Online game
The design of online games can range from simple text-based environments to the incorporation of complex graphics and virtual worlds.
[7] Some online games can receive a massive influx of popularity due to many well-known Twitch streamers and YouTubers playing them.
[9][10][11] The online game content is now being studied in the scientific field, especially gamers' interactions within virtual societies in relation to the behavior and social phenomena of everyday life.
[13][14] Another term that was popularized by the video game community is the abbreviation "AFK" to refer to people who are not at the computer or paying attention.
Video game consoles also began to receive online networking features, such as the Famicom Modem (1987), Sega Meganet (1990), Satellaview (1995), SegaNet (2000), PlayStation 2 (2000) and Xbox (2001).
[4] Over time, the MMORPG community has developed a sub-culture with its own slang and metaphors, as well as an unwritten list of social rules and taboos.
More recent browser-based games use web technologies like Ajax to make more complicated multiplayer interactions possible and WebGL to generate hardware-accelerated 3D graphics without the need for plugins.
Doom popularized the concept of a deathmatch, where multiple players battle each other head-to-head, as a new form of online game.
Since Doom, many first-person shooter games contain online components to allow deathmatch or arena style play.
Hero shooters have been considered to have strong potential as an esport, as a large degree of skill and coordination arises from the importance of teamwork.
[39] Major esports professional tournaments are held in venues that can hold tens of thousands of spectators and are streamed online to millions more.
[40][41][42] A strong fanbase has opened up the opportunity for sponsorship and advertising, eventually leading the genre to become a global cultural phenomenon.
Some notable examples include PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Fortnite Battle Royale, Apex Legends, and Call of Duty: Warzone, each having received tens of millions of players within months of their releases.
MUD is a class of multi-user real-time virtual worlds, usually but not exclusively text-based, with a history extending back to the creation of MUD1 by Richard Bartle in 1978.
A notable example of the social deduction video game is Among Us, which received a massive influx of popularity in 2020 due to many well-known Twitch streamers and YouTubers playing it.
[46] Online gamers must agree to an End-user license agreement (EULA) when they first install the game application or an update.
EULA is a legal contract between the producer or distributor and the end-user of an application or software, which is to prevent the program from being copied, redistributed or hacked.
In the 3D immersive world Second Life where a breach of contract will append the player warnings, suspension and termination depending on the offense.
[48] Where online games supports an in-game chat feature, it is not uncommon to encounter hate speech, sexual harassment and cyberbullying.
Online games also often involve real-life illegal behavior, such as scam, financial crimes, invasion of privacy, and other issues.
As a result, many online games end up not generating enough profits, such that the service providers do not have the incentives to continue running the servers.
Final Fantasy XIV was negatively received upon its 2010 release, and relaunched as A Realm Reborn in 2013 - the new version was met with considerable positive reception, and is still running as of 2022.
These include the 2015 asymmetrical first-person shooter Evolve, which transitioned to a free-to-play title known as Evolve Stage 2 a year after launch, after it was criticized for its significant amount of DLC despite being a full-priced game, but had its servers permanently shut down roughly two years later after its user base "evaporated" as a result of infrequent updates.
