Official blog - Plarium

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It’s difficult, demanding and dangerous. No one wants to do that for entertainment purposes.</p>\n\n<p>So if war isn’t fun (and, as a great man <a href=\"http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/war-never-changes\">once said</a>, it never changes), why do we love playing war games?</p>\n\n<p>What is it about slipping into the muddy boots of a WWII soldier, tightly grasping the plasma cannon of a space marine, or sending your Viking troops to a bloody raid that we love so much?</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Why do we play war games?\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2017/week_24/why-we-love-playing-war-games-1.jpg\" style=\"width: 1200px; height: 628px;\" title=\"Why do we play war games?\" /></p>\n\n<p>The fact is, there is a whole multitude of reasons. However, what we're interested in are the most basic thoughts, feelings, and emotions that make us want to play war games.</p>\n\n<p>Naturally, before we delve into our psyches and have ourselves a shootout with the forces of darkness, we need first to define what is a war game.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_RAID_EN_1920x1080_Serj_2018-0507_01Id5209_B74904_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSO.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>What are War Games?</h2>\n\n<p>According to a paper by the University of Virginia, all war games have the same <a href=\"http://faculty.virginia.edu/setear/students/wargames/page1.htm\">three characteristics</a>:</p>\n\n<ul>\n\t<li>The War Aspect</li>\n\t<li>The Game Aspect</li>\n\t<li>The Simulation Aspect</li>\n</ul>\n\n<h3><strong>The War Aspect</strong></h3>\n\n<p>Not all games are actually about war.</p>\n\n<p>Part of what makes a game a war game is simulating the “the activity of war” and the right vocabulary and jargon.</p>\n\n<p>It makes sense if you think about it. Only games that depict the act of war, not necessarily realistically, can be called war games. The concept doesn’t have to be front and center, but an online war game can’t be one without war.</p>\n\n<h3><strong>The Game Aspect</strong></h3>\n\n<p>Not all war simulation can, or should be classed as war games.</p>\n\n<p>For example, military maneuvers may be a simulation of war, but they don’t have a lot to do with gaming.</p>\n\n<p>If the previous aspect enforced the idea that a war game needs to deal with war, this one emphasizes that a war game needs to be an actual game.</p>\n\n<p>Games usually compel participants to compete against each other or cooperate against a common enemy. This in turn, “forces” players to think creatively and come up with new strategies to complete their goal.</p>\n\n<p>If a simulation provides opportunities for strategic thinking, then you can call it a game.</p>\n\n<h3><strong>The Simulation Aspect</strong></h3>\n\n<p>Good war games simulate actual war in some way.</p>\n\n<p>They do so in various levels of realism, but by definition, playing them should provide some insight into the world of warfare (without the actual death part). From strategic planning to the conditions a person may encounter, these games replicate a situation of war to a greater or lesser degree.</p>\n\n<p>Most games do not focus on educating their players about what’s it like to fight a war or lead an army, but that is a byproduct of any good war game.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"The three aspects of war\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2017/week_24/why-we-love-playing-war-games-2.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 400px;\" title=\"The three aspects of war\" /></p>\n\n<p>The United States military, as well as other armies around the world, have historically valued the simulation army games can provide.; so much so, that the US Army has developed its own army game as a <a href=\"https://www.americasarmy.com/\">training and recruitment tool</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Now, this isn't to say that every war game is trying to be like the real thing. For instance, those who enjoy <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/strategy-games/vikings-war-of-clans/\">Vikings: War of Clans</a> aren't really trying to learn how they can build a castle and defend it from an invading army.</p>\n\n<p>Every war game exhibits some level of the three aspects we've outlined here. However, that doesn’t mean they all exist in equal measure. Usually, promoting one aspect will most likely result in diminishing the other two. The more game-like your game is, the less of a simulation it becomes, and vice-versa.</p>\n\n<p>For example, fantasy MMO war games work great as games, and they do deal with the subject matter of war, but they aren’t very good war simulations. Nevertheless, they are still war games.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"middle\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/11/RAD_RedGirl_B76234_970x66_Android_iOS_English&IMG=1MTM.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>The History of War Games</h2>\n\n<p>Games about war have been around for centuries.</p>\n\n<p>We’ve been playing at war ever since someone picked up a deck of cards and invented the popular card game “War” (when that happened precisely is lost to history). Ever since, we have been pretending to be at war in every medium imaginable, from cards to board games to video games.</p>\n\n<p>The first video game about war was \"Spacewar!\". It was a space combat game developed in 1962 on the PDP-1 minicomputer. Incidentally, “Spacewar!” is also one of the first video games ever made, which tells us a little bit about human nature and the games we like to play.</p>\n\n<p>However, the first war game was developed in February 1980, and was called “Computer Bismarck.”</p>\n\n<p>“Computer Bismarck” was a turn-based strategy game where players acted as the British forces and fought against the battleship Bismarck and other German units. The German side was controlled by another player or by a computer AI called “Otto Von Computer.”</p>\n\n<p>As you can see from the image, “Computer Bismarck” wasn’t much to look at … you can barely make out Great Britain (on the right) or Iceland (at the top) against the purple Atlantic Ocean.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Computer Bismarck was the first war game\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2017/week_23/compbismarck15.jpg\" style=\"width: 620px; height: 326px;\" title=\"Computer Bismarck was the first war game\" /></p>\n\n<p>Since then, war games have made tremendous strides and became the most popular type of video game. The rise of the first-person shooter in the 1990s gave birth to blockbuster franchises such as Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Wolfenstein. They helped establish war as the “go-to” subject of video games. It is so popular; there's even a game called Darksiders where you play the actual personification of War.</p>\n\n<p>Today, you can find war games in every genre and on every device, from narrative-heavy adventures to explosion-filled military shooters on mobile. But there’s one genre that’s almost entirely focused on the concept of warfare, and that’s strategy. Both turn-based strategy and real-time strategy games from across the years have brought wargaming to PCs around the world with franchises like Command & Conquer, Total War, and WarCraft.</p>\n\n<p>These eventually led to the rise of the <a href=\"https://plarium.com/\">MMO strategy games</a>, where a lot of modern war games find their audience.</p>\n\n<h2>Online War Games Make Us Better People</h2>\n\n<p>Why do we love going to war in video games? For the challenge and satisfaction of outthinking and outmaneuvering our (virtual) enemies.</p>\n\n<p>Us humans love competing. We don’t care about getting <strong>good </strong>(or “git gud” if you prefer)  - we care about being <strong>better</strong>.</p>\n\n<p>According to a <a href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/10/why-we-compete/403201/\">study by the Harvard School of Public Health</a>, almost half of the participants said they would rather earn $50,000 in a world where the average salary is $25,000 than make $100,000 in a world where the average is $200,000.</p>\n\n<p>Similarly, the study shows that people preferred to have a relative advantage and not an absolute one. In other words, people want to be smarter and better looking than their friends and coworkers, not necessarily the most intelligent and attractive person in the world.</p>\n\n<p>We want to be better than our peers, and that is a fundamental human trait.</p>\n\n<p>So when you play online war games, where the aim is to outsmart other players through a combination of strategy, logic, and foresight, you don't really care how good you are overall. You just want to be better than the person on the other side of the screen.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"We constantly compete to be better than one another\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2017/week_39/war-general-illustration-3.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 464px;\" title=\"We constantly compete to be better than one another\" /></p>\n\n<p>To put it another way, we all want to be a big fish in a small pond.</p>\n\n<p>Of course, as you progress through the game, your pond will gradually increase in size. However, truly skilled players will grow at the same rate to ensure they remain the proverbial shark.</p>\n\n<h2>A Cocktail of Hormones and Emotions</h2>\n\n<p>Another reason we seem to enjoy army games, aside from the fact that they test our powers of logic, strategy, and planning, is that they appeal to our most basic instincts.</p>\n\n<p>As suggested in this <a href=\"https://www.npr.org/2013/02/11/171698919/video-game-violence-why-do-we-like-it-and-whats-it-doing-to-us\">piece from NPR</a>, two things are guaranteed to make a situation or narrative more appealing: sex and violence.</p>\n\n<p>According to Iowa State University professor Douglas Gentile, war games and shooters cause a cocktail of stress hormones, such as cortisol, noradrenaline, and testosterone, to be released into our bloodstream – the same hormones would have been released were we in actual combat.</p>\n\n<p>In a real-life situation, these hormones would be used by the body to create a fight-or-flight response. However, as Gentile points out, they also turn us on and make us find a game more engaging.</p>\n\n<p>\"When you know you're safe, having that heightened sense of stress can be fun,\" explains Gentile.</p>\n\n<p>This theory is confirmed by iStrategyLabs' Megan Zlock, a self-confessed gamer. Zlock claims that a storyline is instantly made more impressive and immersive if there's an element of danger added to the mix.</p>\n\n<p>\"If you want to create a good narrative, you need to create conflict, and violence is a really easy way to create conflict,\" said Zlock.</p>\n\n<p>Violence is a stimulant that, when triggered in the right setting, can be extremely enjoyable. Clearly, this is the case when it comes to immersive online war games. You’re in a war-like scenario; your body is tense from the stress of competition and the desire to win, so your brain reacts appropriately.</p>\n\n<p>Exercising a degree of control over such a situation can fill you with an intoxicating sense of power; especially if that control resulted in besting another player. Add in your stress hormones, and the resultant cocktail is one you're only too willing to drink for hours and hours.</p>\n\n<h2>Why We Play War Games</h2>\n\n<p>This, in a nutshell, is why we love war games.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Conflict is a great motivator\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2017/week_24/why-we-love-playing-war-games-4.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 400px;\" title=\"Conflict is a great motivator\" /></p>\n\n<p>They help us show the world, and more specifically our enemies, that we are better than them: our strategy smarter, our reflexes sharper, and our skills superior.</p>\n\n<p>The thrill of competition, combined with the sense of power and accomplishment we derive from taking back control over seemingly chaotic situations are the reason war is such a prevalent theme in video games.</p>\n\n<p>Now that you know why you play war games, you can better enjoy all your favorite <a href=\"//plarium.com/en/strategy-games/\">online strategy games</a>. See you on the battlefield!</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"bottom\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_Team_B74910_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSU.jpg\" /></a></p>\n","date":"5/22/2018"},"images":{"preview":{"href":"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2017/week_24/why-we-love-playing-war-games-3.jpg"},"authorAvatar":{"href":"//cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/portal/common/avatars/default_avatar.jpg","sizes":[]}},"template_options":{"compositeId":"12953"}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/the-first-video-game/"},"strings":{"title":"What Was the First Video Game, Who Invented It and Why","category":"MMO Games Blog","author":"PLARIUM STAFF","readTime":"600000","description":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_RAID_EN_1920x1080_Serj_2018-0507_01Id5209_B74904_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSO.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<p>To know where we are going, we must first discover where we have been.</p>\n\n<p>This is just as true for video games as it is in any other professional field. Fortunately, the video game industry has an incredibly rich and interesting past that can teach us a lot.</p>\n\n<p>This article will delve back in time and explore the very early days of one of the fastest growing and popular entertainment industries.</p>\n\n<p>It’ll tackle and answer some fundamental questions:</p>\n\n<ul>\n\t<li>What was the first video game?</li>\n\t<li>Who invented the first video game?</li>\n\t<li>When was the first video game made?</li>\n\t<li>Why was it invented?</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Who invented the first video game?\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_17/Illustration_800x650_02.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 650px;\" title=\"Who invented the first video game?\" /></p>\n\n<p>At first glance, you would think the answers to these questions would be quick to find and straightforward. However, like so many others that revolve around \"the first of,\" or \"who invented it,\" you will quickly learn that it is surrounded in mystery and confusion - both of which we’re hoping to dispel as best as I can.</p>\n\n<h2>What Is a Video Game?</h2>\n\n<p>What exactly is a video game is an important and crucial point when debating the facts and history surrounding the origin of the phenomenon.</p>\n\n<p>There are a few definitions of what is a video game, but we’re going to use the simplest one:</p>\n\n<p><strong>A video game is anything you can interact with by electronically manipulating computer-generated images on a display screen.</strong></p>\n\n<p>Some would argue that the verb “play” needs to be included in any interpretation of video games. After all, we are talking about a game. However, many modern definitions take into consideration video games can also be viewed as an art form, used to convey a message interactively.</p>\n\n<p>Still, to determine what is the first video game ever developed, we should rely on a much more technical definition.</p>\n\n<p>As <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_history_of_video_games#Defining_the_video_game\">Wikipedia</a> states:</p>\n\n<p>\"Technically, for a product to be a video game, there must be a video signal transmitted to a cathode ray tube (CRT) that creates a rasterized image on a screen.\"</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Video game definition\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_4/mmo-mmorpg-1.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 400px;\" title=\"Video game definition\" /></p>\n\n<p>Although this definition may sound like a lot of nonsense and jargon, it defines the technical parameters of exactly what was considered a video game during that period.</p>\n\n<p>This is the foundation of what is used to define the first ever created video game in its purest sense, which is essential if you are seeking out the truth.</p>\n\n<p>Today, the definition of a video game is much more encompassing.</p>\n\n<p>Only the most purists among us would argue the point that the vast array of <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/blog/smartphone-tech-impacts-mobile-gaming/\">mobile games</a>, or that the virtual reality simulations that have gained an audience on PCs and consoles over the last few years are nothing more than “experiences” and are not technically video games.</p>\n\n<p>In the modern sense, they are video games. However, strict parameters need to be set if we are looking to establish the truth and find real answers.</p>\n\n<h2>What Was the First Video Game</h2>\n\n<p>Similar to the debate surrounding many discoveries and inventions, the questions of what was the first video game and who invented it have many different answers on the internet.</p>\n\n<p>But if you sift through the noise and focus on getting to the truth, you will begin to narrow your results and hone in on a few promising candidates.</p>\n\n<p>First among them is Bertie the Brain.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"middle\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/11/RAD_RedGirl_B76234_970x66_Android_iOS_English&IMG=1MTM.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>Bertie the Brain</h2>\n\n<p>According to some, the first video game ever created was Bertie the Brain - <a href=\"https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/a23660/bertie-the-brain/\">constructed in 1950</a> by an inventor named Josef Kates.</p>\n\n<p>This massive monstrosity of a machine, which measured four meters tall, played a familiar childhood game known as Tic-Tac-Toe and was displayed in the Canadian National Exhibition.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Bertie the Brain - almost the first video game\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_16/bertie.jpg\" style=\"width: 1024px; height: 512px;\" title=\"Bertie the Brain - almost the first video game\" /></p>\n\n<p>For weeks, visitors to the Canadian National Exhibition were able to challenge the artificial intelligence of Bertie the Brain in varying levels of difficulty, much to their delight.</p>\n\n<p>To many of us in the 21st century, the simplicity of such a game might seem boring. However, what you must consider is that at the time, Bertie was a marvel of technology - something no one has seen before.</p>\n\n<p>Sadly, this piece of our history was disassembled at the end of the exhibition, largely dismissed as no more than \"novelty,\" even if a fantastical one.</p>\n\n<p>We are back to the definition of what is a video game - a definition that Bertie the Brain does not quite fully meet.</p>\n\n<h2>William Higinbotham: The Man Who Invented Video Games</h2>\n\n<p>Although Bertie the Brain was a crucial part of gaming history, it did not fully meet the exact definition of what a video game is.</p>\n\n<p>This brings us to the next major contender and the one that purists believe to be the first real video game.</p>\n\n<p>Fast forward eight years into the future - to 1958 - and travel to the <a href=\"https://www.bnl.gov/world/\">Brookhaven National Laboratory</a>. There, you will meet a physicist named William Higinbotham.</p>\n\n<p>William Higinbotham, born on October 25th, 1910 was no simple physicist. He already had an illustrious career behind him, having been a member of the team that created the first ever nuclear bomb.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"William Higinbotham, the inventor of the first video game\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_16/higinbotham.jpeg\" style=\"width: 1200px; height: 800px;\" title=\"William Higinbotham, the inventor of the first video game\" /></p>\n\n<p>No many gamers know that the man who practically invented what we today call a video game was also one of the men responsible for creating the most destructive technology this world has ever seen.</p>\n\n<p>It’s an interesting dichotomy, to say the least, one that highlights the brilliance of this man's mind, while at the same time proving that not everything in this world is simply black or white.</p>\n\n<p>Being a part of this team (and the burden that went along with it) stayed with William Higinbotham for the rest of his life and troubled him. That is probably why he became one of the founding members of the \"<a href=\"https://fas.org/\">Federation of American Scientists</a>\" - a group with the stated intent of using science and scientific analysis to make the world more secure.</p>\n\n<p>Having already been a pivotal linchpin in history, Higinbotham took up residency at Brookhaven National Laboratory in 1947. That is where he came up with Tennis for Two.</p>\n\n<h2>Tennis for Two: The World’s First Video Game</h2>\n\n<p>In October 1958, the first actual video game was revealed to the world. It happens during an open house hosted at the Brookhaven National Laboratory.</p>\n\n<p>The first video game, created by William Higinbotham, turned out to be the star of the show, much to the amazement of the attendees and even Higinbotham himself.</p>\n\n<p>People lined up to take their turn to play Tennis for Two.</p>\n\n<p>Using a small analog computer, players could adjust two knobs and push a button, which simulated a game of tennis on an oscilloscope. Essentially, this was an early version of the hit game Pong, which will come into existence 14 years later.</p>\n\n<p>The game took only hours to design and was a huge success. Higinbotham was delighted, as his little experiment achieved exactly what he was striving for: livening up an otherwise dull and boring event. </p>\n\n<p>Many people ask \"why was the first video game invented?\" There are many answers to this question, but one of the more obvious reasons why was to bring joy and entertainment to the world.</p>\n\n<p>Higinbotham invented video games to show that science isn’t all about war and destruction. Yes, he had helped design the nuclear bomb that brought death, misery, and chaos to the world, but he is also the father of video games, one of the world’s leading form of entertainment.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Tennis for Two - the first video game\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_16/tennis_for_two.jpg\" style=\"width: 705px; height: 626px;\" title=\"Tennis for Two - the first video game\" /></p>\n\n<p>Tennis for Two quickly became the most popular piece at the exhibit, capturing the minds of those who played it, despite its total lack of fancy graphics or complicated controls. Players wrote down their scores and challenges were issued.</p>\n\n<p>Little did Higinbotham realize that day, that he had started a revolutionary movement. A movement that would continue to grow for years to come, eventually reshaping the entertainment industry into what it is today.</p>\n\n<p>Similar to its predecessor, Bertie the Brain, Tennis for Two was largely forgotten after the event hosted by Brookhaven National Laboratory. It wasn't until many years later that the seed planted on that fateful day would blossom and begin to take root.</p>\n\n<p>William Higinbotham, although accredited as the father of the first video game ever created would not focus on this field of study and research. Leaving that venture in others capable hands, he returned to his work on nuclear arms control for the remainder of his career.</p>\n\n<p>Tennis for Two, a pivotal part of gaming history, was sadly dismantled, its parts used in other projects, destroying it for all time and making it another lost relic of the past.</p>\n\n<p>Still, the story continued onward and from that point on, the video game industry would continue to grow by leaps and bounds, gaining momentum as the years passed by.</p>\n\n<h2>Video Game Culture Explodes</h2>\n\n<p>For much of the remainder of the 1950's and 1960's, the video game industry remained relatively dormant. Slowly but surely, progress was inching ever forward as other brilliant minds would begin to take an interest in what we called today “interactive media.”</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Video game culture hasn't exploded until the 1970s, with the invention of Pong\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_17/Illustration_800x500_01.jpg\" style=\"width: 800px; height: 500px;\" title=\"Video game culture hasn't exploded until the 1970s, with the invention of Pong\" /></p>\n\n<p>Arcades began to spring up across the world and gave youths around the globe the opportunity to relax, meet and socialize, while at the same time fostering a competitive culture that would push each other (and the industry) to their limits, teaching the value of perseverance, patience, hard work, and practice.</p>\n\n<p>Still, it wasn't until the creation of Pong that the movement truly began to grow by leaps and bounds. Pong was the first blockbuster game that captured the minds of the American public in droves and led to a hyper-acceleration of the gaming industry.</p>\n\n<p>Thanks to Pong, Atari became a household name across the United States, and their video game console a staple item in many homes.</p>\n\n<p>Throughout the years we have witnessed a stunning growth in the gaming industry, as it has grown leaps and bounds over the course of these few short decades. Of course, there have been setbacks, as there is with anything.</p>\n\n<p>The video game crash of 1983, known as the “Atari shock” in Japan, was a massive setback and recession in the gaming industry that began in 1983 and lasted until 1985.</p>\n\n<p>This recession struck especially deep within North America as saturation hit a tipping point and the industry took a nosedive, resulting in numerous bankruptcies within the industry and bringing about the end of the second generation console cycle.</p>\n\n<p>As we know now, this was far from the end of the end. The Nintendo Entertainment System lay just around the corner, and a new golden age was waiting just over the horizon.</p>\n\n<h2>Conclusion</h2>\n\n<p>It is estimated that the US Gaming industry alone generated roughly <a href=\"http://www.theesa.com/article/us-video-game-industry-revenue-reaches-36-billion-2017/\">$36 billion in 2017</a>. Bear in mind that although the United States may have the most substantial piece, it is still only a slice of the revenue pie.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Video games are bigger than movies\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_17/Illustration_800x500_04.jpg\" style=\"width: 800px; height: 500px;\" title=\"Video games are bigger than movies\" /></p>\n\n<p>What this means is that the gaming industry has <a href=\"https://www.nasdaq.com/article/investing-in-video-games-this-industry-pulls-in-more-revenue-than-movies-music-cm634585\">catapulted past other sectors</a> in the entertainment industry, surpassing Hollywood and its other entertainment competitors.</p>\n\n<p>It is hard to imagine either Josef Kates or William Higinbotham, two of the earliest pioneers of this industry, envisioning the future that laid before them, or the pivotal roles they played in creating the largest entertainment industry this world has ever seen, enjoyed by millions of people - video games.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"bottom\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_Team_B74910_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSU.jpg\" /></a></p>\n","date":"5/15/2018"},"images":{"preview":{"href":"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_17/Header_1368x384_01.jpg"},"authorAvatar":{"href":"//cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/portal/common/avatars/default_avatar.jpg","sizes":[]}},"template_options":{"compositeId":"13206"}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/cross-platform-games/"},"strings":{"title":"Cross-platform Games and Why They Are So Important","category":"MMO Games Blog","author":"PLARIUM STAFF","readTime":"600000","description":"<p>Imagine a world where the rigid (and often harmful) borders between gamers across all platforms have been broken down.</p>\n\n<p>This is the dream which some contemporary developers and game directors are chasing.</p>\n\n<p>Some people will argue that such an ideal world is irrational - that by attempting to bridge such dissimilar platforms and crowds you end up hurting the video game community as a whole.</p>\n\n<p>But such opinions are drowned out by the loud majority of people demanding an open gaming experience without artificial barriers.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Cross-platform gaming without artificial barriers\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_16/cross-platform-1.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 410px;\" title=\"Cross-platform gaming without artificial barriers\" /></p>\n\n<p>There is tangible evidence that this is the direction the gaming industry is going in, as we are starting to see new levels of cross-platform gaming on both consoles and mobile devices.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_RAID_EN_1920x1080_Serj_2018-0507_01Id5209_B74904_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSO.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>What Is Cross-platform Gaming, and Why It Is Important</h2>\n\n<p>Simply put, cross-platform games are games that let players on different platforms or devices play together at the same time.</p>\n\n<p>For example, a game that lets PC gamers play on the same servers as Xbox One players, or PlayStation 4 gamers playing together with those on PS Vita.</p>\n\n<p>In many cases, cross-platform multiplayer games will remain within their respective publisher’s domain. For example, some games in the Monster Hunter series were cross-platform games, but only between Nintendo’s platforms - the 3DS, Wii U and the Switch.