this site to remove 90% of the mmorpg game list.

    The problem is you guys don't have games to play.  Developer isn't developing games you like.

    The developers aren't developing MMORPGs, yes that is indeed the problem.

    ya but wow is a mmorpg, and so is all the wow clone.  they are called mmorpgs.  So you are wrong.

    I'm going to release a game in third person without guns, and call it an FPS.

     

    You'll be wrong to say it isn't!

  • laokokolaokoko Member UncommonPosts: 2,004
    Originally posted by Tibernicus
    Originally posted by laokoko
    Originally posted by Tibernicus
    Originally posted by laokoko

    So basically if we make a seperate terms for Wow and Wow clones.  And still do not make any "quote quote mmorpg" you guys will be happier?

    It's just terminology.  If you have a problem with it, tell the staff of this site to remove 90% of the mmorpg game list.

    The problem is you guys don't have games to play.  Developer isn't developing games you like.

    The developers aren't developing MMORPGs, yes that is indeed the problem.

    ya but wow is a mmorpg, and so is all the wow clone.  they are called mmorpgs.  So you are wrong.

    I'm going to release a game in third person without guns, and call it an FPS.

     

    You'll be wrong to say it isn't!

    you don't need to convince me.  You need to convince other people in the world.  If like 99% of the people consider wow as a mmorpg it is a mmorpg.  If you can convince 99% of the people in the world that a game in third person without guns is fps go for it.

    Apple is called apple for a reason.  Because people understand what an apple is when someone say apple.

    If you want to start a revolution, please submit a ticket to the staff of mmorpg.com and tell them to remove 90% of games in their game list.  I'll accept I'm wrong when you can convince other people in the world.

  • TibernicusTibernicus Member Posts: 433
    Originally posted by laokoko
    Originally posted by Tibernicus
    Originally posted by laokoko
    Originally posted by Tibernicus
    Originally posted by laokoko

    So basically if we make a seperate terms for Wow and Wow clones.  And still do not make any "quote quote mmorpg" you guys will be happier?

    It's just terminology.  If you have a problem with it, tell the staff of this site to remove 90% of the mmorpg game list.

    The problem is you guys don't have games to play.  Developer isn't developing games you like.

    The developers aren't developing MMORPGs, yes that is indeed the problem.

    ya but wow is a mmorpg, and so is all the wow clone.  they are called mmorpgs.  So you are wrong.

    I'm going to release a game in third person without guns, and call it an FPS.

     

    You'll be wrong to say it isn't!

    you don't need to convince me.  You need to convince other people in the world.  If like 99% of the people consider wow as a mmorpg it is a mmorpg.  If you can convince 99% of the people in the world that a game in third person without guns is fps go for it.

    Apple is called apple for a reason.  Because people understand what an apple is when someone say apple.

    If you want to start a revolution, please submit a ticket to the staff of mmorpg.com and tell them to remove 90% of games in their game list.  I'll accept I'm wrong when you can convince other people in the world.

    That makes absolutely zero sense, way to dodge the counter argument.

  • MMOExposedMMOExposed Member RarePosts: 7,387
    Originally posted by Tibernicus
    Originally posted by laokoko
    Originally posted by Tibernicus
    Originally posted by laokoko
    Originally posted by Tibernicus
    Originally posted by laokoko

    So basically if we make a seperate terms for Wow and Wow clones.  And still do not make any "quote quote mmorpg" you guys will be happier?

    It's just terminology.  If you have a problem with it, tell the staff of this site to remove 90% of the mmorpg game list.

    The problem is you guys don't have games to play.  Developer isn't developing games you like.

    The developers aren't developing MMORPGs, yes that is indeed the problem.

    ya but wow is a mmorpg, and so is all the wow clone.  they are called mmorpgs.  So you are wrong.

    I'm going to release a game in third person without guns, and call it an FPS.

     

    You'll be wrong to say it isn't!

    you don't need to convince me.  You need to convince other people in the world.  If like 99% of the people consider wow as a mmorpg it is a mmorpg.  If you can convince 99% of the people in the world that a game in third person without guns is fps go for it.

    Apple is called apple for a reason.  Because people understand what an apple is when someone say apple.

    If you want to start a revolution, please submit a ticket to the staff of mmorpg.com and tell them to remove 90% of games in their game list.  I'll accept I'm wrong when you can convince other people in the world.

    That makes absolutely zero sense, way to dodge the counter argument.

    actually they are right. WoW clone is just a term for themepark now days, since themeparks before WoW wasnt as well known as they are after WoW.

    WoW and other WoW Like MMO are in fact MMO, because they host persistent worlds that massively multiplayer can exist.

    In WoW for instances, you have instanced raids, but also have access to a persistent world. both are there, its up to the player to choose which they will do. Rift is a good example of this, because it also labeled a WoW Clone, yet has tons of Persistent world Content to do.

    Philosophy of MMO Game Design

  • Boradin5011Boradin5011 Member Posts: 12
    It was always MMO = MMORPG to me. However, WoW took out the RPG.  Now theres a difference. 
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