Let’s start with the basics: what does an MMO mean? An MMO game is a “Massively Multiplayer Online” game.
To put it in simpler terms, an MMO is an online multiplayer game which a large number of people can play simultaneously. You don’t play with or against just a handful of players, but thousands, sometimes even millions of them at the same time.
MMORPG means “Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game.”
Another somewhat comical definition is “Many Men Online Role-Playing as Girls” (it’s funny because it's true)
Some might say that all MMORPGs are easily recognizable by their fantasy settings, but that's not at all the case. Though the majority of RPGs do take place in the realm of elves, orcs, and dragons, a lot of them choose different worlds to explore, like far-away planets or post-apocalyptic wastelands.
The keen observers among you may have noticed the two types of games have very similar definitions, but not quite the same. That leads us to the key difference between MMO and MMORPG.
Let’s break down the MMORPG genre to its core component - the MMO and the RPG. We’ve already covered what an MMO is, so let’s talk about what makes a good role-playing game.
RPG video games, often referred to as CRPG (Computer Role-Playing Games) borrow a lot from their pen-and-paper ancestors. For example, they have the same level of character customisation. Players can create and customize their characters, represented by a digital avatar.
They can control pretty much anything, from their appearance, race, and sex to their profession and skills. As the game progresses, players have a chance to improve and evolve their adventurer, making them more and more unique and powerful.
Most modern RPGs give the player not only control over their character, but over the world they inhabit. Players’ actions have a direct impact on how the story progresses, and how the world changes around them. It can simply happen by advancing the plot and seeing the story unfolds, but it can also be because of player choice.
The best RPGs allow players to tackle problems and advance the plot in multiple ways, so each play style is respected.
An elementary example would be getting past a guard guarding a door. The player can choose whether to distract the guard using magic, lie and pretend to be someone famous, or draw a sword and attack.
MMORPGs also have their own economies, where players can use the virtual currency they've earned in battles to buy items. /This virtual economy has crossed over into the real world in some areas. For example, MMORPG players have exchanged real currency for items and virtual currency. In some instances, players seeking to level-up their characters more quickly have employed farmers - gamers who play as another person's character - who work to earn experience points for their employers while they are logged off.
Afterward, there should be different consequences to each of these choices. Maybe you’ll get to meet the guard you deceived later on in the game - now out of work and begging on the street.
Of course, there are plenty more elements that combine to create an RPG, but going over all of them will take a while.
The key word to remember when talking about role-playing games is “agency.” The more impact the player has on the game’s world and characters - the better.
Then you have all the technical stuff: quests, experience points, loot, skill, and combat. Each of these is tied directly to the core mechanics of character customisation, player agency, and a rich narrative.
Take all of this, and put in an environment where dozens if not hundreds of players interact at the same time, and you got yourself an MMORPG.
Good examples of popular MMORPG games are World of Warcraft, Guild Wars 2, The Elder Scrolls Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and EVE Online.
Hopefully, now you know how to tell MMO and MMORPG games apart, and how to recognise an MMORPG when you play one.
Oh, and one more important thing to remember - most MMORPGs don’t usually involve Rocket-Propelled Grenades. Unless, of course, you’re playing in a futuristic dystopia where magic has been replaced with high explosives, which are more or less the same thing, only way cooler.