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"\" src=\"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Cosplayer_of_Swordwoman%2C_Monster_Hunter_in_CWT39_20150228b.jpg\" style=\"width: 800px; height: 600px;\" /><br />\n<em>Cosplayer of Monster Hunter Swordwoman</em></p>\n\n<p>Examples of more encompassing cross-platform multiplayer games are still too few, but their numbers of slowly growing.</p>\n\n<p>It is only natural that cross-platform features are on the rise, as AAA titles are released <a href=\"https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2018/03/21/epic-games-wants-ps4-and-xbox-one-players-to-play-fortnite-battle-royale-together\">across most major platforms</a> for many years now. As hardware continues to improve, console architecture continues to approach that of a PC, the links between all platforms will only continue to strengthen.</p>\n\n<p>Since so many gamers are playing the same games nowadays, many believe that they should be able to populate the same online networks. In other words: people should be able to play online games with their friends, regardless of platform.</p>\n\n<p>And why should they be able to? Scripting languages, software libraries, and game engines have reached a level of development and sophistication in which platform-specific details can be effectively accounted for and appropriately optimized.</p>\n\n<p>So what is stopping cross-platform gaming from becoming a standard in the video game industry?</p>\n\n<h2>The Obstacles Standing in the way of Cross-Platform Games</h2>\n\n<h3>An Unfortunately Divided Gaming Culture</h3>\n\n<p>It’s no secret that there is much rivalry between the popular platforms and their loyal fanbase.</p>\n\n<p>Terms such as “PC Master Race” and “Console Peasants” (the former being what many PC players like to refer to themselves, while the latter is a demeaning insult for those that play on console) are thrown around regularly on forums and Reddit threads. It is ironic, as these terms are extremely not PC (politically correct).</p>\n\n<p>Obviously, few PC players really mean it in a harmful or offensive way, but there are still those out there who will adamantly refuse to be involved with any console players, believing them and their platforms to be beneath their superior systems.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Unfortunately Divided Gaming Culture\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_16/cross-platform-2.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 600px;\" title=\"Unfortunately Divided Gaming Culture\" /></p>\n\n<p>It is not just the PC crowd that holds such separatist thinking. Plenty of PlayStation and Xbox fanatics will also show some disrespect towards their PC counterparts. Many find PC players to be far too hardcore in both their vanities and performances.</p>\n\n<p>The same can be said about how “hardcore” gamers view those who play mostly on mobile devices. The phrase “filthy casual” is often used to demean and patronize over mobile gamers, referring to how most mobile games require little skill to master.</p>\n\n<p>Such a divided cultural can indeed hinder the uniting efforts of cross-platform games. There are those who simply do not want to open the borders between their domains and share a match with other gamers with what they perceive to be inferior platforms.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"middle\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/11/RAD_RedGirl_B76234_970x66_Android_iOS_English&IMG=1MTM.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h3>Technical Limitations</h3>\n\n<p>This is a more practical point and has nothing to do with the games or gamers themselves.</p>\n\n<p>There are certainly many differences between a mouse and keyboard combo and a controller, and in many cases, it certainly does not make sense to pair such different control schematics together.</p>\n\n<p>In the case of first-person shooters, a mouse and keyboard provide a slight advantage over a controller. A mouse offers a far higher level of sensitivity and accuracy than an analog stick does, and many console players would simply not be able to keep up.</p>\n\n<p>Of course, boosts to aiming in FPS games, such as aim-assist, are implemented by proponents of cross-platform gaming, but even this doesn’t solve the problem. It opens the door to accusations of cheating by disgruntled players how “definitely shot you first.”</p>\n\n<p>Then there are server limitations caused by hardware capacities, in which one’s PlayStation 4 version of a game, for example, curbs the number of people that can join an online match, thus preventing any cross-platform support.</p>\n\n<p>Finally, console players will not have frame rates as high or performance as speedy in general as the more high-end computers. This certainly gives PC players a significant advantage in that their games simply run smoother and faster.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"\" src=\"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Dualshock_4_Layout.svg/2000px-Dualshock_4_Layout.svg.png\" style=\"width: 800px; height: 533px;\" /></p>\n\n<h2>The Next Level of Co-op</h2>\n\n<p>Despite such limitations, which are being worked on all the time by cross-platform advocates, many people still desperately want to play their favorite games with their friends across platforms.</p>\n\n<p>There was a time when split-screen was the preferred tool for multiplayer gaming on consoles, before the advent of high-speed internet lines. While we see incredible new levels of online play, too many people miss the physical interaction of the old days.</p>\n\n<p>Being able to play something like Sea of Thieves with a friend or family member in the same room, with one person playing on a PC, and the other on an Xbox One, will rekindle this sense of togetherness.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Cross-platform games will rekindle a sense of togetherness\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_16/cross-platform-3.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 440px;\" title=\"Cross-platform games will rekindle a sense of togetherness\" /></p>\n\n<p>People do want to play together, and the resistant elitists are few and far between compared to the majority of well-natured individuals that would love to test their mettle against players on other mediums.</p>\n\n<p>There are many co-op games which people wish they could play with each other but cannot due to lack of cross-platform support. When it comes to the best online games to play with friends, it is indeed a great pity when people cannot come together due to technical limitations.</p>\n\n<p>This need is what many people believe will drive developers to overcome the mentioned drawbacks. As consoles become more powerful, and controllers become more sophisticated, we will very soon be seeing future platforms, such as Xbox Two and PlayStation 5, being able to match the power of high-end PCs.</p>\n\n<p>This balance of power and capability will eventually result in the leveling of the playing field that is needed to bring cross-platform games to the masses. Once gamers across mediums can interact with each other freely, maybe the walls between PC, console and mobile players will finally crumble.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"\" src=\"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Input-gaming.png\" style=\"width: 800px; height: 800px;\" /></p>\n\n<h2>Cross-platform Multiplayer Games Are Bringing People Together</h2>\n\n<p>To the delight of countless people all over the world, Sea of Thieves is one of the best new examples of cross-platform gaming. The Rare pirate epic lets players on Windows 10 PC, Xbox One and Xbox One X adventure together.</p>\n\n<p>Back in mid-2016, Rare’s PC Design Lead Ted Timmins and Executive Producer Joe Neate excitedly announced in a video discussing Sea of Thieves’ features that cross-play would indeed be a feature in their upcoming swashbuckling MMO.</p>\n\n<p>Obviously, since then, such a promise was something which many gamers were sincerely interested in, hoping dearly that this game would bring a stable and balanced cross-platform experience which would revolutionize this innovative functionality.</p>\n\n<p>According to an article on cross-play on the official <a href=\"https://www.seaofthieves.com/news/design-deep-dive-cross-play\">Sea of Thieves website</a>, the developers asked themselves “Why would we segregate players in the first place?”</p>\n\n<p>That is an important question. There’s no real reason to split up the game’s community, especially with Microsoft’s new “<a href=\"https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/xbox-play-anywhere\">Play Anywhere</a>” initiative. This genuinely wonderful step towards unifying the gamer community lets you play all supported Xbox One games on any Windows 10 PC (and vice versa).</p>\n\n<p>Players have reported that the cross-play experienced in Sea of Thieves makes them feel as if they are all playing on the same device. Such borderless interaction has broken down the borders between Xbox One and PC, at least while playing the game.</p>\n\n<p>Game developers have also understood the <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/blog/trends-online-gaming-2017/\">power of mobile</a> when it comes to cross-platform online games. All you need is to take a look at Epic Games’ massively popular <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/blog/battle-royale/\">battle royale</a> Fortnite. Much of its popularity can be attributed to the game’s recent versions for iOS and Android that allow for cross-platform gaming with PCs and consoles.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Cross-platform play between PC, consoles and mobile\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_16/cross-platform-4.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 440px;\" title=\"Cross-platform play between PC, consoles and mobile\" /></p>\n\n<p>Since March 12, players on PS4 have been able to play with Mac, iOS, and PC players. Xbox One players are also able to play with iOS, Mac, and PC gamers, but as it stands, Xbox One and PS4 players cannot battle it out as of yet.</p>\n\n<p>Such barriers between PS4 and Xbox One cross play would be overcome by Epic if it wasn’t for the restrictions put in place by <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metcalfe%27s_law\">Metcalfe’s Law</a>. Ironically, having more users connected to the networks increase its value, so such superficial barriers only restrict the full potential of online gaming in general.</p>\n\n<p>Developers are working very hard on surpassing such restrictions, providing a gaming experience that transcends almost all cross-platform barriers, and allowing a united gaming experience where almost everyone can play together.</p>\n\n<h2>Why Sony Does Not Support Cross-platform Games</h2>\n\n<p>While Microsoft is adamant about helping cross-platform gaming become a reality in our lifetime, their main competitor in the console market isn’t so keen on the idea.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/O3Tshisv-ls\" width=\"560\"></iframe></p>\n\n<p>Simply put, Sony believes that it would not benefit from cross-platform games. In fact, such a breaking down of walls could be very financially detrimental to big companies that rely on exclusive games to sell the consoles themselves. The PlayStation 4 very much enjoys its passionate fan base and has used its popular exclusives to become the biggest console of this generation.</p>\n\n<p>This kingly status allows Sony to recruit countless new players that are interested in joining the most populated multiplayer arenas on consoles. As one can now see, opening their doors to cross-platform games would severely curb the PS4 dominance and appeal.</p>\n\n<p>Many people regard such stubbornness to be anti-consumer in its design, and with the passionate cross-platform crusade launched by companies like Epic Games gaining such massively acclaimed traction, many believe that even Sony will soon “give in” and join in on the efforts to being gamers from all communities to together.</p>\n\n<h2>Conclusion</h2>\n\n<p>Recent games have provided an invaluable contribution to cross-platform games development and progression. It only takes a few titles which can successfully, securely, and reasonably bring together multiple platforms to convince the gaming industry that cross-platform functionality can quickly become a reliable, enjoyable, and highly profitable venture.</p>\n\n<p>There is so much to gain from cross-platform integration, and many lead companies in the industry already know that. Technical limitations will be overcome, and a balanced and fair realm of unified play will be achieved through cooperation.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"A new level of cooperation\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2017/week_20/clan-leader-4.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 571px;\" title=\"A new level of cooperation\" /></p>\n\n<p>It is not just players being able to play together across platforms; it is a newfound level of cooperation between the giants of the gaming industry. The brightest and most talented minds in gaming development and direction will for the first time be working together.</p>\n\n<p>If things continue as they are with Microsoft’s enthusiasm, and Sony hopefully buckles to the march of progress, we are going to see a renaissance in gaming where the technical and cultural divisions and limitations between platforms begin to evaporate.</p>\n\n<p>We will see a standard of gaming we didn’t think was possible, where ingeniously comprehensive mediums for multiplayer experiences have been revamped to unbelievable levels. It is all certainly very inspiring to think about, and we can only wait and see how this sector of gaming will pan out in the future.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"bottom\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_Team_B74910_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSU.jpg\" /></a></p>\n","date":"4/29/2018"},"images":{"preview":{"href":"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_16/cross-platform-header.jpg"},"authorAvatar":{"href":"//cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/portal/common/avatars/default_avatar.jpg","sizes":[]}},"template_options":{"compositeId":"13200"}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/grinding-games/"},"strings":{"title":"Grinding Games: How Do They Keep it Engaging?","category":"MMO Games Blog","author":"PLARIUM STAFF","readTime":"540000","description":"<p>Cast an eye over any MMO forum, YouTube comment section, or game-centric Reddit section, and you will see people <a href=\"https://levelskip.com/misc/Why-Do-People-Hate-Grinding-And-Why-Do-I-Love-It\">complaining about or defending</a> the idea of grinding in video games.</p>\n\n<p>The definition of grinding is to perform a repetitive task to gain gameplay advantages. In short, grinding in games is repeatedly performing an action will increase your character stats to make them a more powerful adversary.</p>\n\n<p>Some players refer to this as “treadmilling” or less often “pushing the bar”, mainly due to the similarities that grinding has with regular exercise. You go to the gym; you sprint on the running machine, you do some weights, rinse and repeat.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Grinding in games can feel a lot like running in place\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_14/grinding-1.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 600px;\" title=\"Grinding in games can feel a lot like running in place\" /></p>\n\n<p>In <a href=\"https://plarium.com/\">MMO games</a>, those repetitive actions can be mining ore or fighting low-level bad guys to achieve the same results. Rinse and repeat.</p>\n\n<p>Sound familiar? That is because a vast amount of games now include a significant amount of grinding. But is it really such a bad thing that to gain results we have to work for it?</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_RAID_EN_1920x1080_Serj_2018-0507_01Id5209_B74904_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSO.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>We’ve Been Grinding Games for Years</h2>\n\n<p>Interestingly enough, grinding in video games is not a new thing. Although we associate it with modern MMORPGs in particular, it doesn’t differ too much from practicing in Super Mario Brothers on the NES and becoming good enough to master that tricky level over your summer holiday.</p>\n\n<p>While you may not ‘level up’ in the same way you would expect in an MMO, you are still repeatedly trying to do something until your skill level has improved enough to facilitate your progress. Your ‘levelling up’ just happens to be noticeable in your physical skill, rather than in a number on a character stats screen.</p>\n\n<p>In essence, we have been grinding for years without even noticing it, and most of the time it has been good fun, mixed with a little frustration. Frustration isn’t necessarily a bad thing either, as waltzing through a game that is far too easy will irk players even more than one that is on the verge of being too difficult. An example would be something like Bloodborne, or the recently released platformer Celeste. Both games are noted for their extreme difficulty levels, but fans nonetheless seem to adore the challenge.</p>\n\n<p>There is, after all, pride associated with mastering something difficult.</p>\n\n<h2>Multiplayer Games are the Best Grinding Games</h2>\n\n<p>MMORPGs lean heavily on grinding as a form of character progression. On the whole, it works very well.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"The key to fun grinding is company\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_14/grinding-2.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 600px;\" title=\"The key to fun grinding is company\" /></p>\n\n<p>Stats-heavy games will always lend themselves to the grind more naturally than those that are lighter in that department. The social aspects associated with multiplayer games also allow for extended moments of grinding with less boredom. When working as part of a team in games like WoW and The Elder Scrolls Online, grinding becomes akin to a sort of fun version of work. You feel compelled to put in the time to succeed, but don’t mind doing so, as some fun times are guaranteed along the way.</p>\n\n<p>In this respect, grinding has managed to succeed as a game mechanic where perhaps it shouldn’t. Doing something repetitively over and over only to improve your stats shouldn’t be fun, should it? But when multiplayer games do this, especially RPG games, there seems to be a unique appeal that most single-player games just can’t deliver.</p>\n\n<p>To make a great grinding game, developers cannot merely rely on providing players with some company while they blindly go through their ‘gaming chores’. A good game will include a grinding routine that stimulates the player just as much as the more narrative-driven segments.</p>\n\n<p>If a game manages to hide the grind, or at least blur its edges to the point where it is difficult to tell where the grind starts and ends, it is already on the right path to success. Get this wrong, though, and players will see straight through these game-lengthening techniques.</p>\n\n<p>So what is the key to making the best grinding games?</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"middle\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/11/RAD_RedGirl_B76234_970x66_Android_iOS_English&IMG=1MTM.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>Fun Grinding Is a Matter of Balance</h2>\n\n<p>Getting the balance right is crucial when it comes to fun grinding games.</p>\n\n<p>Too much effort and too little compensation is a recipe for boredom and frustration, and too much reward and too little work can lead to a game that lacks depth.</p>\n\n<p>The MMORPG Ragnarok Online emphasizes grinding from the very beginning of the game. For an RPG, Ragnarok uncharacteristically leans away from the story-based elements and much more towards a grind-heavy experience. That isn’t to say the story is non-existent, but it does somewhat fade into the background once you get started and find yourself traversing the maps looking for areas with enemies you can kill.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Grinding for loot\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_14/grinding-3.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 600px;\" title=\"Grinding for loot\" /></p>\n\n<p>With enemies rarely dropping useful loot, those times where you do find yourself scanning over the remains of a fallen foe and bagging some decent swag are all the more satisfying. Ragnarok Online neither drowns players with rewards nor hands them the world on a plate.</p>\n\n<p>It’s a challenging tightrope game developers have to walk, especially when certain game franchises are now expected to have lifespans that exceed half a decade. One slip in the direction of either extreme could result in an experience that doesn't fulfill its potential as a good game or a money spinner.</p>\n\n<p>This is probably why grinding games have remained relatively static in their execution throughout the years. After all, why risk changing something that could sink the ship?</p>\n\n<h2>Variety Is the Spice of Life and Gaming</h2>\n\n<p>Bashing the same button over and over as you slam your pickaxe into a rock, all in the hope of gaining a few numbers on a stat sheet is going to get very tiresome very quickly. Mixing up the results from the mining will, on the other hand, at least keep the player concentrated on the task at hand.</p>\n\n<p>Two excellent examples of how grinding can actually work well are Stardew Valley and Ragnarok Online.</p>\n\n<p>For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past couple of years, Stardew Valley is a smash hit indie title that took the world by storm back in 2016. As the sole heir of your grandfather’s farm, you leave the city life behind and head back to the country for a life of farming, mining, and socializing with the locals.</p>\n\n<p>While town life may be considerably narrative driven, the <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/mmo-games/black-markets-hacking-mmos/\">mining and farming aspects</a> of the game are very grindy. Stardew Valley doesn’t fall into the trap of becoming tedious though, as there is plenty of variety to its grinding. When farming, you may be required to plant and water your crops on a regular basis, but the way you do this is entirely up to you. You decide on the aesthetics of the farm, you choose on what crops you sow and in what pattern. Yes, you may be repeating the same action, but ultimately it feels like it is your choice to do so, and rarely feels like a chore.</p>\n\n<p>The same can be said for the mining portion of the game. You decide where to mine, and the variety of rocks and ore keep things fresh.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"It's worth it in the end\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_14/grinding-4.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 600px;\" title=\"It's worth it in the end\" /></p>\n\n<p>The key to the success of Stardew and Ragnarok is the blend of hard work and reward combined with enough variety to keep it interesting. As stated earlier, it can be a tricky tightrope to walk, but these are two examples of perfectly balanced games when it comes to the grind.</p>\n\n<p>They also exhibit another factor that any grind-heavy game would benefit from, and that is that they give you a little glimpse of the future.</p>\n\n<h2>Working Towards a Goal</h2>\n\n<p>No, they don’t have a crystal ball, and they aren’t going to be providing you with the winning lottery numbers any time soon, but they do give you a slight glimpse into the future. The future of the game that is.</p>\n\n<p>Grinding is only really worth it if you have a slight idea of what the results could bring you. Nobody wants to work hard if there is no light at the end of the tunnel, or the rewards might not be worth the effort. But, if you could only just see what waiting for you at the end of the struggle, it might just be worth it.</p>\n\n<p>Stardew Valley does this amazingly well by placing obstacles in the way of your character progression, blocking access to certain parts of the map but allowing a slight glimpse of what is in store once you manage to attain the necessary tools to proceed.</p>\n\n<p>This ‘carrot on a stick’ is key to any game that wants players to invest hour after hour into it and still come back for more. Whether that carrot is an inaccessible area or a weapon that is out of your current price range, the allure of ‘what might be around the corner’ has to be strong enough to encourage the player onwards. All the best grinding games know this and use it to their own advantage.</p>\n\n<p>There are, unfortunately, games that simply did not get the memo when it comes to grinding. These games tend to drag on and on, with little to no sign of a reward or reason to carry on. This would have previously been a death sentence for games released ten or fifteen years ago, but with constant updates now available to anyone with internet access, games can be rectified if needed.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Grinding in MMO games\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_14/grinding-5.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 600px;\" title=\"Grinding in MMO games\" /></p>\n\n<h2>Grinding in Video Games Done Right</h2>\n\n<p>For those of you who supposedly hate grinding, it is worth considering what the gaming world would look like without it. A game with little challenge and a constant stream of rewards is something that quickly becomes boring. Anyone familiar with a parody game called <a href=\"https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/495903\">PSTW</a> (Press Space To Win) might have already considered the empty feeling a game with no challenge provides for a player. Perhaps it is an uncomfortable truth for you to believe, that mom and dad were right all along, and hard work really is a reward all by itself.</p>\n\n<p>Some players will reference a sort of ‘zen-like’ state that descends upon them while they are deep within the grind, and the sense of achievement they get from putting in the required hours leaves them with a genuine feeling of pride.</p>\n\n<p>To loop back to the start of this discussion, if grinding is implemented correctly in the first place, we shouldn’t even notice it at all. So, as a rule of thumb, If the grind is varied, challenging, and fun, you are halfway to creating a great grinding game.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"bottom\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_Team_B74910_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSU.jpg\" /></a></p>\n","date":"4/12/2018"},"images":{"preview":{"href":"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_14/grinding-header.jpg"},"authorAvatar":{"href":"//cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/portal/common/avatars/default_avatar.jpg","sizes":[]}},"template_options":{"compositeId":"13192"}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/rts-vs-tbs/"},"strings":{"title":"The Differences Between Real-time and Turn-based Strategy","category":"MMO Games Blog","author":"PLARIUM STAFF","readTime":"540000","description":"<p><a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/strategy-games/\">Strategy games</a> are among the most complex video games.</p>\n\n<p>The first thing you should probably know about them is that most of them fall into two similar, but distinct subgenres: <strong>RTS</strong> and <strong>TBS</strong>.</p>\n\n<p>You may already have a few questions, like what does TBS stand for, or what is RTS.</p>\n\n<p>Let’s answer those two first, so we’re all on the same page here:</p>\n\n<ul>\n\t<li>RTS is <strong>Real-time Strategy</strong></li>\n\t<li>TBS stands for <strong>Turn-based Strategy</strong></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Right now it may not seem that important, but trust us: understanding the differences between RTS and TBS is key to understanding the strategy genre as a whole.</p>\n\n<p>So let's clear the fog of war and get right down to the battle: RTS vs. TBS - how to tell them apart, and which one is better?</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"RTS vs. TBS\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_14/realtime-turnbased-2.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 600px;\" title=\"RTS vs. TBS\" /></p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_RAID_EN_1920x1080_Serj_2018-0507_01Id5209_B74904_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSO.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>Real-time Strategy Vs. Turn-based Strategy</h2>\n\n<p>The most basic defining factor that differentiates strategy games is how they approach the concept of time.</p>\n\n<p>If you want to know the difference between turn-based and real-time strategy straight away, you can just look at how time flows in a game.</p>\n\n<p>If time has been compartmentalized into phases, and each player or AI opponent has allocated time slots in which to execute their strategy - you are most likely playing a turn-based strategy game.</p>\n\n<p>In other words: If you each take turns to play, it’s a turn-based game.</p>\n\n<p>If time flows as it does in the real world, and all players can play all at once, then you are most likely playing a real-time strategy game.</p>\n\n<p>Here all decisions are made under pressure and the constant threat of attack; there are no pauses.</p>\n\n<p>Before we begin answering the question of “What is the difference between real-time strategy and turn-based strategy?”, we should discuss just how diverse both of these subgenres are in themselves.</p>\n\n<h2>Turn-based Strategy Games</h2>\n\n<p>If you are not familiar with the medium, the best way to imagine a turn-based game is to think of it as a digital board game.</p>\n\n<p>In the traditional board game format, each player will have a turn to think, strategize, and execute their decisions regarding the pieces in their hands and on the board.