Just a decade ago, the idea of playing a simple game of hearts online seemed wild and far-fetched. Oh what a difference a decade can make. The advent of massively multiplayer online role-playing game, or MMORPG in 1997 has forever changed the landscape of gaming and social interactions.
Ultima Online was the first MMORPG to hit the market. It was soon followed by Everquest (EQ), Diablo II and a host of others.
These games allow an individual to completely assume a virtual identity. Someone could completely change their height, appearance, or sex if they wanted. For the first time people were able to do more than talk to each other, they were able to own property, have jobs, and live an actual life on the Internet.
EQ and Ultima Online are currently two of the most popular MMORPGs. Ultima, for instance, boast on their website that over 225,000 people spend ...an average of between 10 - 20 hours a week immersed in the land of Britannia and the virtual world of Ultima Online.
EverQuest, however, is even more popular that that. Over 1.5 million people have purchased the game and the fantasy world of Norrath, the land where EverQuest takes place, is populated by an average of 100,000 player at any given time.
Unfortunately, there is a growing problem of people becoming addicted to online gaming. Players of Everquest often refer to the game as Evercrack because of its addictive nature.
