You jump out of a window right as it explodes, and then cast a spell to fight off the hordes of goblins right on your back. This is a common occurrence in the world of MMORPG’s (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game). Hundreds of thousands of people play them, some even paying for them. While there are some well none ones like World Of Warcraft, and some lesser known ones such as Dark Ages, it seems like everyone wants in on the action.

Ever since the release of Ultima Online, it seems like hundreds MMORPG’s spring up every night. If you Google MMORPG, the number of results is in the thousands. The business model of these games varies greatly from game to game. Some use a subscription-based philosophy, i.e. World Of Warcraft and RunesScape. Others use an “Item Mall” system, where the game is free to play, but if you want to get better weapons for instance, you have to pay for them with real money. Still others use a money conversion system, in which you can spend real money for in-game money.

One thing that makes these games so appealing is the wide variety of settings you can play in. No matter if you like fantasy or sci-fi, or even a chance to live real life again, you can find a MMORPG to suit your interests. In fact, if you like pirates for example, you find 2 or 3 high quality games on that topic. Another reason that those games are so popular is the social aspect. Some games have thousands of people playing them at once, so you’ll never run out of people to talk to, no matter what time of day you play.

But unfortunately the amount of profit associated with the business has attracted a lot of attentions and has created a sort of stereotype. Many children find these games fun, and know how much money the makers are receiving. However, these children who want to create their own MMORPG have no idea of how much effort it takes to create one. Even with technologies such as Realm Crafter which make the process easy, many people will most likely need help somewhere along the way. Although one or two people asking for help on something isn’t very annoying, it’s when hundreds ask for help in creating “The best MMORPG ever that will be like WoW but better” that people start to lose their patience. The number of people doing this is huge, and often leads to communities collapsing because of the constant spam asking for help.

However, there are some promising serious indie MMORPG developers that keep people coming back for more. After all, the world famous RuneScape was created by a guy and his friends, so there may be hope for the genera of game after all.