</p>\n\n<p>The game will progress in an orderly fashion, with each person biding their time, waiting for the others to finish their turns before they can resume actioning their investments on the board.</p>\n\n<p>The same is true with many turn-based strategy games. Players and AIs will each be given a chance in an orderly fashion to utilize the full extent of their intelligence, cunning, and resources to achieve whatever objective happens to be at hand.</p>\n\n<p>Let us take a look at to different types of turn-based strategy games: XCOM series by Firaxis Games and the Total War games by Creative Assembly.</p>\n\n<p>In XCOM, you command a squad of alien-hunting soldiers, taking charge of a party of around five or six characters in total.</p>\n\n<p>In a Total War game, you take control of an entire civilization - its government, commerce and economy, and armies.</p>\n\n<p>Now, although both games involve taking turns between you and opponents, the scale is completely different. XCOM is considered more tactical, with more surgical battles and short-term decision-making. Total War, on the other hand, is much more massive and “big-picture” with gameplay spanning years, decades and centuries.</p>\n\n<p>But that’s not where it ends. Between TBS and RTS, the former has made its way into other, admittedly more popular genres. You can find elements of TBS in <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/mmo-games/eastern-games-vs-western-games/\">JRPGs</a>, simulators,  and tactical shooters.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"middle\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/11/RAD_RedGirl_B76234_970x66_Android_iOS_English&IMG=1MTM.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>Real-time Strategy Games</h2>\n\n<p>The term “real-time strategy” was coined by Brett Sperry when <a href=\"https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/09/build-gather-brawl-repeat-the-history-of-real-time-strategy-games/2/\">marketing his 1990 classic game Dune II</a>. While this game is not necessarily considered to be the first proper RTS title, it certainly did set the format for countless leading franchises to come.</p>\n\n<p>Some of the most successful and acclaimed real-time strategy franchises such as Command & Conquer, Warcraft, and StarCraft, all owe their foundational design inspiration to the early 90s sci-fi classic.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Real-time strategy is about quick decisions and multitasking\" longdesc=\"Real-time strategy is about quick decisions and multitasking\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_14/realtime-turnbased-1.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 600px;\" /></p>\n\n<p>The best way to understand a typical RTS game is to imagine the Middle Ages. In this foundational phase of human development, various newfound cultures uplifted themselves from the ashes of Classical Civilizations, often towards imperial domination goals.</p>\n\n<p>If you could imagine France, Germany, England, Scandinavia, etc. - all of these countries and nations developing all around each other, all at the same time, and consequently invading or forming alliances with each other, then you pretty much understand a real-time strategy game such as Age of Empires.</p>\n\n<p>This type of real-time strategy game involves players developing their people, settlements, armies, and strategies all in real-time.</p>\n\n<p>Unit construction, invasions, and all developments between players all occur along a single, continuous, and unhindered timeline which all present players share.</p>\n\n<p>Resource gathering is an essential part of most real-time strategy games, and you will indeed often find yourself competing aggressively with other players for limited resources upon the map.</p>\n\n<p>As you can imagine, things can indeed get very frantic and pressured when conflict is erupting all over the map and players are leading their armies into each other’s settlements in an attempt to completely eradicate their presence in the world.</p>\n\n<p>This requires a heightened level of decision-making and reflex-based reactions compared to turn-based strategy, which affords players an extended period of halted and composed planning and execution.</p>\n\n<h2>Playing Strategy Games at a Professional Level</h2>\n\n<p>If you are wondering about the esport presence of real-time and turned-based strategy titles, then you should know that RTS games make up the majority of the leading online strategy esport content.</p>\n\n<p>While you can indeed play online strategy games that are turn-based at very competitive levels, they, for the most part, would not translate well to a live, widely-spectated performance. Many of the leading turn-based strategy games just do not fall into the esport criteria well enough. They are generally based on lengthy campaigns and lack the excitement needed for spectator sports. In fact, they face many of the problems <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/mmo-games/esports/\">MMO esports</a> face.</p>\n\n<p>The most prominent professionally-played game with turn-based strategy elements happens to be the Pokemon video game series. Its latest releases now played on the Nintendo 3DS. Pokemon video game tournaments are most popular in the United States.</p>\n\n<p>A few years ago, the first game in the series, Pokemon Red was part of a weird social experiment called <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitch_Plays_Pok%C3%A9mon\">Twitch Plays Pokemon</a>. Hundreds of thousands of people played the same copy of the game simultaneously on a Twitch livestream. Not exactly competitive esport, but an impressive display of multiplayer cooperation.</p>\n\n<p>Today, millions of dollars go into the collective running and administering of just the online strategy sector of esports. Not only that, the actual players can win fortunes in the bigger competitions.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"StarCraft - the king of competitive strategy\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_13/starcrafttourney.jpg\" style=\"width: 1100px; height: 390px;\" title=\"StarCraft - the king of competitive strategy\" /></p>\n\n<p>StarCraft’s current prize pool sits at $21,765,461.56, which is the total amount that has been won by professional players for the entirety of its running as a professional esport.</p>\n\n<h2>StarCraft: The Founder and King of Esports</h2>\n\n<p>With the expansion of the original StarCraft monster hit, StarCraft: Brood Wars, came the foundations for the entire esports scene. It was in South Korea when the first proper and well-organized tournaments and competitions began their facilitation, around 2002.</p>\n\n<p>It was then that the first teams of organized pro-gamers began rising through the scene, receiving sponsorships from large South Korean companies such as KT, SK Telecom, and Samsung.</p>\n\n<p>While it may sound surprising or bizarre to many, Korean StarCraft champions are on the same level as professional athletes, holding the same level of public admiration and reverence.</p>\n\n<p>The original StarCraft was the first game ever to be accepted into the World Cyber Games tournament and continued to make a yearly appearance up until 2011 when it was replaced by the sequel - StarCraft 2.</p>\n\n<p>StarCraft 2 carried on the torch, continuing the original game’s success within the online strategy esports world as one of the most popular esport online strategy games. Approximately 30,000 players play online on any given day, with <a href=\"http://www.rankedftw.com/stats/population/1v1/#v=2&r=-2&sx=a&sy=c\">more than 350,000 concurrent players</a> as of March 2018.</p>\n\n<h2>RTS vs. TBS: Which is Better?</h2>\n\n<p>So, who wins when it comes to RTS vs. TBS?</p>\n\n<p>This question is obviously entirely subjective, and there is no one right answer. Every strategy game fan has different tastes. Some may absolutely love the epic war campaigns of turn-based strategy games, while others are all about the intense skirmishes of real-time strategy games.</p>\n\n<p>There are legions of hardcore fans on each side, and there have been debates raging for a long time regarding real-time vs. turn-based. Such contention, however, is ultimately redundant and futile, and players should actually be supporting the development of the strategy genre overall.</p>\n\n<p>It all really depends on what you want out of a game. If you prefer being able to take your time to strategize and execute orders in a controlled, calm, and paced manner, then you might be happier with turn-based strategy.</p>\n\n<p>If you prefer to play games that flow in a more realistic manner and enjoy nothing more than fast-paced decision-making and flexible reactions, then real-time strategy is more up your alley.</p>\n\n<p>Both divisions are endlessly enjoyable, however, and you really should try leading titles from both to not limit your gaming experience.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"So which one is better? Real-time strategy or turn-based strategy?\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_14/realtime-turnbased-3.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 600px;\" title=\"So which one is better? Real-time strategy or turn-based strategy?\" /></p>\n\n<h2>Conclusion</h2>\n\n<p>Whether you are a newcomer to strategy games or are a veteran of many years, there will always be plenty of fantastic and complex material for you to work your way through. Companies like Blizzard, Creative Assembly, and Firaxis Games (and of course we in Plarium) will continue to strive to bring you fantastic and ingenious strategy titles.</p>\n\n<p>If you are, by now, comprehensively well-versed in a specific sector of a strategy subgenre, you may indeed feel an experimental curiosity to try something you would otherwise turn your nose up.</p>\n\n<p>Those that swore to play tactical turn-based strategy games exclusively should give faster, more action-oriented RTS a chance. On the other hand, StarCraft II masters may want to branch out into a turn-based game like Total War: Warhammer 2.</p>\n\n<p>The best part about both subgenres is that they offer relatively limitless potential. The same game can be played over and over again, with different races, employing different strategies and executions.</p>\n\n<p>As for actually getting good at these games, and hoping to one day join the esport crowds at a professional level - all you can really do is practice as much as you can, and read up on leading approaches to specific issues.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"bottom\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_Team_B74910_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSU.jpg\" /></a></p>\n","date":"3/27/2018"},"images":{"preview":{"href":"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_14/realtime-turnbased-header.jpg"},"authorAvatar":{"href":"//cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/portal/common/avatars/default_avatar.jpg","sizes":[]}},"template_options":{"compositeId":"13191"}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/eastern-games-vs-western-games/"},"strings":{"title":"The Difference Between Japanese Games and Western Games","category":"MMO Games Blog","author":"PLARIUM STAFF","readTime":"480000","description":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_RAID_EN_1920x1080_Serj_2018-0507_01Id5209_B74904_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSO.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<p>If you were born after 1990, there is a good chance that you have grown up oblivious to one of the most brutal and nasty conflicts of the modern age.</p>\n\n<p>It was a battle between two powerhouses from the east, whose race for dominance divided families across the globe. Friendships were destroyed, brother turned against brother, and lines were drawn in the sand, some of which are there to this day.</p>\n\n<p>This bloody conflict was known as the console wars, and it shaped both Japanese and Western games throughout history.</p>\n\n<h2>Console Wars: How It All Started</h2>\n\n<p>Back in the early 1980s, <a href=\"https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Corporate/Nintendo-History/Nintendo-History-625945.html\">Nintendo released their new home console</a>, the Nintendo Entertainment System, better known as the NES.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Nintendo Entertainment System, the NES\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_11/nes.jpg\" style=\"width: 700px; height: 510px;\" title=\"Nintendo Entertainment System, the NES\" /></p>\n\n<p>This little grey box started a fascination with video games that has grown exponentially ever since.</p>\n\n<p>To combat the rise of Nintendo, a company with a history of building arcade machines decided to enter the home console arena in 1985. With the release of the Master System, SEGA has officially started the console wars.</p>\n\n<p>Puritans may point to the earlier battles between the likes of the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spectrum, but none of these face-offs garnered quite the same level of tribalism that the NES vs. Master System did.</p>\n\n<p>This battle continued for over a decade, with new systems entering the fray with ever increasing computing prowess and graphical fidelity.</p>\n\n<p>While fans were arguing over which side had the best console, a curious divide was becoming apparent. This divide went beyond the consoles themselves and quickly became a cultural one.</p>\n\n<p>I am, of course, referring to the difference between Japanese and western games.</p>\n\n<h2>Western RPG vs. JRPG</h2>\n\n<p>In the early years, when platformers, beat ‘em-ups, shoot ‘em-ups, and the occasional sports sim, dominated the market, there was little to tell Japanese and western games apart.</p>\n\n<p>However, there was one genre that was starting to show the differences in culture. This genre was the RPG. <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/mmo-games/rpg-elements/\">Role-playing games</a> like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Final Fantasy XV may seem similar on the surface, but to anyone who has played both, the differences couldn’t be more obvious.</p>\n\n<p>Taking Bethesda’s Skyrim as an example of a western RPG, it becomes apparent that the emphasis was on exploration.</p>\n\n<p>These games generally exhibit sprawling worlds that have been carefully crafted to make the player feel that they can quite literally go anywhere and do anything. The edges of these worlds are crafted in such a way that the player would never feel like they have discovered everything. These games are designed to make you feel like you can shape the world with your choices and actions.</p>\n\n<p>Crossing over to Japan, the JRPGs don’t follow this philosophy anywhere nearly as much. Yes, the worlds can be massive, but the games themselves tend to be more linear in nature. Here, there seems to be a more substantial emphasis on storytelling, characters, and guiding the player through a compelling experience.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"middle\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/11/RAD_RedGirl_B76234_970x66_Android_iOS_English&IMG=1MTM.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>Japanese Games vs. Western Games</h2>\n\n<p>When it comes to pure aesthetics, there is also quite a noticeable difference between the Japanese and western games.</p>\n\n<p>Japanese games have generally taken on a look that is heavily influenced by manga and anime, with large eyes, cartoony features, and hair that seems to defy gravity.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Western RPGs vs. Japanese RPGs\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_11/east-west-1.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 500px;\" title=\"Western RPGs vs. Japanese RPGs\" /></p>\n\n<p>Western games, on the other hand, tend to aim at a slightly more realistic graphics. It is almost as though in western games we want to completely recreate life, whereas, in the east, they are happy to create their interpretation of it, unrestrained by the rules of the real world.</p>\n\n<p>Combat too generally differs quite radically in both subgenres.</p>\n\n<p>The majority of the action in WRPGs happens in real-time and dependant on player skill and reflex, whereas JRPGs quite often rely on a strategic turn-based system that plays out like a ‘stats heavy’ game of top trumps. Here, your band of adventurers face-off against hordes of evil while you decide which party member will do the most damage against which member of the opposing party.</p>\n\n<p>That isn't to say that western games like Skyrim or The Witcher 3 don’t rely on stats, but with them comes a healthy dose of hand to eye coordination. A classic Final Fantasy-style game would much rather you joust with your brain than with your fists.</p>\n\n<p>It is also somewhat interesting to note that most WRPGs have you starting out as a lone warrior, whereas the more eastern-influenced games often involve guiding a whole party.</p>\n\n<p>This could be a result cultural influence as well; wherein the western world the mighty “lone wolf hero” has been recycled in so many stories, Japanese culture has always had more of an obsession with protection, and putting a person or groups interests before the protagonists. More of a \"selfless hero\" if you will.</p>\n\n<h2>Japanese MMORPG vs. Western MMORPG</h2>\n\n<p>When it comes to online games, and in particular MMORPGs, the differences have continued to develop.</p>\n\n<p>In Japan, online games are even more popular than it is in the west, and MMORPGs have become akin to more enjoyable days at the office. By that, I mean that Japanese online games are noted to have a significant amount of ‘grinding’ associated with them. In this sort of society, logging on to level up your character every night isn't looked at as a bad thing, in fact, it’s a social thing.</p>\n\n<p>This could very well be down to the way Japanese culture has embraced gaming as a legitimate pastime, something that has only just started to happen in the west, where there has always been gaming culture, but its legitimacy is slightly less accepted.</p>\n\n<p>With Japanese games, rewarding players for grinding away in groups, those sessions after work or school become the defacto way to relax and chat away with your friends, while also progressing through a game.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Video games are an acceptable social activity\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_11/east-west-2.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 500px;\" title=\"Video games are an acceptable social activity\" /></p>\n\n<p>Some users have even started to look at these games as a substitute for social networks. You go to work, you come home, and you game with your friends. For some, the game world has become the bar or the squash court. And within a culture where hard work is revered, grinding away with your friends after work in Final Fantasy 14 is as routine and widespread as coming home and logging onto Netflix in the west.</p>\n\n<h2>When East Meets West</h2>\n\n<p>You would be forgiven for thinking that these two RPG subgenres are forking off in entirely different directions, but that is not actually true.</p>\n\n<p>Many of the companies from both sides of the gaming world are starting to take note of the more popular aspects of each other’s work, which is leading to some rather interesting mashups. None more so widespread than in the mobile space.</p>\n\n<p>Look through either the App Store or Google Play, and you will probably notice quite a few of the adventure, RPG or <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/strategy-games/\">strategy games</a> are now employing a Final Fantasy battle system. Even the latest Star Wars: Galaxy Of Heroes is centered purely around the combat mechanics.</p>\n\n<p>Turn-based combat, as it turns out, makes way more sense on mobile than the more western, dexterity-based way of fighting.</p>\n\n<p>On the other side of the coin, we are now starting to see far more open worlds in the likes of Final Fantasy XV, no doubt a reaction to how well western games have sold worldwide (including Japan).</p>\n\n<p>Where previously linear storylines with few choices were the fashion, multi-arced stories with alternate endings are now becoming more popular. And in return, some western MMOs now require a fair amount of grinding before leveling up (albeit a slightly different type of grinding).</p>\n\n<p>In fact, it could be said that some of the latest RPGs are neither genuinely eastern or western in origin. Most Elder Scrolls Online or World of Warcraft fans would have to admit to doing a fair amount of grinding in their time, while Final Fantasy XV fans were pretty surprised to see the number of real choices that they were privy to in the last installment of the franchise.</p>\n\n<h2>The Western and Japanese RPG hybrid</h2>\n\n<p>The great thing about this crossing over, is that it gives us games that would have otherwise been lacking in some areas. By mixing the subgenres, brand new ones have been created, and with whole new levels of addiction to boot.</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://www.pcgamer.com/games-like-stardew-valley/\">Games like Stardew Valley</a> (which is basically a heavily tweaked Harvest Moon), has taken the Japanese farm/life sim and mixed in a little western mechanics to polish things off. The game now sits pretty at number one as the most downloaded Switch games of all time, something previously unthinkable in a year which saw a new Mario release.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"JRPGs and WRPGs complement one another\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_11/east-west-3.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 500px;\" title=\"JRPGs and WRPGs complement one another\" /></p>\n\n<p>So rather than seeing the differences between the two gaming cultures as a “war” of which you need to take a side, perhaps a healthier outlook would be that of two styles that complement one another.</p>\n\n<p>When one side makes strides, the other notices and reacts. Equally, when one side makes mistakes, the other makes sure they don’t fall into the same trap. And with a gaming scene that has been plagued by a lack of innovation of late, these fusions between genres, subgenres, and cultures should be welcomed.</p>\n\n<p>In a world that is metaphorically getting smaller, witnessing one culture merge with another is something that we will see more and more. Whether that is in the film industry (just look at the popularity of Studio Ghibli in the west and Harry Potter in the east) or in the gaming industry, the fusion of cultures is here to stay, and I for one welcome it wholeheartedly.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"bottom\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_Team_B74910_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSU.jpg\" /></a></p>\n","date":"3/13/2018"},"images":{"preview":{"href":"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_11/east-west-header.jpg"},"authorAvatar":{"href":"//cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/portal/common/avatars/default_avatar.jpg","sizes":[]}},"template_options":{"compositeId":"13172"}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/strategy-rpg/"},"strings":{"title":"Strategy RPG Games Bring Together the Best of Both Genres","category":"MMO Games Blog","author":"PLARIUM STAFF","readTime":"480000","description":"<p>The lines between RPG games and virtually every other genre are gradually eroding in recent years.</p>\n\n<p>With developers looking to add more depth and personalization to their creations, <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/mmo-games/rpg-elements/\">RPG elements</a> have started to appear in places we usually wouldn’t expect to see them.</p>\n\n<p>Deep narratives, leveling and multi-layered characters are now popping up in a variety of genres, even some you wouldn’t have to expect them to.</p>\n\n<p>Essentially, we’re living in a post-RPG world where <a href=\"http://store.steampowered.com/tags/en/Strategy+RPG#p=0&tab=ConcurrentUsers\">hybrids are the norm.</a></p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Strategy RPG hybrids are the norm now\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_10/rpg-strategy-1.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 500px;\" title=\"Strategy RPG hybrids are the norm now\" /></p>\n\n<p>One area where RPG features have made a move in recent years is <a href=\"https://plarium.com/\">strategy games</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Aiming to elevate the genre beyond its slightly cold and calculated roots, RPG strategy games such as the Fire Emblem franchise bring tactics and immersive environments together as one.</p>\n\n<p>One of the most popular games in the series, Fire Emblem Awakening is marked by a dominant storyline that follows an epic battle across entire continents. In typical RPG fashion, all characters can be customized in various ways to suit the terrain and bring some extra depth to the action.</p>\n\n<p>However, unlike your typical RPG, players can’t just hack-and-slash their way through the game. They must employ a wide array of strategies and tactics, and learn how to best utilize each character's strengths to overcome the game’s many challenges.</p>\n\n<p>Fire Emblem Awakening is what is known as a tactical RPG.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_RAID_EN_1920x1080_Serj_2018-0507_01Id5209_B74904_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSO.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>The Birth of Strategy Role-playing Games</h2>\n\n<p>Strategy RPG, also known as Tactical Role-playing games, can be traced all the way back to traditional tabletop role-playing games such as classic Dungeons & Dragons.</p>\n\n<p>“Cool” as it may be, we’re more interested in the video game variation. Like so many others, the subgenre originated in Japan in the 1980s. Games like The Dragon and Princess and Bokosuka Wars were among the first to lay the foundations for the new genre, called \"simulation RPG\" back then.</p>\n\n<p>However, it wasn’t until 1988 that this hybrid of strategy and RPG started to take form.</p>\n\n<p>Many point to the strategy RPG Silver Ghost as one of the first fully-formed strategy RPGs. Players were able to use point-and-click controls in a real-time environment to manage and control multiple characters/units. If that sounds like an RTS game to you, you aren’t wrong - that is exactly how it paved the way for the RTS/RPG hybrid.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"The origins of Strategy RPG\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_10/rpg-strategy-2.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 500px;\" title=\"The origins of Strategy RPG\" /></p>\n\n<p>Following the legacy of Silver Ghost, First Queen took strategy RPGs another step further with a unique take on the subgenre. The game sees players explore an interactive world filled with different characters, upgrades, and unique scenery - all standard RPG elements.</p>\n\n<p>Where this game tipped the balance towards strategy was its battles. A large part of First Queen sees players recruit soldiers and then controlling them in large-scale battles. Combined with the option to pause the real-time combat, this function allowed the player to consider precise, tactical moves to defeat AI-controlled armies.</p>\n\n<p>These hybrids showed that it was possible to create immersive RPG worlds and successfully incorporate tactical elements. The Fire Emblem series then brought the concept to mainstream audiences in 1990, and many of its features have been used ever since.</p>\n\n<p>Throughout the nineties, games like Arc the Lad II, the Farland Story series, Front Mission and more all help developed the strategy RPG genre.</p>\n\n<p>As we move into the new millennium, mobile titles introduce themselves into the mix. As the likes of Valkyria Chronicles and Fire Emblem continued to dominate consoles, brands such as Banner Saga were making mobile strategy RPGs into serious contenders.</p>\n\n<p>What we’ve seen over the years is a <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/strategy-games/vikings-war-of-clans/\">coming together of strategy and RPG games</a> to form a new genre. Essentially, for those that enjoy making critical decisions but want a more personal experience then that of a detached general overlooking a battlefield, strategy RPGs are the perfect tonic.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"middle\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/11/RAD_RedGirl_B76234_970x66_Android_iOS_English&IMG=1MTM.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>How Strategy RPG Combines Both Genres Together</h2>\n\n<p>From our look at the history of strategy RPGs, we can already start to see what makes the genre tick.</p>\n\n<p>Rather than resorting to reflexes or real-time button mashing, the essence of a strategy game is to pick the best moves for the situation at hand or face dire consequences. Strategy RPG doesn't lose this aspect. The combination of storylines, expansive worlds, and customizable characters have only made these games more immersive.</p>\n\n<p>When you examine the dynamics a little closer, you get to see an interplay between strategy and tactics. As a general rule, strategy refers to an overarching goal, the bigger picture moves that will help you achieve victory. In contrast, tactics relate to the minutiae of a fight, the specific steps you make in a situation such as “use X weapon to target Y with unit Z.”</p>\n\n<p>When a game requires you to focus on an overall strategy, for instance crossing a map using the most efficient course, it leans towards being a strategy game. When you’re required to think about the weapons you’ve got and how to use them in individual battles, this is much more like an RPG. Therefore, when you combine these two elements into a single game, you have a strategy RPG.