Indications are that Europe is set to become a world leader in the rapidly growing delivery of multiplayer online gaming development, a so-called game type expected to account for fully half of all games sold in twenty years time according to Staffordshire University, one of many institutions training individuals to enter this field. It follows, then, that career opportunities are rife for programmers and developers in the multiplayer online games industry. Creative types enthusiastic to contribute to the continuing development of this breed of gaming can expect to learn how to enhance their technical expertise through storytelling, information delivery and 'the influence of psychology and marketing of multiplayer on-line games,' as described by Staffordshire University.
The end of 2007 saw the return of Richard Garriott, one of the pioneers of the multiplayer online gaming experience. It was Garriott who, in the mid-90s, bucked the naysayers and designed a game that proved so popular it heralded the start of the “massively multiplayer on-line game,” or MMO, genre. It was called Ultima. His vision of creating a gaming experience that thousands of people could participate in (with a little help from their modems) was realised. After a decade in the wilderness, Garriott, or “Lord British” as he is known, has unleashed a new multi-player game on-line, Tabula Rasa.
It is the first major science fiction game to appear online in some time, and has met with very enthusiastic reviews. It should, through its creative storyline and contemporary graphics, serve as an inspiration for anyone contemplating a career in multiplayer games design.
The end of 2007 saw the return of Richard Garriott, one of the pioneers of the multiplayer online gaming experience. It was Garriott who, in the mid-90s, bucked the naysayers and designed a game that proved so popular it heralded the start of the “massively multiplayer on-line game,” or MMO, genre. It was called Ultima. His vision of creating a gaming experience that thousands of people could participate in (with a little help from their modems) was realised. After a decade in the wilderness, Garriott, or “Lord British” as he is known, has unleashed a new multi-player game on-line, Tabula Rasa.
It is the first major science fiction game to appear online in some time, and has met with very enthusiastic reviews. It should, through its creative storyline and contemporary graphics, serve as an inspiration for anyone contemplating a career in multiplayer games design.