What Are Free To Play MMORPGs?

MMORPG stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. This would be any video game people play online, with vast amounts of other players playing at the same time, in which they take on a role and live a fantasy life. World of Warcraft and Everquest are well known MMORPGs.

The abbreviation is often shortened even further to MMO, which is just the Massively Multiplayer Online part and can also apply to other types of massively multiplayer games like First Person Shooters (FPS).

Before MMOs we played MUDs, which were text only, Multi-User Dungeons or Multi-User Dimensions. It's the same idea, but without graphics.

A Free to Play MMO has no monthly fees and is free to download. Free to Play is sometimes shortened to F2P.

Free to Play games are usually supported by a cash shop, which is an optional feature where players can buy in-game items or services with real world money. This is usually done by going to the game's official website to use paypal, prepaid cards, or credit cards to buy the game's cash shop currency. This currency can then be exchanged in their store, accessed through the website or within the game.

This method eliminates any possibility a child or new player might accidentally make purchases.

In the best cash shop supported games, the items and services offered for sale are true bonuses, meaning a lack of them doesn't negatively impact the gameplay of other players. Sometimes the options are purely cosmetic: new hairstyles, clothes, or other appearance options not available to all. Sometimes they offer services like extra storage that simply give your character more slots in their backpack or bank vault.

In my experience, after overall game quality, the most important element of a cash shop supported game is that it is truly free to play and enjoy, with optional items bringing in the money. The players who never spend a dime will still feel like they are playing a whole, polished, and well-made game. And yet those extras look so good, or truly give extra benefits that players want, that people do buy, thus supporting the game and continued development.

Success is avoiding aggravating the players that won't, or can't, pay at that time, into finding another game, and offering desirable choices for those who will, or can.

In my experience, games that gave overpowered benefits to the cash shop buyers or crippled the game in hopes of getting us to pay for the rest were so unpleasant to play they couldn't hold my interest, let alone get me to spend money to support them. On the other hand, I don't even want to admit how much I've spent on MapleStory over the years, between trying to get the perfect hairstyles on my primary characters and paying for our in-game wedding. It was more than I spent on World of Warcraft, that's all I'm saying.

The difference is that I've been playing Maple off and on for years, and have gotten much more than my money's worth in enjoyment, but only bought extras when I wanted to and had the money for it. When life gets busy my characters wait patiently, costing me nothing, until I come back to the game again. Comparatively, with the monthly fee games, my characters are locked until I choose or can afford to reactivate my account, so I play them a lot less and rather than going back to them, tend to be off finding the next awesome new free to play MMO instead.

Closed Beta and Open Beta describe parts of a new game's development process.

In closed beta, only certain numbers of players are allowed, by invitation or only allowed to sign up until the target number is reached. The players know they're playing a game that is in progress and are expected to report any bugs or other issues to help further development. Their characters are usually all erased at the end of closed beta and final touches are put on the game as far as balancing and responding to any issues that were revealed.

A beta key is a code, often sent to players in an email, that gives access to the game in its beta stage. Instructions in the email or on the page that gave it will tell what to do with it, usually enter it into a form on the game's official website.

Open beta is more open, just as it sounds. The game is still in development but very close to release. Whoever wants to play is allowed, and the game company at this point is watching for any more issues that increased traffic might uncover. Player characters in open betas are usually not erased before release.

How do you find betas for potential hot new MMOs?

One way is to have an account with the game company itself. AeriaGames has their players create a site-wide account that works in any of their games, rather than signing up for each game separately. When looking for testers for the next games, they'll often send invites to their players.

Notices on the company's website is another way. My most recent closed beta, Nexon had a notice on their site, and interested players could apply. Beta testers were chosen from those.

Following your favorite game companies on Twitter is another way to have the inside track on new and upcoming games and any beta opportunities.

If you frequently browse or belong to online gaming sites that focus on gaming news and reviews of a lot of games, sometimes you'll find notices for new or upcoming betas posted there, or receive invitations sent to their members. I've participated in several I've found or been invited to this way.