</p>\n\n<p>Of course, certain games will lean more to one side of the spectrum of the other. What’s more, you should also look out for the following attributes to know if you’re dealing with a strategy RPG:</p>\n\n<p><strong><u>Team player:</u></strong> If RPGs typically put players in the role of a single character or a small party, and strategy games put you in control over entire armies - strategy RPGs offer a combination of both dynamics.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Playing an individual character in the context of a team\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2017/week_35/toxicity-in-mmo-friendly.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 400px;\" title=\"Playing an individual character in the context of a team\" /></p>\n\n<p>For example, in Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, you control a unit of soldiers. Here you have a situation where you can play on the individual strengths of your characters but do so in the context of the team as a whole. You always have to consider a character’s role within the squad and make sure all individual member can support and complement each other’s abilities.</p>\n\n<p>This dynamic is something that’s often lacking in both RPG and strategy games but blends together nicely in the hybrid genre.</p>\n\n<p><strong><u>You only die once:</u></strong> In most RPGs, once your main character dies, it’s game over. Load your save file and try again. That’s not the case in Strategy games, where you have almost limitless units at your disposal.</p>\n\n<p>Once again, Strategy RPG games offer a sort of hybrid of the two paradigms. Your main character must survive the battle, but the same isn’t necessarily true for the rest of your party.</p>\n\n<p>This can challenge both strategy and RPG players. Strategy players aren’t used to having to protect a single unit - to them the base, or the bigger picture is all that matters. RPG players, on the other hands, aren’t always comfortable with the idea of “permadeath” - losing a character forever.</p>\n\n<p><strong><u>The tactical approach:</u></strong> Unlike a standard RPG where the action is up close and personal, games in this hybrid genre typically take a step back to look at the action from a more tactical angle. Some strategy RPGs shift to a top-down or isometric perspective when it’s time to fight.</p>\n\n<p>This shift between the character’s perspective and an overhead view might break the immersion a bit, but it helps highlight the strategy elements of the game.</p>\n\n<p>On the other hand, strategy games often lack mainstream appeal because they don’t offer the level of immersion the average gamer arguably enjoys. That is why strategy RPGs present a more personal perspective when it comes to the story. When a story revolves around a pivotal character - the one the player just so happen to control - the change in camera angles doesn’t harm the player’s investment in the game.</p>\n\n<h2>Are Tactical RPG Games for You?</h2>\n\n<p>Would you prefer staring at a map and practicing your long-term decision-making skills, or do you want upfront action that stimulates the senses? These are the options you’re generally faced with when you choose between strategy games and RPGs.</p>\n\n<p>But with Strategy RPG you don’t really have to choose. This unique subgenre offers the best of both worlds.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"This unique subgenre offers the best of both worlds\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_10/rpg-strategy-3.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 500px;\" title=\"This unique subgenre offers the best of both worlds\" /></p>\n\n<p>In many ways, fusing RPG elements and strategy games together has been a success. For example, Project X Zone <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_X_Zone#Reception\">was a huge hit</a>, and not just because it combined some of leading characters from Sega, Bandai Namco, and Capcom. Because the 2D brawler dynamic offered a familiar setting for casual gamers, Project X Zone was able to introduce tactical battles with relative ease.</p>\n\n<p>True, it depends on each game. Some lean more heavily towards role-playing games, earning the definition of “tactical RPGs”, while others go for a more traditional RTS experience, but with RPG elements thrown into the mix.</p>\n\n<p>But it only goes to show that fans of both genres will always find something to entertain and challenge them when it comes to Strategy RPG.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"bottom\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_Team_B74910_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSU.jpg\" /></a></p>\n","date":"2/18/2018"},"images":{"preview":{"href":"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_10/rpg-strategy-header.jpg"},"authorAvatar":{"href":"//cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/portal/common/avatars/default_avatar.jpg","sizes":[]}},"template_options":{"compositeId":"13155"}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/battle-royale/"},"strings":{"title":"How Battle Royale Is Changing Online Gaming","category":"MMO Games Blog","author":"PLARIUM STAFF","readTime":"480000","description":"<p>There is a new king of online games.</p>\n\n<p>Counter Strike, Dota 2, and League of Legends have all made way for the Battle Royale, a term now more popular on Google than “MMO”.</p>\n<script type=\"text/javascript\" src=\"https://ssl.gstatic.com/trends_nrtr/1308_RC02/embed_loader.js\"></script><script type=\"text/javascript\"> trends.embed.renderExploreWidget(\"TIMESERIES\", {\"comparisonItem\":[{\"keyword\":\"Battle Royale\",\"geo\":\"\",\"time\":\"2017-02-08 2018-02-08\"},{\"keyword\":\"MMO\",\"geo\":\"\",\"time\":\"2017-02-08 2018-02-08\"}],\"category\":0,\"property\":\"\"}, {\"exploreQuery\":\"q=Battle%20Royale,MMO&date=today 12-m,today 12-m\",\"guestPath\":\"https://trends.google.com:443/trends/embed/\"}); </script>\n\n<p>People all across the world are suddenly jumping into violent and explosively thrilling world of Battle Royale. But why?</p>\n\n<p>What makes this new genre so popular, and more importantly - how will it change online games?</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_RAID_EN_1920x1080_Serj_2018-0507_01Id5209_B74904_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSO.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>What is Battle Royale?</h2>\n\n<p>A Battle Royale is a fight between many different people until only one fighter remains standing. A sort of free-for-all.</p>\n\n<p>There is no designated group, and the combatants can use everything in their disposable to achieve victory. Think Hunger Games, and you pretty much got it.</p>\n\n<p>The term Battle Royale became popular in the west with the publishing of a Japanese novel by the same name, written by Koushun Takami in 1999.</p>\n\n<p>The story follows a group of students that have been kidnapped and transported to a private island off the shore of the Japanese mainland. There, each student must survive until they are the last one left alive.</p>\n\n<p>The most widely known form of the Battle Royale story is, however, the 2000 film adaptation directed by Kinji Fukasaku, starring the legendary Takeshi Kitano. The film would come to be the direct influence for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) - the <a href=\"https://www.polygon.com/2017/5/26/15697740/why-is-playerunknowns-battlegrounds-so-damn-good\">most famous Battle Royale game today</a>.</p>\n\n<h2>How Battle Royale Games Work</h2>\n\n<p>It was in 2012 that a proper Battle Royale concept was introduced to the phenomenally successful game Minecraft. by modders</p>\n\n<p>The talented modders AntVenom and SkyDoesMinecraft laid down the groundwork for the first successful and official Battle Royale game.</p>\n\n<p>From then on, modders in the ARMA community began bringing about varyingly successful Battle Royale mods. One such ARMA modder was Brendan Greene, who went by the online handle PlayerUnknown.</p>\n\n<p>Greene would join the Korean publisher Bluehole to develop and release PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, more commonly referred to by its <a href=\"http://steamcharts.com/app/578080\">3 million concurrent players</a> as “PUBG”.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds (PUBG)\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_8/pubg.jpg\" style=\"width: 1920px; height: 1080px;\" title=\"PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds (PUBG)\" /></p>\n\n<p>PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is the perfect lens through which to examine what makes a Battle Royale game.</p>\n\n<p>A typical round of PUBG commences with around 100 players parachuting down into a large island, which seems to be somewhere off the coast of Eastern Europe.</p>\n\n<p>Players can group up in teams of 4 or 2, or choose to play a pure, last man standing Battle Royale - with only a single victor emerging out of the 100 players.</p>\n\n<p>Once on the ground, players must continue to scavenge for weapons, armor, and healing items. They must also find vehicles - not only to get from one spot to the next - but to stay within the Safe Zone.</p>\n\n<p>The Safe Zone is contained within a gigantic circular blue cone of sizzling plasma, which continues to shrink as time progresses and more players are killed. As the battleground shrinks, players are herded closer and closer together until the explosive finale.</p>\n\n<p>The last team, duo, or individual left alive wins.</p>\n\n<p>This simple formula is the basis of Battle Royale games: a large group of equal players, a huge map that slowly shrinks over time, and scarce guns and ammo.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"middle\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/11/RAD_RedGirl_B76234_970x66_Android_iOS_English&IMG=1MTM.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>The Evolution of Battle Royale</h2>\n\n<p>Valve’s MOBA DotA 2 has held the previous record of the highest number of concurrent players with 1,291,328 in 2014. PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds managed to top that figure on September 16th, with a <a href=\"https://dotesports.com/pubg/news/pubg-steam-concurrent-players-all-time-record-17429\">concurrent player base of 1,348,374</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Since then, the game has reached over <a href=\"https://www.pcgamer.com/pubg-hits-3-million-concurrent-players-and-15-million-cheater-bans/\">3 million concurrent players</a> in December 2017.</p>\n\n<p>Naturally, when a hot new phenomenon appears, developers will often try to emulate it and improve upon it to become even bigger.</p>\n\n<p>PUBG has revolutionized the online gaming world to the point where other titans in the online gaming industry have begun emulating its current and modifying upcoming titles around the Battle Royale concept.</p>\n\n<p>Let’s look at the most successful adaptations of PUBG to see how Battle Royale games are taking the genre to the next level.</p>\n\n<h2>Fortnite: Building a Better Battle Royale</h2>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Fortnite Battle Royale\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_8/fortnite.jpg\" style=\"width: 1920px; height: 1080px;\" title=\"Fortnite Battle Royale\" /></p>\n\n<p>Fortnite is <a href=\"https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/buy-now/battle-royale\">developed by Epic Games</a> and People Can Fly, and was released shortly after PUBG, in July 2017.</p>\n\n<p>Unlike PUBG, which does not really have a plot or actual setting, Fortnite presents a world where apocalyptic storms snatched away all but 2% of humanity. The survivors must now unite and survive against zombie-like monsters.</p>\n\n<p>The original title was relatively successful, hitting the 1 million player milestone about a month after its release. However, it was the standalone mode Fortnite Battle Royale, released in September 2017, that pushed Fortnite to the top, with <a href=\"https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fortnite-battle-royale-has-hit-10-million-players-/1100-6454008/\">10 million new players is just two weeks</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Although the mode is very clearly emulating PUBG, the addition of Fortnite’s ingenious crafting and building system introduces an intelligent and very creative spin on the traditional looting, surviving, and fighting formula of the Battle Royale.</p>\n\n<p>Remember that impressive 3 million concurrent players record PUBG holds? Well, Fortnite recently <a href=\"https://www.rollingstone.com/glixel/news/fortnite-breaks-concurrent-player-record-w516510\">broke that record</a> with 3.4 million players, making it the biggest Battle Royale game to date.</p>\n\n<h2>Paladins: Keeping Up With the Times</h2>\n\n<p>Before the monumental success of the Battle Royale genre, “Hero Shooters” were the latest trend in online gaming.</p>\n\n<p>Games like Overwatch and Team Fortress 2 brought teams of specialist champions to face off against each other in objective-based rounds centered in arenas filled with health packs and power-ups. Each player had a role, and everyone had to work together intelligently and strategically to come out victorious.</p>\n\n<p>While such games are still hugely popular, many developers and publishers have realized that the lion’s share of consumer attention has indeed shifted towards the Battle Royale trend. As a result, they have begun incorporating the Battle Royale into their game modes. One such game is Paladins: Champions of the Realm.</p>\n\n<p>Paladins developer Hi-Rez Studios recently announced the latest addition to its free-to-play title: Paladins: Battlegrounds. As the name suggests, the traditional gameplay of Paladins will be receiving a <a href=\"https://www.paladins.com/paladins-battlegrounds-faq/\">Battle Royale makeover</a>.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Paladins Battlegrounds\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_8/paladins.jpg\" style=\"width: 1920px; height: 1080px;\" title=\"Paladins Battlegrounds\" /></p>\n\n<p>From what has been released so far the Battlegrounds mode seems to borrow very heavily from PUBG. We have seen the looting of various buildings, scrambling for rare gear dropped in care packages by zeppelins, not to mention the always-shrinking safe zone.</p>\n\n<p>As you can see - especially if you have been playing PUBG for a while - this new installation already sounds like PUBG with a Paladins skin and characters. The mode’s title, Battlegrounds, is also an unabashed reference to the flagship Battle Royale.</p>\n\n<p>That being said, it will be amazing to see how different heroes are pitted against one another in open survival combat. Since Paladins is a Hero Shooter, each hero has distinct abilities and weapons, and therefore plays differently than the others. That means players don’t start on equal footing, which shakes up the familiar Battle Royale formula.</p>\n\n<h2>Will MMO Games Join the Battle Royale Trend?</h2>\n\n<p>By now, it's clear to see how online games are changing and evolving in order to stay relevant in a world dominated by Battle Royale. But is the same true for <a href=\"https://plarium.com/\">MMO games</a>?</p>\n\n<p>Expert analysts in the MMO world mostly agree that in early 2017, ingenuity and originality in the MMO realm seemed to be dwindling. While the titans like Counter-Strike, Dota 2 and World of Warcraft continued to produce marvelous content, it cannot be denied that many people were starting to feel that things were getting a little bit stale.</p>\n\n<p>In other words: The world of MMOs and online games has come to a creative standstill.</p>\n\n<p>But now, thanks to the interesting fusions of game mechanics and styles brought about by games like PUBG and Fortnite, MMO and MMORPG games are experiencing a curious phase of transition.</p>\n\n<p>Developers are enhancing their titles with new Battle Royale content, and new games with Battle Royale systems <a href=\"https://www.pcgamer.com/battle-royale-games-2018/\">keep coming out</a>. However, many popular MMOs seem to remain unaffected.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Battle royale is changing online gaming\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_8/Images-for-the-blog_Battle-Royale_fortnite_last2.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 500px;\" title=\"Battle royale is changing online gaming\" /></p>\n\n<p>But when players demand originality and newfound thrills, these games risk being left behind. The Battle Royale formula is so easy to implement, and there’s still so much of this new genre to explore, MMO developers would be throwing away an almost surefire success if they choose to sit this one out.</p>\n\n<p>Will we finally see a proper Battle Royale MMO? Can this subgenre even work as an MMO?</p>\n\n<p>It’s easy to imagine Counter-Strike introducing larger maps with more players in order to facilitate a proper “PUBG experience”. But what about a game like World of Warcraft?</p>\n\n<p>Many MMOs already have epic “Player vs. Player” arenas that might be perfect for combat on a larger scale, but there are still plenty of issues to overcome. Most of them are the same issues that pop up when <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/mmo-games/esports/\">MMO games try to become Esport titles</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Statistically speaking, we can very easily tell what an overwhelming majority of players greatly enjoy - being the “last man standing”. Developers need to pay heed and do what they can to associate their games with this new trend if they hope to be a part of the new wave of online games in 2018.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"bottom\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_Team_B74910_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSU.jpg\" /></a></p>\n","date":"2/11/2018"},"images":{"preview":{"href":"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_8/Images-for-the-blog_Battle-Royale_header_4.jpg"},"authorAvatar":{"href":"//cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/portal/common/avatars/default_avatar.jpg","sizes":[]}},"template_options":{"compositeId":"13149"}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/blockchain-games/"},"strings":{"title":"Blockchain Games Can Change the Gaming Industry","category":"MMO Games Blog","author":"PLARIUM STAFF","readTime":"420000","description":"<p>I personally have been involved in the Bitcoin space since 2012. I have watched it grow and flourish from the early days, where peers simply traded amongst one another on <a href=\"https://bitcointalk.org/\">bitcointalk.org</a>, the main forums for all things bitcoin and cryptocurrency related.</p>\n\n<p>I have watched great discussions unfold, which envisioned a future in which the revolutionary crypto technology reshaped large parts of our economy, and I have cheered it on along the way.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Blockchain Games\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_10/blockchain-1.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 500px;\" title=\"Blockchain Games\" /></p>\n\n<p>Some of these discussions unsurprisingly revolved around the gaming industry. Curious users started asking various questions, such as “what is the blockchain,” “how does the blockchain work,” and how can it be applied to one of our most beloved topic - the gaming industry?</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_RAID_EN_1920x1080_Serj_2018-0507_01Id5209_B74904_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSO.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>How Does Blockchain Work?</h2>\n\n<p>Blockgeeks, a website specializing in teaching Blockchain technology to businesses, offers this very helpful definition:</p>\n\n<p>\"Blockchain is a recorded transaction that has been added to a previous transaction to form a chain.</p>\n\n<p>\"Each of these transactions can account for various different things, for example in the world of Bitcoin, this transaction is the movement of a cryptocurrency. Each of these blockchains is encrypted, and any subsequent transaction requires the whole chain to be unencrypted when a new block is added, before again being ‘sealed up’ with encryption and passed on.</p>\n\n<p>\"This chain has a permanent log of all transactions from the first block up to the last. As such, blockchain technology allows for secure transactions to occur on an open source foundation that is hard to spoof.\"</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"How does blockchain work?\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_6/blockchain-infographics.png\" style=\"width: 1600px; height: 840px;\" /></p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Source: <a href=\"https://d2omlh28jsv4r7.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/infographics0517-01-1.png\">Blockgeeks</a></p>\n\n<p>Once you understand what blockchain is, the reason why this technology could become huge in gaming becomes clearer. Simply put, it comes down to the “uniqueness” of the blocks in the chain. If you can incorporate this uniqueness into gaming, this could lead to some exciting and unique games.</p>\n\n<h2>Bitcoin Games Find Their First Home</h2>\n\n<p>As the groundwork was laid and the economy surrounding Bitcoin began to flourish, these early dreams and aspirations began to take root and developers started looking into the various applications, of which the blockchain could be applied.</p>\n\n<p>Simple games began to arise, ones that were web-based only and used a portion of your processing power to mine bitcoins online, while you played your game. This was similar to the “mining pools” that have always existed within the crypto space, but of which had a new and exciting spin.</p>\n\n<p>Not surprisingly, most of these early Bitcoin games did not pay nearly as much. Sadly, they were typically of poor quality, leading to lower success and thus they were quickly discontinued.</p>\n\n<p>One of the earliest games that did find some success within the Bitcoin game space, however, was <a href=\"http://www.dragons.tl/bitcoins.php\">Dragon’s Tale</a>, launched on July 12th, 2013, by eGenesis.</p>\n\n<p>Dragon’s Tale is still ongoing and still using Bitcoin but in a more simplistic, raw way. Within the game, players can spend and use Bitcoin to perform various microtransactions, while at the same time, capable of withdrawing their in-game currency, thus creating a real-world economy for their player base.</p>\n\n<p>Traditional video games continued to struggle to find a home for blockchain games, but one sector of the “gaming” economy had little to no trouble at all in adopting Bitcoin as a close partner.</p>\n\n<p>The gambling sector, most notably online poker was under intense pressure via various sanctions and laws that <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_poker#Currency_issues\">outlawed US citizens</a> from partaking and making bets with real-world currency.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Bitcoin has replaced real-world currency in some games\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_4/aaa-3.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 400px;\" title=\"Bitcoin has replaced real-world currency in some games\" /></p>\n\n<p>This left a massive void in a space that had enormous consumer demand, as many online poker players previously made a living “grinding” and playing online poker, while many other simply enjoyed it as a pastime.</p>\n\n<p>Developers saw this gap and quickly closed in on the space, creating their own software that allowed players to deposit Bitcoin into their application and make bets against one another, purely and 100% based in cryptocurrency.</p>\n\n<p>In the early days, when Bitcoin was scarcely noticed and “flying under the radar,” this allowed websites such as SatoshiDice, or Bit777 to circumvent US laws, without outright breaking them.</p>\n\n<p>They operated in a “gray” space, and this style of Bitcoin games flourished.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"middle\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/11/RAD_RedGirl_B76234_970x66_Android_iOS_English&IMG=1MTM.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>Bitcoin Games Grow into Blockchain Games</h2>\n\n<p>Although Bitcoin was slowly and surely being integrated into many low budget games, and although it was booming within the gambling sector, purely blockchain-based games, which relied on the technology itself were absent and still lagging far behind.</p>\n\n<p>Booms and busts wracked the price of Bitcoin and various scandals such as the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mt._Gox#Bankruptcy;_stolen_bitcoin_(2014%E2%80%93ongoing)\">collapse of Mt. Gox</a> slowed development and innovation, as it significantly tarnished the image of Bitcoin in the short term and created anxiety around delving too deeply into crypto-based technology.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Ctyptocurrency games were only a matter of time\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_10/blockchain-5.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 500px;\" title=\"Ctyptocurrency games were only a matter of time\" /></p>\n\n<p>Yet, time went on and wounds healed. Cold feet were warmed, and the market as a whole began to look at Bitcoin in a much more favorable and desirable light.</p>\n\n<p>As is now history, this was the start of one of the greatest bull markets in history, which eventually resulted in the price of Bitcoin <a href=\"https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/btc-usd\">peaking at $19,843.11 per bitcoin</a> near the end of 2017.</p>\n\n<p>During this run-up in price, a frenzy of interest was sparked by consumers and investors with anything remotely related to Bitcoin or cryptos in general.</p>\n\n<p>Game developers also got in on the action, and the first big Bitcoin game <a href=\"https://www.cryptokitties.co/\">entered the market space</a>, CryptoKitties.</p>\n\n<h2>Blockchain Games Find their Stride</h2>\n\n<p>For the developers of CryptoKitties, the timing of the launch of their game couldn’t have been better. Bitcoin was reaching new highs daily, and interest for anything Bitcoin-related was exploding.</p>\n\n<p>This simple game, although humorous as it is, was actually quite groundbreaking and history-making, as it was the first major breakout game to be based on the blockchain technology, unlike most of its predecessors, which merely incorporated the Bitcoin “currency” into their gameplay via microtransactions.</p>\n\n<p>This blockchain game allowed users to create, breed and collection CryptoKitties, which they 100% owned and were based on the blockchain. This meant that they could be transferred and sold to others who had interest.</p>\n\n<p>Essentially, these cats were and are their own form of cryptocurrency. Which means they have tangible and real value.</p>\n\n<p>How much value, you ask? That depends on the CryptoKitty in question. Prices vary from basically worthless to <a href=\"https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/06/meet-cryptokitties-the-new-digital-beanie-babies-selling-for-100k.html\">over $100,000</a>. Crazy, I know.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"CryptoKitties\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_6/cryptokitties.jpg\" style=\"width: 1600px; height: 709px;\" title=\"CryptoKitties\" /></p>\n\n<p>The success of this game has since spurred on others to take up the cause and create their own blockchain games, such as Etheremon, CryptoCelebrities, HashPuppies, and CryptoPets.</p>\n\n<h2>Cryptocurrency Comes Full Circle</h2>\n\n<p>With this rise in blockchain games, which is very much still in its early infancy, we have come full circle and old ideas are now new once again.</p>\n\n<p>Developers have returned to the early concepts that they attempted to put in place but were unsuccessful in doing so due to poor gameplay and graphics quality.</p>\n\n<p>We are starting to see games where developers \"loan\" a portion of the players processing power, willingly of course, as they enjoy their content. This allows games such as <a href=\"https://www.theadoraboos.com/\">AllMine</a> to mine cryptocurrency at a substantially increased and faster rate, while at the same time, give back to their player base via in-game rewards and currency.</p>\n\n<p>Unsurprisingly, this in-game currency typically comes back to the developers anyway, as to further progress in such games, you must spend that currency. This allows developers to profit on both ends, but ethically, as the consumer is knowingly and willingly partaking in the partnership.</p>\n\n<h2>Blockchain Games Are Here to Stay</h2>\n\n<p>Currently, the only thing slowing down the rapid expansion of Bitcoin and blockchain games is the current setbacks affecting the price of Bitcoin and cryptos in general. Confidence has sagged in tangent with their crash in prices over the course of 2018.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Crypto technology is here to stay\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_10/blockchain-4.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 500px;\" title=\"Crypto technology is here to stay\" /></p>\n\n<p>However, crypto technology is here to stay and like Pandora's box, once opened, it can never be put back in again. The possibilities are just too vast and too powerful.</p>\n\n<p>Blockchain games are going to continue to rise, as developers find new and unique ways to apply this revolutionary technology, making it work both for them as a business and the consumer.</p>\n\n<p>I for one am both excited and interested to see where the future of blockchain technology will take us, both in the gaming industry and the broader economy as a whole, as we plot our course through 2018 and the many years that lay ahead of us.