With so many advancements in technology today, more and more people are turning to their PC for entertainment. Crime is also on the rise in many countries, and technology has become a safer way of meeting people and socializing without fear of their own safety. Some have taken this to the extent to which they actually live out their lives or their “second lives” online, in games called MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games). These games have become more and more advanced, letting the players express themselves and interact in an extremely realistic manner. This was not always the case however, The earliest MMORPGs were very simple text-based games, then in the late 90′s we had our first 3d graphical versions, which spawned many more new games.

They are even giving away free cake to attract players to this game.... well... actually no, not really.

Ten years on from these early MMORPGs we have had literally hundreds of titles come and go, but most of these game seemed to be set in medieval times, with the major items being swords and suits of armor which were used to battle boars, trolls and dragons. Or you could be a wizard or a which, and use magic spells which hurled fireballs at your enemies…. a little boring and tired to say the least. There was however, a breath of fresh air with titles like Anarchy Online (released 2001), and Star Wars Galaxies, which was based on the popular movies. These games exchanged swords for blasters and chain-mail for kevlar or other high-tech armor materials, taking us into the Science Fiction MMORPG era. These new games let us blast off into new galaxies and explore strange alien-filled worlds, as well has having dogfights with other space-craft. These science fiction games meant that we could wield weapons of all shapes, sizes and types, and battle creatures that we could never have imagined. The sky (or stars) is the limit!

Today there are still a lot more of the fantasy genre MMORPGs than the science fiction ones, but sci-fi is still on the rise. We have had the long-awaited Star Trek Online released this month, and the new Star Wars title: The Old Republic is still in development. There are a lot more science fiction MMORPGs still on the drawing board, and we should see some great releases over the next 2-3 years.