Games have always been popular among children and adults at par. With the introduction of high tech instruments and technologies, many technical games have come into existence. These games, popularly known as online games, are different from the traditional games which required a board or pitch and single or multiple players.
Online games – An introduction
These games are defined as a technology or a mechanism which connects players available in the computer network or on the Internet. These games are generally played by a single player. It needs a form of computer network like the Internet or an equivalent technology. These games can vary from easy text based to intricate graphics and virtual worlds. Many such games are associated with online communities, which make online games a type of social activity.
The rise of Flash and Java has led to an Internet uprising where websites provided their own on-demand activity in form of videos, audios and other. Today, there are separate sites that offer games online. The popular online games include World of Warcraft, Lineage II and Final Fantasy XI. To play these games one needs to pay some monthly fee and subscribe to their services. However, games like Guild Wars can be played by paying no such monthly fee. Some of these online sites that offer games get on-site sponsors. Some games like RuneScape, which is made by Artix Entertainment and Mabinogi, allow people to play for free.
The dot-com bubble burst which occurred in 2001 resulted in decreasing success of online gaming websites as they solely depended upon advertising revenue, which faced extreme adversity. However, some sites have been able to survive during the fluctuating market by counterbalancing the advertising income loss. They used the substance as a cross-promotion tool which shifted the web visitors to other websites owned by the company.
Online game types
There are many variations of computer games which are played online. These include first-person shooter games and real-time strategy games. These multiplayer games are played over a modem or any local network. Some good examples of these internet based games include Age of Empires and Microsoft Ants. As the online gameplay is getting bigger, many people are getting interested in them and therefore, their popularity is also increasing.
Some popular online games crowd the open source networks like Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube. While games like Phantasy Star Online can be played in private servers, other games like PC, Macintosh, Dreamcast and GameCube players share one server. Games like Quake III, 4×4 Evolution and Need for Speed: Underground can be played using the same server.
Besides, there are browser games which uses web browser as a client. Gradually, with the development of graphics technologies like Flash and Java, more complex games got introduced. They became increasingly popular as “Flash games” or “Java games”. Some games like Frogger and Pac-Man were released in the 1980s. Another variety of online games is MMOG or Massively multiplayer online games.
These online games can be any person’s favorite pastime, but these games can also be addictive.