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"bottom\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_Team_B74910_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSU.jpg\" /></a></p>\n","date":"2/5/2018"},"images":{"preview":{"href":"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_10/blockchain-header.jpg"},"authorAvatar":{"href":"//cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/portal/common/avatars/default_avatar.jpg","sizes":[]}},"template_options":{"compositeId":"13144"}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/truple-a-games-microtransactions-loot-boxes/"},"strings":{"title":"Microtransactions and Loot Boxes in AAA Games","category":"MMO Games Blog","author":"PLARIUM STAFF","readTime":"480000","description":"<p>The freemium, free-to-play but pay-to-win (P2W) model has been around a long time, and it’s been hugely successful in <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/mobile-games/\">mobile games</a>. These <a href=\"https://plarium.com/\">free-to-play games</a> are among the most lucrative and profitable games on the market.</p>\n\n<p>It makes sense - you get to play the game for free, and the developer gets money if you choose to invest through microtransactions. It’s a win-win.</p>\n\n<p>Big companies and AAA game developers don’t want to be left behind and are starting to take advantage of this model more and more. It’s both a tempting stream of revenue and a way to keep multiplayer games relevant for years. More money coming in means developers can continue to deliver new content.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"More money coming in means more new content\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_4/aaa-1.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 400px;\" title=\"More money coming in means more new content\" /></p>\n\n<p>We’re already seeing games like Star Wars Battlefront 2, Evolve, and NBA 2K18 using this model, but in their own AAA way.</p>\n\n<p>The trouble with AAA games that include microtransactions is obvious: you purchase the game at a premium price, but then have to pay if you want to get ahead and keep up with the “big dogs”. Naturally, this is more of a problem in competitive multiplayer games, though we already starting to see single-player games with loot boxes and other in-game purchases.</p>\n\n<p>Are AAA developers getting too greedy by developing these premium P2W models? Will they have a negative and long-lasting impact on the gaming scene? Will the mobile industry adopt this new take in the freemium model?</p>\n\n<p>Maybe. Maybe not. As you know, each coin has two sides.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_RAID_EN_1920x1080_Serj_2018-0507_01Id5209_B74904_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSO.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>Star Wars Battlefront 2: Kicking Off the Controversy</h2>\n\n<p>Much of the controversy around loot boxes and microtransactions in premium games comes from the <a href=\"https://www.gamespot.com/articles/star-wars-battlefront-2s-loot-box-controversy-expl/1100-6455155/\">new system EA presented in Battlefront 2</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Basically, the game required you to purchase loot boxes to get things that many felt should be included in the game’s $60 price tag - like the ability to level up your character.</p>\n\n<p>(Funny enough, players started resorting to using <a href=\"https://www.polygon.com/2017/11/24/16696870/star-wars-battlefront-2-economy-cheats\">rubber bands on their controllers</a> to bypass the ridiculously complex system.)</p>\n\n<p>You buy these loot boxes and get random Star Cards. These cards are used to level up your character’s stats and abilities. Because they’re random, you can buy a ton and get almost no upgrades.</p>\n\n<p>Within hours after the Battlefront 2 beta started, players were voicing their anger about how they are required to spend more and more money in order to achieve any meaningful progression. And they were voicing it very loudly.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Players are voicing their anger about having to spend more and more money.\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2017/week_35/toxicity-in-mmo-header.jpg\" style=\"width: 1368px; height: 384px;\" /></p>\n\n<p>On the Star Wars Battlefront 2 Reddit page, a user expressed frustration after taking advantage of one of the microtransaction options, purchasing 12000 Crystals for $80 (with a 10% EA Access discount). Unbeknownst to the player, the Crystals couldn’t be used to buy the various hero characters, which are only available in exchange for Credits. This user wanted to unlock Darth Vader, <a href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWarsBattlefront/comments/7cff0b/seriously_i_paid_80_to_have_vader_locked/\">who at the time cost 60,000 credits</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Within this same thread, an EA spokesperson responded to the post, stating the following:</p>\n\n<p><em>“The intent is to provide players with a sense of pride and accomplishment for unlocking different heroes.</em></p>\n\n<p><em>\"As for cost, we selected initial values based upon data from the Open Beta and other adjustments made to milestone rewards before launch. Among other things, we’re looking at average per-player credit earn rates on a daily basis, and we’ll be making constant adjustments to ensure that players have challenges that are compelling, rewarding, and of course attainable via gameplay.”</em></p>\n\n<p>This response soon became the <a href=\"https://www.gamespot.com/articles/star-wars-battlefront-2-reddit-post-receives-over-/1100-6454919/\">most disliked comment in Reddit's history</a>, with over 675,000 downvotes.</p>\n\n<p>Players are concerned that if they can’t afford lots of loot boxes, they’ll need to spend a lot of time (hundreds of hours) grinding away at the game just to keep up with the whales who can afford the microtransactions. Even if you do buy these boxes, but get unlucky with your Star Cards, you might get left behind to face other players with much better stats than you. In competitive games, that is a huge and unfair disadvantage.</p>\n\n<p>In a nutshell, players are arguing that they shouldn’t have to pay money to level up. Many feel that the $60 price tag should unlock the full game, as it has in the past.</p>\n\n<p>Let’s look at both sides.</p>\n\n<h2>Arguments for Microtransactions in AAA Games</h2>\n\n<p>Despite the anger around the P2W model, there are actually some good things that can come of it.</p>\n\n<p>For example, <strong>microtransactions lower the barrier to entry for new publishers and indie developers</strong> to create games and get into an otherwise saturated market.</p>\n\n<p>The costs of developing and marketing a game have risen dramatically in the last 20 years. Salaries for developers are increasing, the cost of rent is getting higher, and it requires more people than ever to develop these games. Yet, games' prices have remained $60 for an average title since 2005! So developers need other ways to make money.</p>\n\n<p>Which means <strong><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Games_as_a_service\">games as a service</a> allow the publisher to continue to generate revenue for a game</strong>. And if they can continue to do that, they can keep paying their developers to continuously update the game and add new content.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"The games as a service allow the publisher to continue to generate more revenue and more content\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_4/aaa-2.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 400px;\" title=\"The games as a service allow the publisher to continue to generate more revenue and more content\" /></p>\n\n<p>Finally, having <strong>microtransactions in AAA games allows players with less time for gaming to stay competitive</strong>. Even if you don’t have 20 hours a week to play a game, you can spend a little money to catch up with those who do, and level playing field with the more hardcore players.</p>\n\n<p>However, the gaming population also has some strong counterarguments to the pay to win model.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"middle\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/11/RAD_RedGirl_B76234_970x66_Android_iOS_English&IMG=1MTM.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>Arguments Against Microtransactions in AAA Games</h2>\n\n<p>Gamers are passionate people, and that passion comes out whenever game developers do something they don’t like.</p>\n\n<p>Naturally, the BF2 controversy started, well, lots of other controversies. People spoke out about how they felt. Here’s what they said.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Microtransactions can prevent some people from playing the game</strong>. If you don’t have dozens of hours to dedicate to a game, and can’t afford to pay to win and remain competitive, you’re stuck. You either don’t play it at all, or you play it and don’t ever get the full experience.</p>\n\n<p>Sure, plenty of games require you to “grind” to get better gear and higher levels. Just look at the original version of World of Warcraft, which took the average player over 10 days (a full 240 hours) of actual play time to reach the max level, usually over the span of several months.</p>\n\n<p>The problem comes in when you’re playing with people who decided to spend the money for the in-game purchases, who are now at higher levels than you. Your gameplay experience immediately gets far worse than anyone who shelled out the cash.</p>\n\n<p>Again, this wasn't a problem if you didn't already spend $60 to get the game, and now you have to pay even more just to have a fair gaming experience.</p>\n\n<p>Secondly, <strong>not all paid in-game items are cosmetic</strong>. Cosmetic DLC doesn’t give a player any inherent advantage over another player. It’s purely for show. But when microtransactions are required to unlock the best gear, stats, and abilities? Well, that’s when players get unhappy.</p>\n\n<p>Finally, the most obvious argument is that <strong>you already paid full price for the game</strong>. Many players feel that paying the $60 price tag on a game should unlock the whole thing, and they shouldn’t have to spend any more on it.</p>\n\n<p>But ultimately, companies are created to make money. Even if a company starts as a small one-person studio built with love, passion, and a desire to change the world, it still has to make money. And that person’s business may one day grow big enough to be acquired - and investors are really all about the money.</p>\n\n<p>So now that you understand both sides of the coin, we are left a few questions.</p>\n\n<h2>Are Microtransactions Going Away Anytime Soon?</h2>\n\n<p>Microtransactions first gained large-scale visibility in 2006, when Bethesda released the highly anticipated and popular game: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Microtransactions are here to stay, in mobile games, casual games, and now in AAA games\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_4/aaa-3.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 400px;\" /></p>\n\n<p>Soon after the release, they added the ability to buy a Horse Armor Pack for $2.50. Then came new dungeons, a player home, new spells, and more.</p>\n\n<p>When other companies saw the massive success of these mini DLCs, they jumped on the bandwagon, and it quickly became a universal phenomenon.</p>\n\n<p>Despite the controversy around recent titles and their microtransactions, publishers will inevitably continue to experiment with new business models.</p>\n\n<p>A recent report proves that <a href=\"http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-10-10-games-as-a-service-has-tripled-the-industrys-value\">games-as-a-service systems have tripled the industry's value</a>. In fact, EA made a whopping <a href=\"http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2016-03-02-eas-ultimate-team-earning-around-usd650-million-a-year\">$1.3 billion from add-on content</a> in the last year alone.</p>\n\n<p>Activision has recently filed a patent for a <a href=\"http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-10-18-patent-which-pushes-microtransactions-through-matchmaking-granted-to-activision\">matchmaking system designed to encourage more consumer spending</a>. The publisher stressed the system had not been implemented yet, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see it in future games.</p>\n\n<p>Microtransactions are here to stay, in mobile games, casual games, and now in AAA games as well. If anything, we’re going to see more of them.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"bottom\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_Team_B74910_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSU.jpg\" /></a></p>\n","date":"1/14/2018"},"images":{"preview":{"href":"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_4/aaa-header.jpg"},"authorAvatar":{"href":"//cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/portal/common/avatars/default_avatar.jpg","sizes":[]}},"template_options":{"compositeId":"13099"}}],"listArticles":[{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/navi-partnership/"},"strings":{"title":"When Your Hometown Heroes Become Your Teammates: RAID: Shadow Legends Partners with Natus 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Click \"Download\" and continue playing!","flashAlertModalButtonLabel":"Download"},"images":{"appleStoreLogo":{"href":"//cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/portal/common/buttons/App_Store_Badge_EN.svg","sizes":[]},"googlePlayLogo":{"href":"//cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/portal/common/buttons/google-play-badge-en.svg","sizes":[]},"flashAlertModalLogo":{"href":"//cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/plarium-play/favicon/android-chrome-256x256.png","sizes":[]}},"template_options":{},"repeaters":{},"components":{}}}],"children":[{"id":478,"widgets":[{"name":"widget-blog-category","type":"widget-blog-category","model":{"links":{},"strings":{"defaultAuthor":"PLARIUM STAFF","loading":"Loading...","more":"Load More","readMore":"Read more","read":"read","currentCategory":"0"},"images":{"defaultAuthorAvatar":{"href":"//cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/portal/common/avatars/default_avatar.jpg","sizes":[]}},"template_options":{},"repeaters":{"pages":[{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/5/"},"strings":{"text":"←"},"images":{},"template_options":{"arrow":"prev"}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/"},"strings":{"text":"1"},"images":{}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/2/"},"strings":{"text":"2"},"images":{}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/3/"},"strings":{"text":"3"},"images":{}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/4/"},"strings":{"text":"4"},"images":{}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/5/"},"strings":{"text":"5"},"images":{}},{"links":{"link":null},"strings":{"text":"6"},"images":{},"template_options":{"current":"curr"}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/7/"},"strings":{"text":"7"},"images":{}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/8/"},"strings":{"text":"8"},"images":{}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/9/"},"strings":{"text":"9"},"images":{}},{"links":{"link":null},"strings":{"text":"..."},"images":{}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/15/"},"strings":{"text":"15"},"images":{}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/7/"},"strings":{"text":"→"},"images":{},"template_options":{"arrow":"next"}}],"articles":[{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/we-play-war-games/"},"strings":{"title":"War Games: Why Do We Love Playing at War","category":"MMO Games Blog","author":"PLARIUM STAFF","readTime":"540000","description":"<p>War isn’t fun.</p>\n\n<p>It’s a bold statement, I know, but one that we can probably all agree on.</p>\n\n<p>Being a soldier during wartime is a heavy duty to bear - one that can’t be taken lightly. It’s difficult, demanding and dangerous. No one wants to do that for entertainment purposes.</p>\n\n<p>So if war isn’t fun (and, as a great man <a href=\"http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/war-never-changes\">once said</a>, it never changes), why do we love playing war games?</p>\n\n<p>What is it about slipping into the muddy boots of a WWII soldier, tightly grasping the plasma cannon of a space marine, or sending your Viking troops to a bloody raid that we love so much?</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Why do we play war games?\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2017/week_24/why-we-love-playing-war-games-1.jpg\" style=\"width: 1200px; height: 628px;\" title=\"Why do we play war games?\" /></p>\n\n<p>The fact is, there is a whole multitude of reasons. However, what we're interested in are the most basic thoughts, feelings, and emotions that make us want to play war games.</p>\n\n<p>Naturally, before we delve into our psyches and have ourselves a shootout with the forces of darkness, we need first to define what is a war game.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_RAID_EN_1920x1080_Serj_2018-0507_01Id5209_B74904_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSO.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>What are War Games?</h2>\n\n<p>According to a paper by the University of Virginia, all war games have the same <a href=\"http://faculty.virginia.edu/setear/students/wargames/page1.htm\">three characteristics</a>:</p>\n\n<ul>\n\t<li>The War Aspect</li>\n\t<li>The Game Aspect</li>\n\t<li>The Simulation Aspect</li>\n</ul>\n\n<h3><strong>The War Aspect</strong></h3>\n\n<p>Not all games are actually about war.</p>\n\n<p>Part of what makes a game a war game is simulating the “the activity of war” and the right vocabulary and jargon.</p>\n\n<p>It makes sense if you think about it. Only games that depict the act of war, not necessarily realistically, can be called war games. The concept doesn’t have to be front and center, but an online war game can’t be one without war.</p>\n\n<h3><strong>The Game Aspect</strong></h3>\n\n<p>Not all war simulation can, or should be classed as war games.</p>\n\n<p>For example, military maneuvers may be a simulation of war, but they don’t have a lot to do with gaming.</p>\n\n<p>If the previous aspect enforced the idea that a war game needs to deal with war, this one emphasizes that a war game needs to be an actual game.</p>\n\n<p>Games usually compel participants to compete against each other or cooperate against a common enemy. This in turn, “forces” players to think creatively and come up with new strategies to complete their goal.</p>\n\n<p>If a simulation provides opportunities for strategic thinking, then you can call it a game.</p>\n\n<h3><strong>The Simulation Aspect</strong></h3>\n\n<p>Good war games simulate actual war in some way.</p>\n\n<p>They do so in various levels of realism, but by definition, playing them should provide some insight into the world of warfare (without the actual death part). From strategic planning to the conditions a person may encounter, these games replicate a situation of war to a greater or lesser degree.</p>\n\n<p>Most games do not focus on educating their players about what’s it like to fight a war or lead an army, but that is a byproduct of any good war game.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"The three aspects of war\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2017/week_24/why-we-love-playing-war-games-2.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 400px;\" title=\"The three aspects of war\" /></p>\n\n<p>The United States military, as well as other armies around the world, have historically valued the simulation army games can provide.; so much so, that the US Army has developed its own army game as a <a href=\"https://www.americasarmy.com/\">training and recruitment tool</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Now, this isn't to say that every war game is trying to be like the real thing. For instance, those who enjoy <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/strategy-games/vikings-war-of-clans/\">Vikings: War of Clans</a> aren't really trying to learn how they can build a castle and defend it from an invading army.</p>\n\n<p>Every war game exhibits some level of the three aspects we've outlined here. However, that doesn’t mean they all exist in equal measure. Usually, promoting one aspect will most likely result in diminishing the other two. The more game-like your game is, the less of a simulation it becomes, and vice-versa.</p>\n\n<p>For example, fantasy MMO war games work great as games, and they do deal with the subject matter of war, but they aren’t very good war simulations. Nevertheless, they are still war games.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"middle\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/11/RAD_RedGirl_B76234_970x66_Android_iOS_English&IMG=1MTM.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>The History of War Games</h2>\n\n<p>Games about war have been around for centuries.</p>\n\n<p>We’ve been playing at war ever since someone picked up a deck of cards and invented the popular card game “War” (when that happened precisely is lost to history). Ever since, we have been pretending to be at war in every medium imaginable, from cards to board games to video games.</p>\n\n<p>The first video game about war was \"Spacewar!\". It was a space combat game developed in 1962 on the PDP-1 minicomputer. Incidentally, “Spacewar!” is also one of the first video games ever made, which tells us a little bit about human nature and the games we like to play.</p>\n\n<p>However, the first war game was developed in February 1980, and was called “Computer Bismarck.”</p>\n\n<p>“Computer Bismarck” was a turn-based strategy game where players acted as the British forces and fought against the battleship Bismarck and other German units. The German side was controlled by another player or by a computer AI called “Otto Von Computer.”</p>\n\n<p>As you can see from the image, “Computer Bismarck” wasn’t much to look at … you can barely make out Great Britain (on the right) or Iceland (at the top) against the purple Atlantic Ocean.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Computer Bismarck was the first war game\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2017/week_23/compbismarck15.jpg\" style=\"width: 620px; height: 326px;\" title=\"Computer Bismarck was the first war game\" /></p>\n\n<p>Since then, war games have made tremendous strides and became the most popular type of video game. The rise of the first-person shooter in the 1990s gave birth to blockbuster franchises such as Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Wolfenstein. They helped establish war as the “go-to” subject of video games. It is so popular; there's even a game called Darksiders where you play the actual personification of War.</p>\n\n<p>Today, you can find war games in every genre and on every device, from narrative-heavy adventures to explosion-filled military shooters on mobile. But there’s one genre that’s almost entirely focused on the concept of warfare, and that’s strategy. Both turn-based strategy and real-time strategy games from across the years have brought wargaming to PCs around the world with franchises like Command & Conquer, Total War, and WarCraft.</p>\n\n<p>These eventually led to the rise of the <a href=\"https://plarium.com/\">MMO strategy games</a>, where a lot of modern war games find their audience.</p>\n\n<h2>Online War Games Make Us Better People</h2>\n\n<p>Why do we love going to war in video games? For the challenge and satisfaction of outthinking and outmaneuvering our (virtual) enemies.</p>\n\n<p>Us humans love competing. We don’t care about getting <strong>good </strong>(or “git gud” if you prefer)  - we care about being <strong>better</strong>.</p>\n\n<p>According to a <a href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/10/why-we-compete/403201/\">study by the Harvard School of Public Health</a>, almost half of the participants said they would rather earn $50,000 in a world where the average salary is $25,000 than make $100,000 in a world where the average is $200,000.</p>\n\n<p>Similarly, the study shows that people preferred to have a relative advantage and not an absolute one. In other words, people want to be smarter and better looking than their friends and coworkers, not necessarily the most intelligent and attractive person in the world.</p>\n\n<p>We want to be better than our peers, and that is a fundamental human trait.</p>\n\n<p>So when you play online war games, where the aim is to outsmart other players through a combination of strategy, logic, and foresight, you don't really care how good you are overall. You just want to be better than the person on the other side of the screen.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"We constantly compete to be better than one another\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2017/week_39/war-general-illustration-3.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 464px;\" title=\"We constantly compete to be better than one another\" /></p>\n\n<p>To put it another way, we all want to be a big fish in a small pond.</p>\n\n<p>Of course, as you progress through the game, your pond will gradually increase in size. However, truly skilled players will grow at the same rate to ensure they remain the proverbial shark.</p>\n\n<h2>A Cocktail of Hormones and Emotions</h2>\n\n<p>Another reason we seem to enjoy army games, aside from the fact that they test our powers of logic, strategy, and planning, is that they appeal to our most basic instincts.</p>\n\n<p>As suggested in this <a href=\"https://www.npr.org/2013/02/11/171698919/video-game-violence-why-do-we-like-it-and-whats-it-doing-to-us\">piece from NPR</a>, two things are guaranteed to make a situation or narrative more appealing: sex and violence.</p>\n\n<p>According to Iowa State University professor Douglas Gentile, war games and shooters cause a cocktail of stress hormones, such as cortisol, noradrenaline, and testosterone, to be released into our bloodstream – the same hormones would have been released were we in actual combat.</p>\n\n<p>In a real-life situation, these hormones would be used by the body to create a fight-or-flight response. However, as Gentile points out, they also turn us on and make us find a game more engaging.</p>\n\n<p>\"When you know you're safe, having that heightened sense of stress can be fun,\" explains Gentile.</p>\n\n<p>This theory is confirmed by iStrategyLabs' Megan Zlock, a self-confessed gamer. Zlock claims that a storyline is instantly made more impressive and immersive if there's an element of danger added to the mix.</p>\n\n<p>\"If you want to create a good narrative, you need to create conflict, and violence is a really easy way to create conflict,\" said Zlock.</p>\n\n<p>Violence is a stimulant that, when triggered in the right setting, can be extremely enjoyable. Clearly, this is the case when it comes to immersive online war games. You’re in a war-like scenario; your body is tense from the stress of competition and the desire to win, so your brain reacts appropriately.</p>\n\n<p>Exercising a degree of control over such a situation can fill you with an intoxicating sense of power; especially if that control resulted in besting another player. Add in your stress hormones, and the resultant cocktail is one you're only too willing to drink for hours and hours.</p>\n\n<h2>Why We Play War Games</h2>\n\n<p>This, in a nutshell, is why we love war games.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Conflict is a great motivator\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2017/week_24/why-we-love-playing-war-games-4.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 400px;\" title=\"Conflict is a great motivator\" /></p>\n\n<p>They help us show the world, and more specifically our enemies, that we are better than them: our strategy smarter, our reflexes sharper, and our skills superior.</p>\n\n<p>The thrill of competition, combined with the sense of power and accomplishment we derive from taking back control over seemingly chaotic situations are the reason war is such a prevalent theme in video games.</p>\n\n<p>Now that you know why you play war games, you can better enjoy all your favorite <a href=\"//plarium.com/en/strategy-games/\">online strategy games</a>. See you on the battlefield!</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"bottom\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_Team_B74910_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSU.jpg\" /></a></p>\n","date":"5/22/2018"},"images":{"preview":{"href":"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2017/week_24/why-we-love-playing-war-games-3.jpg"},"authorAvatar":{"href":"//cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/portal/common/avatars/default_avatar.jpg","sizes":[]}},"template_options":{"compositeId":"12953"}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/the-first-video-game/"},"strings":{"title":"What Was the First Video Game, Who Invented It and Why","category":"MMO Games Blog","author":"PLARIUM STAFF","readTime":"600000","description":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_RAID_EN_1920x1080_Serj_2018-0507_01Id5209_B74904_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSO.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<p>To know where we are going, we must first discover where we have been.</p>\n\n<p>This is just as true for video games as it is in any other professional field. Fortunately, the video game industry has an incredibly rich and interesting past that can teach us a lot.</p>\n\n<p>This article will delve back in time and explore the very early days of one of the fastest growing and popular entertainment industries.</p>\n\n<p>It’ll tackle and answer some fundamental questions:</p>\n\n<ul>\n\t<li>What was the first video game?</li>\n\t<li>Who invented the first video game?</li>\n\t<li>When was the first video game made?</li>\n\t<li>Why was it invented?</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Who invented the first video game?\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_17/Illustration_800x650_02.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 650px;\" title=\"Who invented the first video game?\" /></p>\n\n<p>At first glance, you would think the answers to these questions would be quick to find and straightforward. However, like so many others that revolve around \"the first of,\" or \"who invented it,\" you will quickly learn that it is surrounded in mystery and confusion - both of which we’re hoping to dispel as best as I can.