Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG)

There are many games that have been created within the last 10 years that create an environment where thousands of players can work together to achieve objectives and goals. This new environment is a place where people can forge new friendships. These are people that have often times never met each other in the real world. When looking at a game such as WoW (World of Warcraft), which is now one of the most popular MMORPG, the relationships that are created can often times transcend the gaming community. I know personally people who play the game who have met up with other members of their clan. A clan is a group of people who get together because of common goals or ideas. It gives a user a sense of community while playing the game and in some cases may make the game easier. It is hard for me to talk about WoW because I am not a user of the game.

A game which is considered a MMOG, that I play, is Ikariam. It is a civilization game that allows you to build new cities, gather resources, trade, and attack other players. In this game you can either do things by yourself or with the help of an alliance. An alliance in this game is equivalent to a clan in WoW. I have chosen the route of joining an Alliance. Not only did I join an alliance I decided to create an alliance. This alliance has 20 members and we are ranked 32 out of several hundred alliances. In this alliance relationships are not only made with members of our own alliance but also the other players of the game. There are several thousand players on the server that I play on. This Massively Multiplayer Game gives you the chance to meet and interact with thousands of players. The relationships created in this game may not be seen as valid to others. However, the relationships made in this game are just as real as a relationships which you might make with a classmate.