Multiplayer Games: A Main Component of Gaming
Gaming is defined by Merriam Webster’s Unofficial English Dictionary as the use of a computer entertainment system for interactive stimulation. A video game console or computer game is any computer game that involves interactive interaction with a human user through the use of an input device or user interface (such as a keyboard, joystick, mouse, or infrared motion detector) to generate visual output on a screen. Computer games can also be packaged with other software applications that allow the player to interact with, manipulate, and advance the game in various ways. Video games are played on personal computers or gaming consoles. The majority of today’s gaming consoles (including Nintendo Wii and Xbox) utilize game pads which allow the player to play games with similar hand-held controls that are similar to those used in the world of jogging, for example.
Unlike the earliest forms of gaming, video games of modern days involve a wide variety of devices and accessories that are connected to the machine in question. These include speakers, web cameras, microphones, monitors, optical drives, portable game pads, optical drives that store data files for a PC, keyboards, mice, and monitors. The player’s interaction with these components of a gaming system depends entirely upon the device used. Some modern games involve so many components that it would be difficult to list them all, but some of the most popular ones include:
There are two main categories of video gaming. Massively, Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) are multiplayer online games in which one person plays with another player, often from around the world; they may do this either through dedicated servers (for MMOGs that use dedicated IPs), where each player logs in with their own IP address, or by using a type of Internet based network which enables players to connect to a server and play with others who are on the same server as them. These types of games usually involve thousands of players. Examples of MMOGs are massively multiplayer online games such as World of Warcraft or EverQuest, and they allow for complex interactions between different people around the globe.
On the other hand, there are single-player video games. Examples of these are card games such as Solitaire, and Chess. In addition to being played by many players at once, single player games are typically very simple affairs which have a fairly fixed format, whereby one player guides their character across a series of increasingly difficult challenges, all the while keeping an eye on a goal which is indicated by a color, the color being dependent on the actions of that particular character. The most popular game in this category is undoubtedly Tetris, which has been recreated in many different variations.
Mobile gaming on the other hand, refers to applications that enable players to interact with electronic devices while they are on the go. Examples of these devices include cell phones, hand held gaming tablets, netbooks, gaming laptops, and other portable devices. Mobile gaming apps are a great way for players to enjoy their favorite mobile phone features while on the go and can also be used as an alternative to having to use a gaming PC, which can also provide similar benefits.
The main article in this series looked at some of the main features of multiplayer games. However, there are many more sub-components that are equally important. In addition to board games, there are other types of massively multi-player online games, which include RPG’s, action games, car games, sports games, and others. The main article in this series looked at the characteristics of multiplayer games. Now that you’ve finished reading it, hopefully you can begin to understand a little more about how the main components work in relation to each other.