</p>\n\n<h2>What Is a Video Game?</h2>\n\n<p>What exactly is a video game is an important and crucial point when debating the facts and history surrounding the origin of the phenomenon.</p>\n\n<p>There are a few definitions of what is a video game, but we’re going to use the simplest one:</p>\n\n<p><strong>A video game is anything you can interact with by electronically manipulating computer-generated images on a display screen.</strong></p>\n\n<p>Some would argue that the verb “play” needs to be included in any interpretation of video games. After all, we are talking about a game. However, many modern definitions take into consideration video games can also be viewed as an art form, used to convey a message interactively.</p>\n\n<p>Still, to determine what is the first video game ever developed, we should rely on a much more technical definition.</p>\n\n<p>As <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_history_of_video_games#Defining_the_video_game\">Wikipedia</a> states:</p>\n\n<p>\"Technically, for a product to be a video game, there must be a video signal transmitted to a cathode ray tube (CRT) that creates a rasterized image on a screen.\"</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Video game definition\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_4/mmo-mmorpg-1.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 400px;\" title=\"Video game definition\" /></p>\n\n<p>Although this definition may sound like a lot of nonsense and jargon, it defines the technical parameters of exactly what was considered a video game during that period.</p>\n\n<p>This is the foundation of what is used to define the first ever created video game in its purest sense, which is essential if you are seeking out the truth.</p>\n\n<p>Today, the definition of a video game is much more encompassing.</p>\n\n<p>Only the most purists among us would argue the point that the vast array of <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/blog/smartphone-tech-impacts-mobile-gaming/\">mobile games</a>, or that the virtual reality simulations that have gained an audience on PCs and consoles over the last few years are nothing more than “experiences” and are not technically video games.</p>\n\n<p>In the modern sense, they are video games. However, strict parameters need to be set if we are looking to establish the truth and find real answers.</p>\n\n<h2>What Was the First Video Game</h2>\n\n<p>Similar to the debate surrounding many discoveries and inventions, the questions of what was the first video game and who invented it have many different answers on the internet.</p>\n\n<p>But if you sift through the noise and focus on getting to the truth, you will begin to narrow your results and hone in on a few promising candidates.</p>\n\n<p>First among them is Bertie the Brain.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"middle\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/11/RAD_RedGirl_B76234_970x66_Android_iOS_English&IMG=1MTM.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>Bertie the Brain</h2>\n\n<p>According to some, the first video game ever created was Bertie the Brain - <a href=\"https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/a23660/bertie-the-brain/\">constructed in 1950</a> by an inventor named Josef Kates.</p>\n\n<p>This massive monstrosity of a machine, which measured four meters tall, played a familiar childhood game known as Tic-Tac-Toe and was displayed in the Canadian National Exhibition.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Bertie the Brain - almost the first video game\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_16/bertie.jpg\" style=\"width: 1024px; height: 512px;\" title=\"Bertie the Brain - almost the first video game\" /></p>\n\n<p>For weeks, visitors to the Canadian National Exhibition were able to challenge the artificial intelligence of Bertie the Brain in varying levels of difficulty, much to their delight.</p>\n\n<p>To many of us in the 21st century, the simplicity of such a game might seem boring. However, what you must consider is that at the time, Bertie was a marvel of technology - something no one has seen before.</p>\n\n<p>Sadly, this piece of our history was disassembled at the end of the exhibition, largely dismissed as no more than \"novelty,\" even if a fantastical one.</p>\n\n<p>We are back to the definition of what is a video game - a definition that Bertie the Brain does not quite fully meet.</p>\n\n<h2>William Higinbotham: The Man Who Invented Video Games</h2>\n\n<p>Although Bertie the Brain was a crucial part of gaming history, it did not fully meet the exact definition of what a video game is.</p>\n\n<p>This brings us to the next major contender and the one that purists believe to be the first real video game.</p>\n\n<p>Fast forward eight years into the future - to 1958 - and travel to the <a href=\"https://www.bnl.gov/world/\">Brookhaven National Laboratory</a>. There, you will meet a physicist named William Higinbotham.</p>\n\n<p>William Higinbotham, born on October 25th, 1910 was no simple physicist. He already had an illustrious career behind him, having been a member of the team that created the first ever nuclear bomb.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"William Higinbotham, the inventor of the first video game\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_16/higinbotham.jpeg\" style=\"width: 1200px; height: 800px;\" title=\"William Higinbotham, the inventor of the first video game\" /></p>\n\n<p>No many gamers know that the man who practically invented what we today call a video game was also one of the men responsible for creating the most destructive technology this world has ever seen.</p>\n\n<p>It’s an interesting dichotomy, to say the least, one that highlights the brilliance of this man's mind, while at the same time proving that not everything in this world is simply black or white.</p>\n\n<p>Being a part of this team (and the burden that went along with it) stayed with William Higinbotham for the rest of his life and troubled him. That is probably why he became one of the founding members of the \"<a href=\"https://fas.org/\">Federation of American Scientists</a>\" - a group with the stated intent of using science and scientific analysis to make the world more secure.</p>\n\n<p>Having already been a pivotal linchpin in history, Higinbotham took up residency at Brookhaven National Laboratory in 1947. That is where he came up with Tennis for Two.</p>\n\n<h2>Tennis for Two: The World’s First Video Game</h2>\n\n<p>In October 1958, the first actual video game was revealed to the world. It happens during an open house hosted at the Brookhaven National Laboratory.</p>\n\n<p>The first video game, created by William Higinbotham, turned out to be the star of the show, much to the amazement of the attendees and even Higinbotham himself.</p>\n\n<p>People lined up to take their turn to play Tennis for Two.</p>\n\n<p>Using a small analog computer, players could adjust two knobs and push a button, which simulated a game of tennis on an oscilloscope. Essentially, this was an early version of the hit game Pong, which will come into existence 14 years later.</p>\n\n<p>The game took only hours to design and was a huge success. Higinbotham was delighted, as his little experiment achieved exactly what he was striving for: livening up an otherwise dull and boring event. </p>\n\n<p>Many people ask \"why was the first video game invented?\" There are many answers to this question, but one of the more obvious reasons why was to bring joy and entertainment to the world.</p>\n\n<p>Higinbotham invented video games to show that science isn’t all about war and destruction. Yes, he had helped design the nuclear bomb that brought death, misery, and chaos to the world, but he is also the father of video games, one of the world’s leading form of entertainment.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Tennis for Two - the first video game\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_16/tennis_for_two.jpg\" style=\"width: 705px; height: 626px;\" title=\"Tennis for Two - the first video game\" /></p>\n\n<p>Tennis for Two quickly became the most popular piece at the exhibit, capturing the minds of those who played it, despite its total lack of fancy graphics or complicated controls. Players wrote down their scores and challenges were issued.</p>\n\n<p>Little did Higinbotham realize that day, that he had started a revolutionary movement. A movement that would continue to grow for years to come, eventually reshaping the entertainment industry into what it is today.</p>\n\n<p>Similar to its predecessor, Bertie the Brain, Tennis for Two was largely forgotten after the event hosted by Brookhaven National Laboratory. It wasn't until many years later that the seed planted on that fateful day would blossom and begin to take root.</p>\n\n<p>William Higinbotham, although accredited as the father of the first video game ever created would not focus on this field of study and research. Leaving that venture in others capable hands, he returned to his work on nuclear arms control for the remainder of his career.</p>\n\n<p>Tennis for Two, a pivotal part of gaming history, was sadly dismantled, its parts used in other projects, destroying it for all time and making it another lost relic of the past.</p>\n\n<p>Still, the story continued onward and from that point on, the video game industry would continue to grow by leaps and bounds, gaining momentum as the years passed by.</p>\n\n<h2>Video Game Culture Explodes</h2>\n\n<p>For much of the remainder of the 1950's and 1960's, the video game industry remained relatively dormant. Slowly but surely, progress was inching ever forward as other brilliant minds would begin to take an interest in what we called today “interactive media.”</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Video game culture hasn't exploded until the 1970s, with the invention of Pong\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_17/Illustration_800x500_01.jpg\" style=\"width: 800px; height: 500px;\" title=\"Video game culture hasn't exploded until the 1970s, with the invention of Pong\" /></p>\n\n<p>Arcades began to spring up across the world and gave youths around the globe the opportunity to relax, meet and socialize, while at the same time fostering a competitive culture that would push each other (and the industry) to their limits, teaching the value of perseverance, patience, hard work, and practice.</p>\n\n<p>Still, it wasn't until the creation of Pong that the movement truly began to grow by leaps and bounds. Pong was the first blockbuster game that captured the minds of the American public in droves and led to a hyper-acceleration of the gaming industry.</p>\n\n<p>Thanks to Pong, Atari became a household name across the United States, and their video game console a staple item in many homes.</p>\n\n<p>Throughout the years we have witnessed a stunning growth in the gaming industry, as it has grown leaps and bounds over the course of these few short decades. Of course, there have been setbacks, as there is with anything.</p>\n\n<p>The video game crash of 1983, known as the “Atari shock” in Japan, was a massive setback and recession in the gaming industry that began in 1983 and lasted until 1985.</p>\n\n<p>This recession struck especially deep within North America as saturation hit a tipping point and the industry took a nosedive, resulting in numerous bankruptcies within the industry and bringing about the end of the second generation console cycle.</p>\n\n<p>As we know now, this was far from the end of the end. The Nintendo Entertainment System lay just around the corner, and a new golden age was waiting just over the horizon.</p>\n\n<h2>Conclusion</h2>\n\n<p>It is estimated that the US Gaming industry alone generated roughly <a href=\"http://www.theesa.com/article/us-video-game-industry-revenue-reaches-36-billion-2017/\">$36 billion in 2017</a>. Bear in mind that although the United States may have the most substantial piece, it is still only a slice of the revenue pie.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Video games are bigger than movies\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_17/Illustration_800x500_04.jpg\" style=\"width: 800px; height: 500px;\" title=\"Video games are bigger than movies\" /></p>\n\n<p>What this means is that the gaming industry has <a href=\"https://www.nasdaq.com/article/investing-in-video-games-this-industry-pulls-in-more-revenue-than-movies-music-cm634585\">catapulted past other sectors</a> in the entertainment industry, surpassing Hollywood and its other entertainment competitors.</p>\n\n<p>It is hard to imagine either Josef Kates or William Higinbotham, two of the earliest pioneers of this industry, envisioning the future that laid before them, or the pivotal roles they played in creating the largest entertainment industry this world has ever seen, enjoyed by millions of people - video games.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"bottom\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_Team_B74910_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSU.jpg\" /></a></p>\n","date":"5/15/2018"},"images":{"preview":{"href":"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_17/Header_1368x384_01.jpg"},"authorAvatar":{"href":"//cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/portal/common/avatars/default_avatar.jpg","sizes":[]}},"template_options":{"compositeId":"13206"}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/cross-platform-games/"},"strings":{"title":"Cross-platform Games and Why They Are So Important","category":"MMO Games Blog","author":"PLARIUM STAFF","readTime":"600000","description":"<p>Imagine a world where the rigid (and often harmful) borders between gamers across all platforms have been broken down.</p>\n\n<p>This is the dream which some contemporary developers and game directors are chasing.</p>\n\n<p>Some people will argue that such an ideal world is irrational - that by attempting to bridge such dissimilar platforms and crowds you end up hurting the video game community as a whole.</p>\n\n<p>But such opinions are drowned out by the loud majority of people demanding an open gaming experience without artificial barriers.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Cross-platform gaming without artificial barriers\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_16/cross-platform-1.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 410px;\" title=\"Cross-platform gaming without artificial barriers\" /></p>\n\n<p>There is tangible evidence that this is the direction the gaming industry is going in, as we are starting to see new levels of cross-platform gaming on both consoles and mobile devices.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_RAID_EN_1920x1080_Serj_2018-0507_01Id5209_B74904_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSO.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>What Is Cross-platform Gaming, and Why It Is Important</h2>\n\n<p>Simply put, cross-platform games are games that let players on different platforms or devices play together at the same time.</p>\n\n<p>For example, a game that lets PC gamers play on the same servers as Xbox One players, or PlayStation 4 gamers playing together with those on PS Vita.</p>\n\n<p>In many cases, cross-platform multiplayer games will remain within their respective publisher’s domain. For example, some games in the Monster Hunter series were cross-platform games, but only between Nintendo’s platforms - the 3DS, Wii U and the Switch.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"\" src=\"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Cosplayer_of_Swordwoman%2C_Monster_Hunter_in_CWT39_20150228b.jpg\" style=\"width: 800px; height: 600px;\" /><br />\n<em>Cosplayer of Monster Hunter Swordwoman</em></p>\n\n<p>Examples of more encompassing cross-platform multiplayer games are still too few, but their numbers of slowly growing.</p>\n\n<p>It is only natural that cross-platform features are on the rise, as AAA titles are released <a href=\"https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2018/03/21/epic-games-wants-ps4-and-xbox-one-players-to-play-fortnite-battle-royale-together\">across most major platforms</a> for many years now. As hardware continues to improve, console architecture continues to approach that of a PC, the links between all platforms will only continue to strengthen.</p>\n\n<p>Since so many gamers are playing the same games nowadays, many believe that they should be able to populate the same online networks. In other words: people should be able to play online games with their friends, regardless of platform.</p>\n\n<p>And why should they be able to? Scripting languages, software libraries, and game engines have reached a level of development and sophistication in which platform-specific details can be effectively accounted for and appropriately optimized.</p>\n\n<p>So what is stopping cross-platform gaming from becoming a standard in the video game industry?</p>\n\n<h2>The Obstacles Standing in the way of Cross-Platform Games</h2>\n\n<h3>An Unfortunately Divided Gaming Culture</h3>\n\n<p>It’s no secret that there is much rivalry between the popular platforms and their loyal fanbase.</p>\n\n<p>Terms such as “PC Master Race” and “Console Peasants” (the former being what many PC players like to refer to themselves, while the latter is a demeaning insult for those that play on console) are thrown around regularly on forums and Reddit threads. It is ironic, as these terms are extremely not PC (politically correct).</p>\n\n<p>Obviously, few PC players really mean it in a harmful or offensive way, but there are still those out there who will adamantly refuse to be involved with any console players, believing them and their platforms to be beneath their superior systems.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Unfortunately Divided Gaming Culture\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_16/cross-platform-2.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 600px;\" title=\"Unfortunately Divided Gaming Culture\" /></p>\n\n<p>It is not just the PC crowd that holds such separatist thinking. Plenty of PlayStation and Xbox fanatics will also show some disrespect towards their PC counterparts. Many find PC players to be far too hardcore in both their vanities and performances.</p>\n\n<p>The same can be said about how “hardcore” gamers view those who play mostly on mobile devices. The phrase “filthy casual” is often used to demean and patronize over mobile gamers, referring to how most mobile games require little skill to master.</p>\n\n<p>Such a divided cultural can indeed hinder the uniting efforts of cross-platform games. There are those who simply do not want to open the borders between their domains and share a match with other gamers with what they perceive to be inferior platforms.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"middle\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/11/RAD_RedGirl_B76234_970x66_Android_iOS_English&IMG=1MTM.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h3>Technical Limitations</h3>\n\n<p>This is a more practical point and has nothing to do with the games or gamers themselves.</p>\n\n<p>There are certainly many differences between a mouse and keyboard combo and a controller, and in many cases, it certainly does not make sense to pair such different control schematics together.</p>\n\n<p>In the case of first-person shooters, a mouse and keyboard provide a slight advantage over a controller. A mouse offers a far higher level of sensitivity and accuracy than an analog stick does, and many console players would simply not be able to keep up.</p>\n\n<p>Of course, boosts to aiming in FPS games, such as aim-assist, are implemented by proponents of cross-platform gaming, but even this doesn’t solve the problem. It opens the door to accusations of cheating by disgruntled players how “definitely shot you first.”</p>\n\n<p>Then there are server limitations caused by hardware capacities, in which one’s PlayStation 4 version of a game, for example, curbs the number of people that can join an online match, thus preventing any cross-platform support.</p>\n\n<p>Finally, console players will not have frame rates as high or performance as speedy in general as the more high-end computers. This certainly gives PC players a significant advantage in that their games simply run smoother and faster.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"\" src=\"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Dualshock_4_Layout.svg/2000px-Dualshock_4_Layout.svg.png\" style=\"width: 800px; height: 533px;\" /></p>\n\n<h2>The Next Level of Co-op</h2>\n\n<p>Despite such limitations, which are being worked on all the time by cross-platform advocates, many people still desperately want to play their favorite games with their friends across platforms.</p>\n\n<p>There was a time when split-screen was the preferred tool for multiplayer gaming on consoles, before the advent of high-speed internet lines. While we see incredible new levels of online play, too many people miss the physical interaction of the old days.</p>\n\n<p>Being able to play something like Sea of Thieves with a friend or family member in the same room, with one person playing on a PC, and the other on an Xbox One, will rekindle this sense of togetherness.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Cross-platform games will rekindle a sense of togetherness\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_16/cross-platform-3.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 440px;\" title=\"Cross-platform games will rekindle a sense of togetherness\" /></p>\n\n<p>People do want to play together, and the resistant elitists are few and far between compared to the majority of well-natured individuals that would love to test their mettle against players on other mediums.</p>\n\n<p>There are many co-op games which people wish they could play with each other but cannot due to lack of cross-platform support. When it comes to the best online games to play with friends, it is indeed a great pity when people cannot come together due to technical limitations.</p>\n\n<p>This need is what many people believe will drive developers to overcome the mentioned drawbacks. As consoles become more powerful, and controllers become more sophisticated, we will very soon be seeing future platforms, such as Xbox Two and PlayStation 5, being able to match the power of high-end PCs.</p>\n\n<p>This balance of power and capability will eventually result in the leveling of the playing field that is needed to bring cross-platform games to the masses. Once gamers across mediums can interact with each other freely, maybe the walls between PC, console and mobile players will finally crumble.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"\" src=\"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Input-gaming.png\" style=\"width: 800px; height: 800px;\" /></p>\n\n<h2>Cross-platform Multiplayer Games Are Bringing People Together</h2>\n\n<p>To the delight of countless people all over the world, Sea of Thieves is one of the best new examples of cross-platform gaming. The Rare pirate epic lets players on Windows 10 PC, Xbox One and Xbox One X adventure together.</p>\n\n<p>Back in mid-2016, Rare’s PC Design Lead Ted Timmins and Executive Producer Joe Neate excitedly announced in a video discussing Sea of Thieves’ features that cross-play would indeed be a feature in their upcoming swashbuckling MMO.</p>\n\n<p>Obviously, since then, such a promise was something which many gamers were sincerely interested in, hoping dearly that this game would bring a stable and balanced cross-platform experience which would revolutionize this innovative functionality.</p>\n\n<p>According to an article on cross-play on the official <a href=\"https://www.seaofthieves.com/news/design-deep-dive-cross-play\">Sea of Thieves website</a>, the developers asked themselves “Why would we segregate players in the first place?”</p>\n\n<p>That is an important question. There’s no real reason to split up the game’s community, especially with Microsoft’s new “<a href=\"https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/xbox-play-anywhere\">Play Anywhere</a>” initiative. This genuinely wonderful step towards unifying the gamer community lets you play all supported Xbox One games on any Windows 10 PC (and vice versa).</p>\n\n<p>Players have reported that the cross-play experienced in Sea of Thieves makes them feel as if they are all playing on the same device. Such borderless interaction has broken down the borders between Xbox One and PC, at least while playing the game.</p>\n\n<p>Game developers have also understood the <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/blog/trends-online-gaming-2017/\">power of mobile</a> when it comes to cross-platform online games. All you need is to take a look at Epic Games’ massively popular <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/blog/battle-royale/\">battle royale</a> Fortnite. Much of its popularity can be attributed to the game’s recent versions for iOS and Android that allow for cross-platform gaming with PCs and consoles.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Cross-platform play between PC, consoles and mobile\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_16/cross-platform-4.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 440px;\" title=\"Cross-platform play between PC, consoles and mobile\" /></p>\n\n<p>Since March 12, players on PS4 have been able to play with Mac, iOS, and PC players. Xbox One players are also able to play with iOS, Mac, and PC gamers, but as it stands, Xbox One and PS4 players cannot battle it out as of yet.</p>\n\n<p>Such barriers between PS4 and Xbox One cross play would be overcome by Epic if it wasn’t for the restrictions put in place by <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metcalfe%27s_law\">Metcalfe’s Law</a>. Ironically, having more users connected to the networks increase its value, so such superficial barriers only restrict the full potential of online gaming in general.</p>\n\n<p>Developers are working very hard on surpassing such restrictions, providing a gaming experience that transcends almost all cross-platform barriers, and allowing a united gaming experience where almost everyone can play together.</p>\n\n<h2>Why Sony Does Not Support Cross-platform Games</h2>\n\n<p>While Microsoft is adamant about helping cross-platform gaming become a reality in our lifetime, their main competitor in the console market isn’t so keen on the idea.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/O3Tshisv-ls\" width=\"560\"></iframe></p>\n\n<p>Simply put, Sony believes that it would not benefit from cross-platform games. In fact, such a breaking down of walls could be very financially detrimental to big companies that rely on exclusive games to sell the consoles themselves. The PlayStation 4 very much enjoys its passionate fan base and has used its popular exclusives to become the biggest console of this generation.</p>\n\n<p>This kingly status allows Sony to recruit countless new players that are interested in joining the most populated multiplayer arenas on consoles. As one can now see, opening their doors to cross-platform games would severely curb the PS4 dominance and appeal.</p>\n\n<p>Many people regard such stubbornness to be anti-consumer in its design, and with the passionate cross-platform crusade launched by companies like Epic Games gaining such massively acclaimed traction, many believe that even Sony will soon “give in” and join in on the efforts to being gamers from all communities to together.</p>\n\n<h2>Conclusion</h2>\n\n<p>Recent games have provided an invaluable contribution to cross-platform games development and progression. It only takes a few titles which can successfully, securely, and reasonably bring together multiple platforms to convince the gaming industry that cross-platform functionality can quickly become a reliable, enjoyable, and highly profitable venture.</p>\n\n<p>There is so much to gain from cross-platform integration, and many lead companies in the industry already know that. Technical limitations will be overcome, and a balanced and fair realm of unified play will be achieved through cooperation.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"A new level of cooperation\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2017/week_20/clan-leader-4.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 571px;\" title=\"A new level of cooperation\" /></p>\n\n<p>It is not just players being able to play together across platforms; it is a newfound level of cooperation between the giants of the gaming industry. The brightest and most talented minds in gaming development and direction will for the first time be working together.</p>\n\n<p>If things continue as they are with Microsoft’s enthusiasm, and Sony hopefully buckles to the march of progress, we are going to see a renaissance in gaming where the technical and cultural divisions and limitations between platforms begin to evaporate.</p>\n\n<p>We will see a standard of gaming we didn’t think was possible, where ingeniously comprehensive mediums for multiplayer experiences have been revamped to unbelievable levels. It is all certainly very inspiring to think about, and we can only wait and see how this sector of gaming will pan out in the future.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"bottom\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_Team_B74910_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSU.jpg\" /></a></p>\n","date":"4/29/2018"},"images":{"preview":{"href":"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_16/cross-platform-header.jpg"},"authorAvatar":{"href":"//cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/portal/common/avatars/default_avatar.jpg","sizes":[]}},"template_options":{"compositeId":"13200"}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/grinding-games/"},"strings":{"title":"Grinding Games: How Do They Keep it Engaging?","category":"MMO Games Blog","author":"PLARIUM STAFF","readTime":"540000","description":"<p>Cast an eye over any MMO forum, YouTube comment section, or game-centric Reddit section, and you will see people <a href=\"https://levelskip.com/misc/Why-Do-People-Hate-Grinding-And-Why-Do-I-Love-It\">complaining about or defending</a> the idea of grinding in video games.