Art and creativity

With video games today, publishers try to add as much content as possible. Even though they try, it is not enough for people to be satisfied. This is where the modding community comes in and changes things up. Players figure out how to make custom artwork for in the game. This art work is usually not so good, but some people have so much talent, they end up making their own games. An example of this is a game called Arma, a gentleman created a whole new version of the game that turned a war game into a zombie survival game. One can look at his work and call it art because of the skills it took to create something from nothing. Below is an comparison of the two games.

This video shows that even though the game is from the same game engine, it has differences that allow for a whole new experience.

Team Work

Teamwork is essential in the MMORPG games. Without it, you cannot get very far. Most players start out alone and then join groups called “Guilds”. Sometimes guilds are very selective about the members they take and sometimes they are not. It is all about doing tasks as a team to get what they need out of the game. The more players that know what they are doing, the easier it is to get things done. There is a popular video where a player named “LeeRoy Jenkins” goes off alone and ends up getting his group massacred. This video from Youtube is proof positive that teamwork is essential in games like these..

The whole point on MMORPG is to be in an online community and meet others and have a great time. Teamwork and collaborating with others is only the natural thing to do and without it, it is not fun at all.

Ways of making money and even earning a living

            Making money as a gamer is the ultimate goal of any gamer. Most people do not have the ability to be able to play and dominate in games. Some might argue that the ability is akin to playing professional sports. MTV once had an episode of True Life about a gamers who make money playing games through tournaments and endorsements. So it far from a new trend but it is a rising trend. There is an actual organization that is leading the way for people to make money gaming. It is called Major League Gaming.

For instance a gamer make 20k from playing Call of Duty in a tournament in November sponsored by MLG. The ability to craft out a living from playing a game is no different then those who play poker for a living. Gaming is not a new medium, but being able to use your ability and make large sums of money doing it is.

In a game like World of Warcraft, you can make money also by just playing the game. When you complete certain tasks within the game, you receive certain items for completing these tasks. Once you receive these items you can “give” the item to others players. An economic principal of the law of supply and demand comes into play. If someone wants something bad enough, they are willing to pay. If the said item is a rare item, and others want it the prices goes up. You can earn large sums of money doing such things like selling virtual items

The same concept also goes for character creation. For people like me who have no time to level up, you can actually buy leveled up characters. Buying a leveled up character gives you abilities that would take time to get to if you did it on your own. It used to be a bigger thing to buy leveled up characters but now major game companies will sell it themselves.

If I were to tell a random person on the street that you can make money playing video games, they would call for me to be committed. As tech improves, new ways to make a living from it emerges from it, this is no exception. Gaming is not new and with the social aspects of life becoming more intertwined with various games, challenges will be set up and money will be made from playing.

Relationships formed

Games that are played online require you to play and share experiences with others. In some online games, the style of play can be solo with some interaction. Some games require teamwork to get the tasks completed.

In Second Life you can play the game solo or you can have interaction with others. This game allows people to do whatever they want to do. Since there is currency within the game, one can meet someone and take them on a virtual date within the game. When they find that special someone within the game they can do what they want to do. There have been some instances for people getting married within the game. A picture from The Huffington Post below show and example of what a wedding within the game can look like.

There are also times that people are so enamored with their online buddy in the game, they end up becoming married in the real world. Like anything else, when you spend a large amount of time doing something, whether it be work, gaming, or whatever, you form relationships. With these relationships come feelings, sometimes these feelings become intense and real relationships follow.

In World of Warcraft, relationships must be formed to complete tasks within the game. There are some parts of the game where you have to beat a main boss to collect “earnings” to help you character level up and become more wealthy.  To do this you have to make friends and possibly join a guild to complete tasks. Below is a picture from Joystiq.com to show how big this can be.

As you can see from above, this can be pretty huge. The relationships that are formed are not unlike Second Life. Since you are spending so much time with others online, you start to become attached to these people. I know of people who met their significant others from first meeting in WOW and forming the bond. From playing online with each other they decided to meet in real life and they become romantically involved. These formed relationships are not just limited to the games I have discussed here. There are many examples of people meeting up in the real world because they have met people from video games. I do not know if formed relationships were a main goal from developers but I think it is an awesome by-product of the games. As society becomes more tech-savvy, we become more distant and we from less bonds. Online gaming allows for people to be social when they normally would not be and for this, I think that online gaming is something that people should try if they are anti-social.

Creating an Avatar for your Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game

When gamers play Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games, they do it as a way to escape the daily grinds of everyday life. The first step of playing these games is choosing the look of their avatar or main character.
There are fantasy games like World of Warcraft and then there are games like Second Life, where people create avatars that either are fantasy or they can create an avatar that looks just like themselves.

As you can tell from the picture above(from second life's main page) you can create a character that looks just like yourself. If you want to though, you can make your character look anyway you want to. If you wanted to you could make you character look like a furry demon if need be you can.

The main purpose of  Second Life is for you to be as creative as you want to have the experience that suits your needs. This has made the game such a success that people are drawn to the game in a way that most video game studios would die for.

Now for a game like World of Warcraft, you have a certain amount of character customization that goes along with the game but it is limited to different playable races. In the game can choose to be a:

• Dwarf
• Gnome
• Human
• Night Elf
• Orc
• Tauren
• Troll
• An Undead Character
• Draenei
• Orgen
• Blood Elf
• Goblin

Each character race you make has a different looks and skills that lends itself to the appropriate kind of game you are looking to play. So when creating an avatar, whatever race you find most interesting will be limited to certain kinds of appearances you can choose from. I have found with people that I know that play this game, they choose characters that they wish they could be more like in the real world. If the person is weak in real life, they might choose to be an Orc because of their strength. Below is an example from http://www.rettirc.net/ where someone uploaded a picture from their game.

When you chose your race in World Of Warcraft, you can customize the avatar in all sorts of ways. This gives them an ability to create certain identities that they have in real life or the identity that they wish they could have.

The Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game world is a world where a person can be whatever they want to be. It is good outlet for some people to express themselves in ways that they normally wouldn't. These games allow for interaction and with the interactions, people can start relationships from this. This is why when you have to create an avatar it would be wise to put some thought into the process. The right look might land you  Mr or Mrs Right!