Mmorpgs

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Large-scale online games in which many players simultaneously explore a shared virtual world and develop their characters over time
2. Internet-based multiplayer video games where thousands of participants interact in a persistent fantasy or science fiction setting
3. Massively multiplayer online role-playing games that let large numbers of users connect, cooperate and compete within an ongoing digital environment

Etymology: MMORPG is an initialism for "massively multiplayer online role-playing game," and its history is a matter of building a name from parts rather than borrowing one. The core element, "role-playing game," comes from tabletop games such as Dungeons & Dragons, which popularised the format in the 1970s. The "online" and "massively multiplayer" parts describe the networked, large-scale versions that followed as home internet access spread. The abbreviation itself is a plain technical coinage. It belongs to the 1990s, when online worlds such as Meridian 59 and Ultima Online were drawing large player bases, and it was adopted as a convenient shorthand for the genre. Because it was formed in English from English words, there is no older source language behind it.

Synonyms: MMO