</p>\n\n<p>The definition of grinding is to perform a repetitive task to gain gameplay advantages. In short, grinding in games is repeatedly performing an action will increase your character stats to make them a more powerful adversary.</p>\n\n<p>Some players refer to this as “treadmilling” or less often “pushing the bar”, mainly due to the similarities that grinding has with regular exercise. You go to the gym; you sprint on the running machine, you do some weights, rinse and repeat.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Grinding in games can feel a lot like running in place\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_14/grinding-1.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 600px;\" title=\"Grinding in games can feel a lot like running in place\" /></p>\n\n<p>In <a href=\"https://plarium.com/\">MMO games</a>, those repetitive actions can be mining ore or fighting low-level bad guys to achieve the same results. Rinse and repeat.</p>\n\n<p>Sound familiar? That is because a vast amount of games now include a significant amount of grinding. But is it really such a bad thing that to gain results we have to work for it?</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_RAID_EN_1920x1080_Serj_2018-0507_01Id5209_B74904_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSO.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>We’ve Been Grinding Games for Years</h2>\n\n<p>Interestingly enough, grinding in video games is not a new thing. Although we associate it with modern MMORPGs in particular, it doesn’t differ too much from practicing in Super Mario Brothers on the NES and becoming good enough to master that tricky level over your summer holiday.</p>\n\n<p>While you may not ‘level up’ in the same way you would expect in an MMO, you are still repeatedly trying to do something until your skill level has improved enough to facilitate your progress. Your ‘levelling up’ just happens to be noticeable in your physical skill, rather than in a number on a character stats screen.</p>\n\n<p>In essence, we have been grinding for years without even noticing it, and most of the time it has been good fun, mixed with a little frustration. Frustration isn’t necessarily a bad thing either, as waltzing through a game that is far too easy will irk players even more than one that is on the verge of being too difficult. An example would be something like Bloodborne, or the recently released platformer Celeste. Both games are noted for their extreme difficulty levels, but fans nonetheless seem to adore the challenge.</p>\n\n<p>There is, after all, pride associated with mastering something difficult.</p>\n\n<h2>Multiplayer Games are the Best Grinding Games</h2>\n\n<p>MMORPGs lean heavily on grinding as a form of character progression. On the whole, it works very well.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"The key to fun grinding is company\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_14/grinding-2.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 600px;\" title=\"The key to fun grinding is company\" /></p>\n\n<p>Stats-heavy games will always lend themselves to the grind more naturally than those that are lighter in that department. The social aspects associated with multiplayer games also allow for extended moments of grinding with less boredom. When working as part of a team in games like WoW and The Elder Scrolls Online, grinding becomes akin to a sort of fun version of work. You feel compelled to put in the time to succeed, but don’t mind doing so, as some fun times are guaranteed along the way.</p>\n\n<p>In this respect, grinding has managed to succeed as a game mechanic where perhaps it shouldn’t. Doing something repetitively over and over only to improve your stats shouldn’t be fun, should it? But when multiplayer games do this, especially RPG games, there seems to be a unique appeal that most single-player games just can’t deliver.</p>\n\n<p>To make a great grinding game, developers cannot merely rely on providing players with some company while they blindly go through their ‘gaming chores’. A good game will include a grinding routine that stimulates the player just as much as the more narrative-driven segments.</p>\n\n<p>If a game manages to hide the grind, or at least blur its edges to the point where it is difficult to tell where the grind starts and ends, it is already on the right path to success. Get this wrong, though, and players will see straight through these game-lengthening techniques.</p>\n\n<p>So what is the key to making the best grinding games?</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"middle\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/11/RAD_RedGirl_B76234_970x66_Android_iOS_English&IMG=1MTM.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>Fun Grinding Is a Matter of Balance</h2>\n\n<p>Getting the balance right is crucial when it comes to fun grinding games.</p>\n\n<p>Too much effort and too little compensation is a recipe for boredom and frustration, and too much reward and too little work can lead to a game that lacks depth.</p>\n\n<p>The MMORPG Ragnarok Online emphasizes grinding from the very beginning of the game. For an RPG, Ragnarok uncharacteristically leans away from the story-based elements and much more towards a grind-heavy experience. That isn’t to say the story is non-existent, but it does somewhat fade into the background once you get started and find yourself traversing the maps looking for areas with enemies you can kill.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Grinding for loot\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_14/grinding-3.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 600px;\" title=\"Grinding for loot\" /></p>\n\n<p>With enemies rarely dropping useful loot, those times where you do find yourself scanning over the remains of a fallen foe and bagging some decent swag are all the more satisfying. Ragnarok Online neither drowns players with rewards nor hands them the world on a plate.</p>\n\n<p>It’s a challenging tightrope game developers have to walk, especially when certain game franchises are now expected to have lifespans that exceed half a decade. One slip in the direction of either extreme could result in an experience that doesn't fulfill its potential as a good game or a money spinner.</p>\n\n<p>This is probably why grinding games have remained relatively static in their execution throughout the years. After all, why risk changing something that could sink the ship?</p>\n\n<h2>Variety Is the Spice of Life and Gaming</h2>\n\n<p>Bashing the same button over and over as you slam your pickaxe into a rock, all in the hope of gaining a few numbers on a stat sheet is going to get very tiresome very quickly. Mixing up the results from the mining will, on the other hand, at least keep the player concentrated on the task at hand.</p>\n\n<p>Two excellent examples of how grinding can actually work well are Stardew Valley and Ragnarok Online.</p>\n\n<p>For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past couple of years, Stardew Valley is a smash hit indie title that took the world by storm back in 2016. As the sole heir of your grandfather’s farm, you leave the city life behind and head back to the country for a life of farming, mining, and socializing with the locals.</p>\n\n<p>While town life may be considerably narrative driven, the <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/mmo-games/black-markets-hacking-mmos/\">mining and farming aspects</a> of the game are very grindy. Stardew Valley doesn’t fall into the trap of becoming tedious though, as there is plenty of variety to its grinding. When farming, you may be required to plant and water your crops on a regular basis, but the way you do this is entirely up to you. You decide on the aesthetics of the farm, you choose on what crops you sow and in what pattern. Yes, you may be repeating the same action, but ultimately it feels like it is your choice to do so, and rarely feels like a chore.</p>\n\n<p>The same can be said for the mining portion of the game. You decide where to mine, and the variety of rocks and ore keep things fresh.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"It's worth it in the end\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_14/grinding-4.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 600px;\" title=\"It's worth it in the end\" /></p>\n\n<p>The key to the success of Stardew and Ragnarok is the blend of hard work and reward combined with enough variety to keep it interesting. As stated earlier, it can be a tricky tightrope to walk, but these are two examples of perfectly balanced games when it comes to the grind.</p>\n\n<p>They also exhibit another factor that any grind-heavy game would benefit from, and that is that they give you a little glimpse of the future.</p>\n\n<h2>Working Towards a Goal</h2>\n\n<p>No, they don’t have a crystal ball, and they aren’t going to be providing you with the winning lottery numbers any time soon, but they do give you a slight glimpse into the future. The future of the game that is.</p>\n\n<p>Grinding is only really worth it if you have a slight idea of what the results could bring you. Nobody wants to work hard if there is no light at the end of the tunnel, or the rewards might not be worth the effort. But, if you could only just see what waiting for you at the end of the struggle, it might just be worth it.</p>\n\n<p>Stardew Valley does this amazingly well by placing obstacles in the way of your character progression, blocking access to certain parts of the map but allowing a slight glimpse of what is in store once you manage to attain the necessary tools to proceed.</p>\n\n<p>This ‘carrot on a stick’ is key to any game that wants players to invest hour after hour into it and still come back for more. Whether that carrot is an inaccessible area or a weapon that is out of your current price range, the allure of ‘what might be around the corner’ has to be strong enough to encourage the player onwards. All the best grinding games know this and use it to their own advantage.</p>\n\n<p>There are, unfortunately, games that simply did not get the memo when it comes to grinding. These games tend to drag on and on, with little to no sign of a reward or reason to carry on. This would have previously been a death sentence for games released ten or fifteen years ago, but with constant updates now available to anyone with internet access, games can be rectified if needed.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Grinding in MMO games\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_14/grinding-5.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 600px;\" title=\"Grinding in MMO games\" /></p>\n\n<h2>Grinding in Video Games Done Right</h2>\n\n<p>For those of you who supposedly hate grinding, it is worth considering what the gaming world would look like without it. A game with little challenge and a constant stream of rewards is something that quickly becomes boring. Anyone familiar with a parody game called <a href=\"https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/495903\">PSTW</a> (Press Space To Win) might have already considered the empty feeling a game with no challenge provides for a player. Perhaps it is an uncomfortable truth for you to believe, that mom and dad were right all along, and hard work really is a reward all by itself.</p>\n\n<p>Some players will reference a sort of ‘zen-like’ state that descends upon them while they are deep within the grind, and the sense of achievement they get from putting in the required hours leaves them with a genuine feeling of pride.</p>\n\n<p>To loop back to the start of this discussion, if grinding is implemented correctly in the first place, we shouldn’t even notice it at all. So, as a rule of thumb, If the grind is varied, challenging, and fun, you are halfway to creating a great grinding game.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"bottom\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_Team_B74910_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSU.jpg\" /></a></p>\n","date":"4/12/2018"},"images":{"preview":{"href":"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_14/grinding-header.jpg"},"authorAvatar":{"href":"//cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/portal/common/avatars/default_avatar.jpg","sizes":[]}},"template_options":{"compositeId":"13192"}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/rts-vs-tbs/"},"strings":{"title":"The Differences Between Real-time and Turn-based Strategy","category":"MMO Games Blog","author":"PLARIUM STAFF","readTime":"540000","description":"<p><a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/strategy-games/\">Strategy games</a> are among the most complex video games.</p>\n\n<p>The first thing you should probably know about them is that most of them fall into two similar, but distinct subgenres: <strong>RTS</strong> and <strong>TBS</strong>.</p>\n\n<p>You may already have a few questions, like what does TBS stand for, or what is RTS.</p>\n\n<p>Let’s answer those two first, so we’re all on the same page here:</p>\n\n<ul>\n\t<li>RTS is <strong>Real-time Strategy</strong></li>\n\t<li>TBS stands for <strong>Turn-based Strategy</strong></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Right now it may not seem that important, but trust us: understanding the differences between RTS and TBS is key to understanding the strategy genre as a whole.</p>\n\n<p>So let's clear the fog of war and get right down to the battle: RTS vs. TBS - how to tell them apart, and which one is better?</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"RTS vs. TBS\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_14/realtime-turnbased-2.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 600px;\" title=\"RTS vs. TBS\" /></p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_RAID_EN_1920x1080_Serj_2018-0507_01Id5209_B74904_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSO.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>Real-time Strategy Vs. Turn-based Strategy</h2>\n\n<p>The most basic defining factor that differentiates strategy games is how they approach the concept of time.</p>\n\n<p>If you want to know the difference between turn-based and real-time strategy straight away, you can just look at how time flows in a game.</p>\n\n<p>If time has been compartmentalized into phases, and each player or AI opponent has allocated time slots in which to execute their strategy - you are most likely playing a turn-based strategy game.</p>\n\n<p>In other words: If you each take turns to play, it’s a turn-based game.</p>\n\n<p>If time flows as it does in the real world, and all players can play all at once, then you are most likely playing a real-time strategy game.</p>\n\n<p>Here all decisions are made under pressure and the constant threat of attack; there are no pauses.</p>\n\n<p>Before we begin answering the question of “What is the difference between real-time strategy and turn-based strategy?”, we should discuss just how diverse both of these subgenres are in themselves.</p>\n\n<h2>Turn-based Strategy Games</h2>\n\n<p>If you are not familiar with the medium, the best way to imagine a turn-based game is to think of it as a digital board game.</p>\n\n<p>In the traditional board game format, each player will have a turn to think, strategize, and execute their decisions regarding the pieces in their hands and on the board.</p>\n\n<p>The game will progress in an orderly fashion, with each person biding their time, waiting for the others to finish their turns before they can resume actioning their investments on the board.</p>\n\n<p>The same is true with many turn-based strategy games. Players and AIs will each be given a chance in an orderly fashion to utilize the full extent of their intelligence, cunning, and resources to achieve whatever objective happens to be at hand.</p>\n\n<p>Let us take a look at to different types of turn-based strategy games: XCOM series by Firaxis Games and the Total War games by Creative Assembly.</p>\n\n<p>In XCOM, you command a squad of alien-hunting soldiers, taking charge of a party of around five or six characters in total.</p>\n\n<p>In a Total War game, you take control of an entire civilization - its government, commerce and economy, and armies.</p>\n\n<p>Now, although both games involve taking turns between you and opponents, the scale is completely different. XCOM is considered more tactical, with more surgical battles and short-term decision-making. Total War, on the other hand, is much more massive and “big-picture” with gameplay spanning years, decades and centuries.</p>\n\n<p>But that’s not where it ends. Between TBS and RTS, the former has made its way into other, admittedly more popular genres. You can find elements of TBS in <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/mmo-games/eastern-games-vs-western-games/\">JRPGs</a>, simulators,  and tactical shooters.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"middle\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/11/RAD_RedGirl_B76234_970x66_Android_iOS_English&IMG=1MTM.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>Real-time Strategy Games</h2>\n\n<p>The term “real-time strategy” was coined by Brett Sperry when <a href=\"https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/09/build-gather-brawl-repeat-the-history-of-real-time-strategy-games/2/\">marketing his 1990 classic game Dune II</a>. While this game is not necessarily considered to be the first proper RTS title, it certainly did set the format for countless leading franchises to come.</p>\n\n<p>Some of the most successful and acclaimed real-time strategy franchises such as Command & Conquer, Warcraft, and StarCraft, all owe their foundational design inspiration to the early 90s sci-fi classic.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Real-time strategy is about quick decisions and multitasking\" longdesc=\"Real-time strategy is about quick decisions and multitasking\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_14/realtime-turnbased-1.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 600px;\" /></p>\n\n<p>The best way to understand a typical RTS game is to imagine the Middle Ages. In this foundational phase of human development, various newfound cultures uplifted themselves from the ashes of Classical Civilizations, often towards imperial domination goals.</p>\n\n<p>If you could imagine France, Germany, England, Scandinavia, etc. - all of these countries and nations developing all around each other, all at the same time, and consequently invading or forming alliances with each other, then you pretty much understand a real-time strategy game such as Age of Empires.</p>\n\n<p>This type of real-time strategy game involves players developing their people, settlements, armies, and strategies all in real-time.</p>\n\n<p>Unit construction, invasions, and all developments between players all occur along a single, continuous, and unhindered timeline which all present players share.</p>\n\n<p>Resource gathering is an essential part of most real-time strategy games, and you will indeed often find yourself competing aggressively with other players for limited resources upon the map.</p>\n\n<p>As you can imagine, things can indeed get very frantic and pressured when conflict is erupting all over the map and players are leading their armies into each other’s settlements in an attempt to completely eradicate their presence in the world.</p>\n\n<p>This requires a heightened level of decision-making and reflex-based reactions compared to turn-based strategy, which affords players an extended period of halted and composed planning and execution.</p>\n\n<h2>Playing Strategy Games at a Professional Level</h2>\n\n<p>If you are wondering about the esport presence of real-time and turned-based strategy titles, then you should know that RTS games make up the majority of the leading online strategy esport content.</p>\n\n<p>While you can indeed play online strategy games that are turn-based at very competitive levels, they, for the most part, would not translate well to a live, widely-spectated performance. Many of the leading turn-based strategy games just do not fall into the esport criteria well enough. They are generally based on lengthy campaigns and lack the excitement needed for spectator sports. In fact, they face many of the problems <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/mmo-games/esports/\">MMO esports</a> face.</p>\n\n<p>The most prominent professionally-played game with turn-based strategy elements happens to be the Pokemon video game series. Its latest releases now played on the Nintendo 3DS. Pokemon video game tournaments are most popular in the United States.</p>\n\n<p>A few years ago, the first game in the series, Pokemon Red was part of a weird social experiment called <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitch_Plays_Pok%C3%A9mon\">Twitch Plays Pokemon</a>. Hundreds of thousands of people played the same copy of the game simultaneously on a Twitch livestream. Not exactly competitive esport, but an impressive display of multiplayer cooperation.</p>\n\n<p>Today, millions of dollars go into the collective running and administering of just the online strategy sector of esports. Not only that, the actual players can win fortunes in the bigger competitions.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"StarCraft - the king of competitive strategy\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_13/starcrafttourney.jpg\" style=\"width: 1100px; height: 390px;\" title=\"StarCraft - the king of competitive strategy\" /></p>\n\n<p>StarCraft’s current prize pool sits at $21,765,461.56, which is the total amount that has been won by professional players for the entirety of its running as a professional esport.</p>\n\n<h2>StarCraft: The Founder and King of Esports</h2>\n\n<p>With the expansion of the original StarCraft monster hit, StarCraft: Brood Wars, came the foundations for the entire esports scene. It was in South Korea when the first proper and well-organized tournaments and competitions began their facilitation, around 2002.</p>\n\n<p>It was then that the first teams of organized pro-gamers began rising through the scene, receiving sponsorships from large South Korean companies such as KT, SK Telecom, and Samsung.</p>\n\n<p>While it may sound surprising or bizarre to many, Korean StarCraft champions are on the same level as professional athletes, holding the same level of public admiration and reverence.</p>\n\n<p>The original StarCraft was the first game ever to be accepted into the World Cyber Games tournament and continued to make a yearly appearance up until 2011 when it was replaced by the sequel - StarCraft 2.</p>\n\n<p>StarCraft 2 carried on the torch, continuing the original game’s success within the online strategy esports world as one of the most popular esport online strategy games. Approximately 30,000 players play online on any given day, with <a href=\"http://www.rankedftw.com/stats/population/1v1/#v=2&r=-2&sx=a&sy=c\">more than 350,000 concurrent players</a> as of March 2018.</p>\n\n<h2>RTS vs. TBS: Which is Better?</h2>\n\n<p>So, who wins when it comes to RTS vs. TBS?</p>\n\n<p>This question is obviously entirely subjective, and there is no one right answer. Every strategy game fan has different tastes. Some may absolutely love the epic war campaigns of turn-based strategy games, while others are all about the intense skirmishes of real-time strategy games.</p>\n\n<p>There are legions of hardcore fans on each side, and there have been debates raging for a long time regarding real-time vs. turn-based. Such contention, however, is ultimately redundant and futile, and players should actually be supporting the development of the strategy genre overall.</p>\n\n<p>It all really depends on what you want out of a game. If you prefer being able to take your time to strategize and execute orders in a controlled, calm, and paced manner, then you might be happier with turn-based strategy.</p>\n\n<p>If you prefer to play games that flow in a more realistic manner and enjoy nothing more than fast-paced decision-making and flexible reactions, then real-time strategy is more up your alley.</p>\n\n<p>Both divisions are endlessly enjoyable, however, and you really should try leading titles from both to not limit your gaming experience.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"So which one is better? Real-time strategy or turn-based strategy?\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_14/realtime-turnbased-3.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 600px;\" title=\"So which one is better? Real-time strategy or turn-based strategy?\" /></p>\n\n<h2>Conclusion</h2>\n\n<p>Whether you are a newcomer to strategy games or are a veteran of many years, there will always be plenty of fantastic and complex material for you to work your way through. Companies like Blizzard, Creative Assembly, and Firaxis Games (and of course we in Plarium) will continue to strive to bring you fantastic and ingenious strategy titles.</p>\n\n<p>If you are, by now, comprehensively well-versed in a specific sector of a strategy subgenre, you may indeed feel an experimental curiosity to try something you would otherwise turn your nose up.</p>\n\n<p>Those that swore to play tactical turn-based strategy games exclusively should give faster, more action-oriented RTS a chance. On the other hand, StarCraft II masters may want to branch out into a turn-based game like Total War: Warhammer 2.</p>\n\n<p>The best part about both subgenres is that they offer relatively limitless potential. The same game can be played over and over again, with different races, employing different strategies and executions.</p>\n\n<p>As for actually getting good at these games, and hoping to one day join the esport crowds at a professional level - all you can really do is practice as much as you can, and read up on leading approaches to specific issues.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"bottom\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_Team_B74910_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSU.jpg\" /></a></p>\n","date":"3/27/2018"},"images":{"preview":{"href":"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_14/realtime-turnbased-header.jpg"},"authorAvatar":{"href":"//cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/portal/common/avatars/default_avatar.jpg","sizes":[]}},"template_options":{"compositeId":"13191"}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/eastern-games-vs-western-games/"},"strings":{"title":"The Difference Between Japanese Games and Western Games","category":"MMO Games Blog","author":"PLARIUM STAFF","readTime":"480000","description":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_RAID_EN_1920x1080_Serj_2018-0507_01Id5209_B74904_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSO.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<p>If you were born after 1990, there is a good chance that you have grown up oblivious to one of the most brutal and nasty conflicts of the modern age.</p>\n\n<p>It was a battle between two powerhouses from the east, whose race for dominance divided families across the globe. Friendships were destroyed, brother turned against brother, and lines were drawn in the sand, some of which are there to this day.</p>\n\n<p>This bloody conflict was known as the console wars, and it shaped both Japanese and Western games throughout history.</p>\n\n<h2>Console Wars: How It All Started</h2>\n\n<p>Back in the early 1980s, <a href=\"https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Corporate/Nintendo-History/Nintendo-History-625945.html\">Nintendo released their new home console</a>, the Nintendo Entertainment System, better known as the NES.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Nintendo Entertainment System, the NES\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_11/nes.jpg\" style=\"width: 700px; height: 510px;\" title=\"Nintendo Entertainment System, the NES\" /></p>\n\n<p>This little grey box started a fascination with video games that has grown exponentially ever since.</p>\n\n<p>To combat the rise of Nintendo, a company with a history of building arcade machines decided to enter the home console arena in 1985. With the release of the Master System, SEGA has officially started the console wars.</p>\n\n<p>Puritans may point to the earlier battles between the likes of the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spectrum, but none of these face-offs garnered quite the same level of tribalism that the NES vs. Master System did.</p>\n\n<p>This battle continued for over a decade, with new systems entering the fray with ever increasing computing prowess and graphical fidelity.</p>\n\n<p>While fans were arguing over which side had the best console, a curious divide was becoming apparent. This divide went beyond the consoles themselves and quickly became a cultural one.</p>\n\n<p>I am, of course, referring to the difference between Japanese and western games.</p>\n\n<h2>Western RPG vs. JRPG</h2>\n\n<p>In the early years, when platformers, beat ‘em-ups, shoot ‘em-ups, and the occasional sports sim, dominated the market, there was little to tell Japanese and western games apart.</p>\n\n<p>However, there was one genre that was starting to show the differences in culture. This genre was the RPG. <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/mmo-games/rpg-elements/\">Role-playing games</a> like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Final Fantasy XV may seem similar on the surface, but to anyone who has played both, the differences couldn’t be more obvious.</p>\n\n<p>Taking Bethesda’s Skyrim as an example of a western RPG, it becomes apparent that the emphasis was on exploration.</p>\n\n<p>These games generally exhibit sprawling worlds that have been carefully crafted to make the player feel that they can quite literally go anywhere and do anything. The edges of these worlds are crafted in such a way that the player would never feel like they have discovered everything. These games are designed to make you feel like you can shape the world with your choices and actions.