The question of the day is, “What is the purpose of playing an MMOG?”. Now, this is a completely fair question. Why would you play something if it doesn’t make sense for you to or if you don’t understand what you’re supposed to get from it? The quick answer to this question is that these games were created as a way to give users (players) the ability to play a game and have an experience they won’t find in any other gaming format. You’re living, essentially, a life that you won’t be able to find in any other environment – for instance, in the real world. There doesn’t have to be a specific reason for this either, it’s really just the way things are. It’s not about completing an objective for most people (even though it may seem that way). It’s more so about the adventure, interaction, and freedom that these games allow players to have.
What is an MMOG?
To make sure we’re on the same page here an MMOG is a Massively Multiplayer Online Game. MMOG‘s are basically the father (or mother) of the MMORPG category. The online gameplay feature of MMOG’ s is a big part of what makes these games so popular.
A few types of MMOG are as follows:
- Fighting/action
- RTS or real time strategy
- RPG or role-playing game
- First person shooter
- Racing
etc.
*More on MMORPG’s can be found here.
They can be broken down into a wide variety of different subgenres such as racing, fighting, etc. but for the most part they all have the same characteristics: they allow people to interact with each other, compete, socialize, upgrade themselves, and have altogether fun. The need to interact with other is innate in all of us (most of us) and MMOG allow players to do just that, in real time I might add.
The entire goal of MMOG‘s is to provide players with a social and entertaining platform for players to congregate on. These games provide players with tasks that allow them to interact with one another, and a variety of tools that can also aid them in this task.
Conclusion
There you have it, the reason or purpose that many people (including myself) play MMOG’s. The goal is the adventure, interaction, and fun you get from being able to play with more people than yourself – it’s usually not about accomplishment. Even more so than that players are able to live lives they likely wouldn’t have been able to play if they hadn’t played the game. For more information check out the resources below.
Resources:
https://www.techopedia.com/definition/27054/massively-multiplayer-online-game-mmog