Video games have been the source of entertainment of a lot of people for the longest time. It all started out with simple 2-d games such as Pong, Donkey Kong, Pac Man, and Space Invaders. People would gather in arcades, play these games and socialize. Soon enough, video games would evolve along with other technology. Nowadays, it has become a multi-billion dollar industry, and has intertwined itself with other businesses as well such as merchandise, and music. There even was a time when gaming sales surpassed DVD sales. What's great about it is that it's highly a social activity, not only because gamers talk about the latest releases and how they finished off the last level, but because of the level of interaction of multiplayer games as well.



Using Local Area Network

Computer networking has done a lot for the gaming industry. It has allowed endless options for multiplayer game play, and it has become the source of income of a number of businesses. There are a number of shops that are dedicated to LAN gaming, and it has become one of the ways for people to interact. Game fanatics are able to play games together either as a team, as foes, or as battling individuals. These players have a lot of games to choose from; they could be a platoon of marines one day, and a group of traveling fantasy characters on another. The potential of LAN gaming is very big, but another type of computer network seems to take it a bit further.

Gaming Through the Internet

A lot of gaming consoles have chosen to incorporate online play in their systems. This has allowed players from across the globe meet and play games with each other. The trouble with multiplayer games is that you have to find someone to play with, if in case you are bored with the usual A.I. With online gaming, the chances of having someone to play with are very high, because of the millions of players playing online, even on the weirdest hours of the day (different time zones mean primetime all the time). You can even choose to download new games on the Internet instead of having to go to a store to buy one. Some games even provide upgrades that can be downloaded online.

The MMORPG revolution

The acronym “MMORPG” seems to be slowly becoming a household name. It stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game”. These types of games are RPGs in the sense that you play the role of a particular character, start out fresh, develop its abilities through the game, get new gear (weapons, armor, potions, etc.), and finish quests. The difference is that MMORPGs are vast virtual worlds that are inhabited by A.I. characters, and the characters of the players. This means that players all over the world can play at the same time and interact with each other. A lot of these games let players join certain groups such as guilds and battle other groups. Imagine being in a group of 30 players, and battling the characters of other groups.