The Concept of Virtual Property
A property is something which is owned by someone. For example, a car can be considered property for the owner, because it is their physical possession and they take care of it.
In virtual environments, however, things get more complicated. A good example of a virtual property in an online game would be your home or your inventory in that game.
The concept of virtual property develops as technology evolves, but understanding what makes up a piece of virtual property still comes down to who owns the object and how they obtained it.
In MMORPGs, for example, players can interact with each other and purchase goods from NPC vendors. The goods that the player purchases goes into their inventory. That is the virtual property. This property is then owned by the player because they paid for it and took possession of it.
However, unlike in real-life, some MMORPGs allow players to steal each other's virtual property. In "World of Warcraft", a gamer can take another player's sword or armor away from them if they defeat them in combat and kill them. This process is called "looting" (taking an object off a dead body).
Another kind of virtual property in an MMORPG can be called crafting. In "World of Warcraft", for example, players can create their own items using a bunch of different ingredients. This process is called "crafting" (the act of creating something).
Virtual property has been around since the beginning of online games, but the concept has changed over the years and has evolved as technology progresses. As technology improves, it becomes easier for developers to add more story elements and gameplay to their games.
For example, in "EverQuest" (released in 1999), players could do quests for NPCs and those quests made up a lot of the game's story. But "World of Warcraft" (released in 2004) expanded on that by adding more depth to its quest system: NPCs could be killed and players were able to interact with other player characters. It even added emotions into the game; NPC characters could die but they would not always respawn, so sometimes you'd see an NPC you'd talked to earlier lying dead on the ground.
In "World of Warcraft", players have personal stories that develop as they advance through the game. They can also make friends and gather resources such as wood and gold.
Virtual property is not limited to online games. The concept is present in other types of gaming as well, including card games (such as "Magic: the Gathering"), board games (such as Risk) and miniature board games (such as "Dungeons & Dragons"). The rules for these different types of gaming are unique but all rely on the player owning something that belongs to no one else. This property can be physical or virtual, and it can be used by someone in whatever ways they feel like.
Perhaps the most famous virtual property in a video game is the "Super Fantasy Zone" (S.F.Z.). The S.F.Z. was first introduced in 1983 on the NES in "Dragon Quest", a role-playing game by Enix, creators of "Dragon Quest". In the S.F.Z., by collecting powerups and beating monsters, players could become stronger and progress through a series of six worlds to reach the final level of boss fight against Dark Dragon (who, according to lore from the games, is an ancient creature that has been sealed away for many years).
When the "Dragon Quest" series was ported to the Nintendo DS, S.F.Z. was redesigned as a minigame called the Warrior's Forge in "". The Warrior's Forge was a 3D dungeon in which players could fight monsters and collect powerups to reach the final level of boss fight against Dark Dragon (who, according to lore from the games, is an ancient creature that has been sealed away for many years).
Many players consider "Dragon Quest" to be one of their favorite games of all time.
Games such as "S.F.Z." introduced the concept of "end game content". End game content is where a player spends many hours playing a single game and reaches a point in the gameplay where it is difficult to make any more significant progress in the game. Often, this is because all of the best equipment and most powerful abilities have already been discovered by other players. End game content gives those other players things to do with their characters that will provide them with meaningful ways to spend their time playing the video game.
"S.F.Z." has been copied into at least three other games:
"Super Fantasy Zone 1.5" was first introduced in "Dragon Quest III", released in Japan in 1986. It was later included in the NES port of "Dragon Quest III", released by Enix on the North American market in 1989, as well as the Nintendo DS remake of "Dragon Quest III". Both versions of "S.F.Z. 1.5" are almost identical to the original "S.F.Z." in "Dragon Quest".
"Super Fantasy Zone 2" was first introduced in "Dragon Quest IV", released in Japan in 1988. It was later included in the Nintendo DS remake of "Dragon Quest IV". Both versions of "S.F.Z. 2" are almost identical to the original "S.F.Z." in "Dragon Quest".
"Super Fantasy Zone 3" was first introduced in "Dragon Quest V", released in Japan in 1991. It was later included in the Nintendo DS remake of "Dragon Quest V".
1UP.com describes the appeal of "Super Fantasy Zone" as the:
Super Fantasy Zone is a simple, addictive game that’s left an indelible mark on the history of video game design. Every gamer who’s been enamored with RPGs remembers where they were when they learned about save states and the magic eight ball that lets you “restore your party to life.
Conclusion:
Although these games are considered a forerunner to present day MMORPGs, they still lack the depth and complexity found in modern games.
The following are some classic games that have contributed to the development of MMORPGs.
"Ultima Online" was first released in 1997 by Origin Systems and has since had a great impact on the MMORPG industry. "Ultima Online" was one of the first MMORPGs to offer free game play with no monthly fees. It was also one of the first games to offer thousands of unique items for characters, as well as interactive player-owned houses and shops that could be used to sell goods or conduct business transactions with other players.