Desktop personal computers are an amazing technological advancement. Laptop technology is even more amazing. Multiplayer online RPG (Roll Playing Games) games have become increasingly popular with the advent of laptop computers and high-speed Internet connections that allow a large number of people to play together online.
Is multiplayer online RPG gaming popular? Well, there are more than 500,000 game servers that are hosted in the United States alone. Nobody knows how many are hosted around the world. So, yes, multiplayer online RPG gaming is very popular.
It is possible to connect and play in multiplayer online games with a dial-up connection, but it really isn't very practical. Dial-up connections are slow. Delay between actions of players being relayed (called "lags") happen and are not conducive to seamless game play. Multiplayer online games require a virtual environment (called a "game server"). These virtual servers interconnect gamers with each other, and this allows for real-time, and often fast-paced, action.
Of course, like all entertainment mediums, online gaming is not without its critics. Violence has been blamed on online gaming. It's difficult to say whether there is any real credence to the accusations. Hundreds of thousands of online gamers play online computer games every hour of every day, and only a tiny fraction of those players take the violence of online gaming with them into the brick-and-mortar worlds that they live in.
Still, some evidence supports the theory that the violence of online gaming has been responsible for some very violent acts out in the real world. The American Psychological Association has concluded that the extreme violence of online computer games cause children to become more aggressive.
Another problem with online gaming is the claim by many that it is addictive and is thus accompanied by health risks to online gamers who are addicted to playing computer games online.
No comments:
Post a Comment