</p>\n\n<p>Crossing over to Japan, the JRPGs don’t follow this philosophy anywhere nearly as much. Yes, the worlds can be massive, but the games themselves tend to be more linear in nature. Here, there seems to be a more substantial emphasis on storytelling, characters, and guiding the player through a compelling experience.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"middle\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/11/RAD_RedGirl_B76234_970x66_Android_iOS_English&IMG=1MTM.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>Japanese Games vs. Western Games</h2>\n\n<p>When it comes to pure aesthetics, there is also quite a noticeable difference between the Japanese and western games.</p>\n\n<p>Japanese games have generally taken on a look that is heavily influenced by manga and anime, with large eyes, cartoony features, and hair that seems to defy gravity.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Western RPGs vs. Japanese RPGs\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_11/east-west-1.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 500px;\" title=\"Western RPGs vs. Japanese RPGs\" /></p>\n\n<p>Western games, on the other hand, tend to aim at a slightly more realistic graphics. It is almost as though in western games we want to completely recreate life, whereas, in the east, they are happy to create their interpretation of it, unrestrained by the rules of the real world.</p>\n\n<p>Combat too generally differs quite radically in both subgenres.</p>\n\n<p>The majority of the action in WRPGs happens in real-time and dependant on player skill and reflex, whereas JRPGs quite often rely on a strategic turn-based system that plays out like a ‘stats heavy’ game of top trumps. Here, your band of adventurers face-off against hordes of evil while you decide which party member will do the most damage against which member of the opposing party.</p>\n\n<p>That isn't to say that western games like Skyrim or The Witcher 3 don’t rely on stats, but with them comes a healthy dose of hand to eye coordination. A classic Final Fantasy-style game would much rather you joust with your brain than with your fists.</p>\n\n<p>It is also somewhat interesting to note that most WRPGs have you starting out as a lone warrior, whereas the more eastern-influenced games often involve guiding a whole party.</p>\n\n<p>This could be a result cultural influence as well; wherein the western world the mighty “lone wolf hero” has been recycled in so many stories, Japanese culture has always had more of an obsession with protection, and putting a person or groups interests before the protagonists. More of a \"selfless hero\" if you will.</p>\n\n<h2>Japanese MMORPG vs. Western MMORPG</h2>\n\n<p>When it comes to online games, and in particular MMORPGs, the differences have continued to develop.</p>\n\n<p>In Japan, online games are even more popular than it is in the west, and MMORPGs have become akin to more enjoyable days at the office. By that, I mean that Japanese online games are noted to have a significant amount of ‘grinding’ associated with them. In this sort of society, logging on to level up your character every night isn't looked at as a bad thing, in fact, it’s a social thing.</p>\n\n<p>This could very well be down to the way Japanese culture has embraced gaming as a legitimate pastime, something that has only just started to happen in the west, where there has always been gaming culture, but its legitimacy is slightly less accepted.</p>\n\n<p>With Japanese games, rewarding players for grinding away in groups, those sessions after work or school become the defacto way to relax and chat away with your friends, while also progressing through a game.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Video games are an acceptable social activity\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_11/east-west-2.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 500px;\" title=\"Video games are an acceptable social activity\" /></p>\n\n<p>Some users have even started to look at these games as a substitute for social networks. You go to work, you come home, and you game with your friends. For some, the game world has become the bar or the squash court. And within a culture where hard work is revered, grinding away with your friends after work in Final Fantasy 14 is as routine and widespread as coming home and logging onto Netflix in the west.</p>\n\n<h2>When East Meets West</h2>\n\n<p>You would be forgiven for thinking that these two RPG subgenres are forking off in entirely different directions, but that is not actually true.</p>\n\n<p>Many of the companies from both sides of the gaming world are starting to take note of the more popular aspects of each other’s work, which is leading to some rather interesting mashups. None more so widespread than in the mobile space.</p>\n\n<p>Look through either the App Store or Google Play, and you will probably notice quite a few of the adventure, RPG or <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/strategy-games/\">strategy games</a> are now employing a Final Fantasy battle system. Even the latest Star Wars: Galaxy Of Heroes is centered purely around the combat mechanics.</p>\n\n<p>Turn-based combat, as it turns out, makes way more sense on mobile than the more western, dexterity-based way of fighting.</p>\n\n<p>On the other side of the coin, we are now starting to see far more open worlds in the likes of Final Fantasy XV, no doubt a reaction to how well western games have sold worldwide (including Japan).</p>\n\n<p>Where previously linear storylines with few choices were the fashion, multi-arced stories with alternate endings are now becoming more popular. And in return, some western MMOs now require a fair amount of grinding before leveling up (albeit a slightly different type of grinding).</p>\n\n<p>In fact, it could be said that some of the latest RPGs are neither genuinely eastern or western in origin. Most Elder Scrolls Online or World of Warcraft fans would have to admit to doing a fair amount of grinding in their time, while Final Fantasy XV fans were pretty surprised to see the number of real choices that they were privy to in the last installment of the franchise.</p>\n\n<h2>The Western and Japanese RPG hybrid</h2>\n\n<p>The great thing about this crossing over, is that it gives us games that would have otherwise been lacking in some areas. By mixing the subgenres, brand new ones have been created, and with whole new levels of addiction to boot.</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://www.pcgamer.com/games-like-stardew-valley/\">Games like Stardew Valley</a> (which is basically a heavily tweaked Harvest Moon), has taken the Japanese farm/life sim and mixed in a little western mechanics to polish things off. The game now sits pretty at number one as the most downloaded Switch games of all time, something previously unthinkable in a year which saw a new Mario release.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"JRPGs and WRPGs complement one another\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_11/east-west-3.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 500px;\" title=\"JRPGs and WRPGs complement one another\" /></p>\n\n<p>So rather than seeing the differences between the two gaming cultures as a “war” of which you need to take a side, perhaps a healthier outlook would be that of two styles that complement one another.</p>\n\n<p>When one side makes strides, the other notices and reacts. Equally, when one side makes mistakes, the other makes sure they don’t fall into the same trap. And with a gaming scene that has been plagued by a lack of innovation of late, these fusions between genres, subgenres, and cultures should be welcomed.</p>\n\n<p>In a world that is metaphorically getting smaller, witnessing one culture merge with another is something that we will see more and more. Whether that is in the film industry (just look at the popularity of Studio Ghibli in the west and Harry Potter in the east) or in the gaming industry, the fusion of cultures is here to stay, and I for one welcome it wholeheartedly.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"bottom\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_Team_B74910_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSU.jpg\" /></a></p>\n","date":"3/13/2018"},"images":{"preview":{"href":"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_11/east-west-header.jpg"},"authorAvatar":{"href":"//cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/portal/common/avatars/default_avatar.jpg","sizes":[]}},"template_options":{"compositeId":"13172"}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/strategy-rpg/"},"strings":{"title":"Strategy RPG Games Bring Together the Best of Both Genres","category":"MMO Games Blog","author":"PLARIUM STAFF","readTime":"480000","description":"<p>The lines between RPG games and virtually every other genre are gradually eroding in recent years.</p>\n\n<p>With developers looking to add more depth and personalization to their creations, <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/mmo-games/rpg-elements/\">RPG elements</a> have started to appear in places we usually wouldn’t expect to see them.</p>\n\n<p>Deep narratives, leveling and multi-layered characters are now popping up in a variety of genres, even some you wouldn’t have to expect them to.</p>\n\n<p>Essentially, we’re living in a post-RPG world where <a href=\"http://store.steampowered.com/tags/en/Strategy+RPG#p=0&tab=ConcurrentUsers\">hybrids are the norm.</a></p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Strategy RPG hybrids are the norm now\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_10/rpg-strategy-1.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 500px;\" title=\"Strategy RPG hybrids are the norm now\" /></p>\n\n<p>One area where RPG features have made a move in recent years is <a href=\"https://plarium.com/\">strategy games</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Aiming to elevate the genre beyond its slightly cold and calculated roots, RPG strategy games such as the Fire Emblem franchise bring tactics and immersive environments together as one.</p>\n\n<p>One of the most popular games in the series, Fire Emblem Awakening is marked by a dominant storyline that follows an epic battle across entire continents. In typical RPG fashion, all characters can be customized in various ways to suit the terrain and bring some extra depth to the action.</p>\n\n<p>However, unlike your typical RPG, players can’t just hack-and-slash their way through the game. They must employ a wide array of strategies and tactics, and learn how to best utilize each character's strengths to overcome the game’s many challenges.</p>\n\n<p>Fire Emblem Awakening is what is known as a tactical RPG.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_RAID_EN_1920x1080_Serj_2018-0507_01Id5209_B74904_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSO.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>The Birth of Strategy Role-playing Games</h2>\n\n<p>Strategy RPG, also known as Tactical Role-playing games, can be traced all the way back to traditional tabletop role-playing games such as classic Dungeons & Dragons.</p>\n\n<p>“Cool” as it may be, we’re more interested in the video game variation. Like so many others, the subgenre originated in Japan in the 1980s. Games like The Dragon and Princess and Bokosuka Wars were among the first to lay the foundations for the new genre, called \"simulation RPG\" back then.</p>\n\n<p>However, it wasn’t until 1988 that this hybrid of strategy and RPG started to take form.</p>\n\n<p>Many point to the strategy RPG Silver Ghost as one of the first fully-formed strategy RPGs. Players were able to use point-and-click controls in a real-time environment to manage and control multiple characters/units. If that sounds like an RTS game to you, you aren’t wrong - that is exactly how it paved the way for the RTS/RPG hybrid.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"The origins of Strategy RPG\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_10/rpg-strategy-2.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 500px;\" title=\"The origins of Strategy RPG\" /></p>\n\n<p>Following the legacy of Silver Ghost, First Queen took strategy RPGs another step further with a unique take on the subgenre. The game sees players explore an interactive world filled with different characters, upgrades, and unique scenery - all standard RPG elements.</p>\n\n<p>Where this game tipped the balance towards strategy was its battles. A large part of First Queen sees players recruit soldiers and then controlling them in large-scale battles. Combined with the option to pause the real-time combat, this function allowed the player to consider precise, tactical moves to defeat AI-controlled armies.</p>\n\n<p>These hybrids showed that it was possible to create immersive RPG worlds and successfully incorporate tactical elements. The Fire Emblem series then brought the concept to mainstream audiences in 1990, and many of its features have been used ever since.</p>\n\n<p>Throughout the nineties, games like Arc the Lad II, the Farland Story series, Front Mission and more all help developed the strategy RPG genre.</p>\n\n<p>As we move into the new millennium, mobile titles introduce themselves into the mix. As the likes of Valkyria Chronicles and Fire Emblem continued to dominate consoles, brands such as Banner Saga were making mobile strategy RPGs into serious contenders.</p>\n\n<p>What we’ve seen over the years is a <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/strategy-games/vikings-war-of-clans/\">coming together of strategy and RPG games</a> to form a new genre. Essentially, for those that enjoy making critical decisions but want a more personal experience then that of a detached general overlooking a battlefield, strategy RPGs are the perfect tonic.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"middle\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/11/RAD_RedGirl_B76234_970x66_Android_iOS_English&IMG=1MTM.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>How Strategy RPG Combines Both Genres Together</h2>\n\n<p>From our look at the history of strategy RPGs, we can already start to see what makes the genre tick.</p>\n\n<p>Rather than resorting to reflexes or real-time button mashing, the essence of a strategy game is to pick the best moves for the situation at hand or face dire consequences. Strategy RPG doesn't lose this aspect. The combination of storylines, expansive worlds, and customizable characters have only made these games more immersive.</p>\n\n<p>When you examine the dynamics a little closer, you get to see an interplay between strategy and tactics. As a general rule, strategy refers to an overarching goal, the bigger picture moves that will help you achieve victory. In contrast, tactics relate to the minutiae of a fight, the specific steps you make in a situation such as “use X weapon to target Y with unit Z.”</p>\n\n<p>When a game requires you to focus on an overall strategy, for instance crossing a map using the most efficient course, it leans towards being a strategy game. When you’re required to think about the weapons you’ve got and how to use them in individual battles, this is much more like an RPG. Therefore, when you combine these two elements into a single game, you have a strategy RPG.</p>\n\n<p>Of course, certain games will lean more to one side of the spectrum of the other. What’s more, you should also look out for the following attributes to know if you’re dealing with a strategy RPG:</p>\n\n<p><strong><u>Team player:</u></strong> If RPGs typically put players in the role of a single character or a small party, and strategy games put you in control over entire armies - strategy RPGs offer a combination of both dynamics.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Playing an individual character in the context of a team\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2017/week_35/toxicity-in-mmo-friendly.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 400px;\" title=\"Playing an individual character in the context of a team\" /></p>\n\n<p>For example, in Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, you control a unit of soldiers. Here you have a situation where you can play on the individual strengths of your characters but do so in the context of the team as a whole. You always have to consider a character’s role within the squad and make sure all individual member can support and complement each other’s abilities.</p>\n\n<p>This dynamic is something that’s often lacking in both RPG and strategy games but blends together nicely in the hybrid genre.</p>\n\n<p><strong><u>You only die once:</u></strong> In most RPGs, once your main character dies, it’s game over. Load your save file and try again. That’s not the case in Strategy games, where you have almost limitless units at your disposal.</p>\n\n<p>Once again, Strategy RPG games offer a sort of hybrid of the two paradigms. Your main character must survive the battle, but the same isn’t necessarily true for the rest of your party.</p>\n\n<p>This can challenge both strategy and RPG players. Strategy players aren’t used to having to protect a single unit - to them the base, or the bigger picture is all that matters. RPG players, on the other hands, aren’t always comfortable with the idea of “permadeath” - losing a character forever.</p>\n\n<p><strong><u>The tactical approach:</u></strong> Unlike a standard RPG where the action is up close and personal, games in this hybrid genre typically take a step back to look at the action from a more tactical angle. Some strategy RPGs shift to a top-down or isometric perspective when it’s time to fight.</p>\n\n<p>This shift between the character’s perspective and an overhead view might break the immersion a bit, but it helps highlight the strategy elements of the game.</p>\n\n<p>On the other hand, strategy games often lack mainstream appeal because they don’t offer the level of immersion the average gamer arguably enjoys. That is why strategy RPGs present a more personal perspective when it comes to the story. When a story revolves around a pivotal character - the one the player just so happen to control - the change in camera angles doesn’t harm the player’s investment in the game.</p>\n\n<h2>Are Tactical RPG Games for You?</h2>\n\n<p>Would you prefer staring at a map and practicing your long-term decision-making skills, or do you want upfront action that stimulates the senses? These are the options you’re generally faced with when you choose between strategy games and RPGs.</p>\n\n<p>But with Strategy RPG you don’t really have to choose. This unique subgenre offers the best of both worlds.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"This unique subgenre offers the best of both worlds\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_10/rpg-strategy-3.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 500px;\" title=\"This unique subgenre offers the best of both worlds\" /></p>\n\n<p>In many ways, fusing RPG elements and strategy games together has been a success. For example, Project X Zone <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_X_Zone#Reception\">was a huge hit</a>, and not just because it combined some of leading characters from Sega, Bandai Namco, and Capcom. Because the 2D brawler dynamic offered a familiar setting for casual gamers, Project X Zone was able to introduce tactical battles with relative ease.</p>\n\n<p>True, it depends on each game. Some lean more heavily towards role-playing games, earning the definition of “tactical RPGs”, while others go for a more traditional RTS experience, but with RPG elements thrown into the mix.</p>\n\n<p>But it only goes to show that fans of both genres will always find something to entertain and challenge them when it comes to Strategy RPG.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"bottom\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_Team_B74910_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSU.jpg\" /></a></p>\n","date":"2/18/2018"},"images":{"preview":{"href":"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_10/rpg-strategy-header.jpg"},"authorAvatar":{"href":"//cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/portal/common/avatars/default_avatar.jpg","sizes":[]}},"template_options":{"compositeId":"13155"}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/battle-royale/"},"strings":{"title":"How Battle Royale Is Changing Online Gaming","category":"MMO Games Blog","author":"PLARIUM STAFF","readTime":"480000","description":"<p>There is a new king of online games.</p>\n\n<p>Counter Strike, Dota 2, and League of Legends have all made way for the Battle Royale, a term now more popular on Google than “MMO”.</p>\n<script type=\"text/javascript\" src=\"https://ssl.gstatic.com/trends_nrtr/1308_RC02/embed_loader.js\"></script><script type=\"text/javascript\"> trends.embed.renderExploreWidget(\"TIMESERIES\", {\"comparisonItem\":[{\"keyword\":\"Battle Royale\",\"geo\":\"\",\"time\":\"2017-02-08 2018-02-08\"},{\"keyword\":\"MMO\",\"geo\":\"\",\"time\":\"2017-02-08 2018-02-08\"}],\"category\":0,\"property\":\"\"}, {\"exploreQuery\":\"q=Battle%20Royale,MMO&date=today 12-m,today 12-m\",\"guestPath\":\"https://trends.google.com:443/trends/embed/\"}); </script>\n\n<p>People all across the world are suddenly jumping into violent and explosively thrilling world of Battle Royale. But why?</p>\n\n<p>What makes this new genre so popular, and more importantly - how will it change online games?</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_RAID_EN_1920x1080_Serj_2018-0507_01Id5209_B74904_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSO.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>What is Battle Royale?</h2>\n\n<p>A Battle Royale is a fight between many different people until only one fighter remains standing. A sort of free-for-all.</p>\n\n<p>There is no designated group, and the combatants can use everything in their disposable to achieve victory. Think Hunger Games, and you pretty much got it.</p>\n\n<p>The term Battle Royale became popular in the west with the publishing of a Japanese novel by the same name, written by Koushun Takami in 1999.</p>\n\n<p>The story follows a group of students that have been kidnapped and transported to a private island off the shore of the Japanese mainland. There, each student must survive until they are the last one left alive.</p>\n\n<p>The most widely known form of the Battle Royale story is, however, the 2000 film adaptation directed by Kinji Fukasaku, starring the legendary Takeshi Kitano. The film would come to be the direct influence for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) - the <a href=\"https://www.polygon.com/2017/5/26/15697740/why-is-playerunknowns-battlegrounds-so-damn-good\">most famous Battle Royale game today</a>.</p>\n\n<h2>How Battle Royale Games Work</h2>\n\n<p>It was in 2012 that a proper Battle Royale concept was introduced to the phenomenally successful game Minecraft. by modders</p>\n\n<p>The talented modders AntVenom and SkyDoesMinecraft laid down the groundwork for the first successful and official Battle Royale game.</p>\n\n<p>From then on, modders in the ARMA community began bringing about varyingly successful Battle Royale mods. One such ARMA modder was Brendan Greene, who went by the online handle PlayerUnknown.</p>\n\n<p>Greene would join the Korean publisher Bluehole to develop and release PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, more commonly referred to by its <a href=\"http://steamcharts.com/app/578080\">3 million concurrent players</a> as “PUBG”.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds (PUBG)\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_8/pubg.jpg\" style=\"width: 1920px; height: 1080px;\" title=\"PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds (PUBG)\" /></p>\n\n<p>PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is the perfect lens through which to examine what makes a Battle Royale game.</p>\n\n<p>A typical round of PUBG commences with around 100 players parachuting down into a large island, which seems to be somewhere off the coast of Eastern Europe.</p>\n\n<p>Players can group up in teams of 4 or 2, or choose to play a pure, last man standing Battle Royale - with only a single victor emerging out of the 100 players.</p>\n\n<p>Once on the ground, players must continue to scavenge for weapons, armor, and healing items. They must also find vehicles - not only to get from one spot to the next - but to stay within the Safe Zone.</p>\n\n<p>The Safe Zone is contained within a gigantic circular blue cone of sizzling plasma, which continues to shrink as time progresses and more players are killed. As the battleground shrinks, players are herded closer and closer together until the explosive finale.</p>\n\n<p>The last team, duo, or individual left alive wins.</p>\n\n<p>This simple formula is the basis of Battle Royale games: a large group of equal players, a huge map that slowly shrinks over time, and scarce guns and ammo.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"middle\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/11/RAD_RedGirl_B76234_970x66_Android_iOS_English&IMG=1MTM.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>The Evolution of Battle Royale</h2>\n\n<p>Valve’s MOBA DotA 2 has held the previous record of the highest number of concurrent players with 1,291,328 in 2014. PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds managed to top that figure on September 16th, with a <a href=\"https://dotesports.com/pubg/news/pubg-steam-concurrent-players-all-time-record-17429\">concurrent player base of 1,348,374</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Since then, the game has reached over <a href=\"https://www.pcgamer.com/pubg-hits-3-million-concurrent-players-and-15-million-cheater-bans/\">3 million concurrent players</a> in December 2017.</p>\n\n<p>Naturally, when a hot new phenomenon appears, developers will often try to emulate it and improve upon it to become even bigger.</p>\n\n<p>PUBG has revolutionized the online gaming world to the point where other titans in the online gaming industry have begun emulating its current and modifying upcoming titles around the Battle Royale concept.</p>\n\n<p>Let’s look at the most successful adaptations of PUBG to see how Battle Royale games are taking the genre to the next level.</p>\n\n<h2>Fortnite: Building a Better Battle Royale</h2>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Fortnite Battle Royale\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_8/fortnite.jpg\" style=\"width: 1920px; height: 1080px;\" title=\"Fortnite Battle Royale\" /></p>\n\n<p>Fortnite is <a href=\"https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/buy-now/battle-royale\">developed by Epic Games</a> and People Can Fly, and was released shortly after PUBG, in July 2017.</p>\n\n<p>Unlike PUBG, which does not really have a plot or actual setting, Fortnite presents a world where apocalyptic storms snatched away all but 2% of humanity. The survivors must now unite and survive against zombie-like monsters.</p>\n\n<p>The original title was relatively successful, hitting the 1 million player milestone about a month after its release. However, it was the standalone mode Fortnite Battle Royale, released in September 2017, that pushed Fortnite to the top, with <a href=\"https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fortnite-battle-royale-has-hit-10-million-players-/1100-6454008/\">10 million new players is just two weeks</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Although the mode is very clearly emulating PUBG, the addition of Fortnite’s ingenious crafting and building system introduces an intelligent and very creative spin on the traditional looting, surviving, and fighting formula of the Battle Royale.</p>\n\n<p>Remember that impressive 3 million concurrent players record PUBG holds? Well, Fortnite recently <a href=\"https://www.rollingstone.com/glixel/news/fortnite-breaks-concurrent-player-record-w516510\">broke that record</a> with 3.4 million players, making it the biggest Battle Royale game to date.</p>\n\n<h2>Paladins: Keeping Up With the Times</h2>\n\n<p>Before the monumental success of the Battle Royale genre, “Hero Shooters” were the latest trend in online gaming.</p>\n\n<p>Games like Overwatch and Team Fortress 2 brought teams of specialist champions to face off against each other in objective-based rounds centered in arenas filled with health packs and power-ups. Each player had a role, and everyone had to work together intelligently and strategically to come out victorious.</p>\n\n<p>While such games are still hugely popular, many developers and publishers have realized that the lion’s share of consumer attention has indeed shifted towards the Battle Royale trend. As a result, they have begun incorporating the Battle Royale into their game modes. One such game is Paladins: Champions of the Realm.</p>\n\n<p>Paladins developer Hi-Rez Studios recently announced the latest addition to its free-to-play title: Paladins: Battlegrounds. As the name suggests, the traditional gameplay of Paladins will be receiving a <a href=\"https://www.paladins.com/paladins-battlegrounds-faq/\">Battle Royale makeover</a>.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Paladins Battlegrounds\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_8/paladins.jpg\" style=\"width: 1920px; height: 1080px;\" title=\"Paladins Battlegrounds\" /></p>\n\n<p>From what has been released so far the Battlegrounds mode seems to borrow very heavily from PUBG. We have seen the looting of various buildings, scrambling for rare gear dropped in care packages by zeppelins, not to mention the always-shrinking safe zone.</p>\n\n<p>As you can see - especially if you have been playing PUBG for a while - this new installation already sounds like PUBG with a Paladins skin and characters. The mode’s title, Battlegrounds, is also an unabashed reference to the flagship Battle Royale.</p>\n\n<p>That being said, it will be amazing to see how different heroes are pitted against one another in open survival combat. Since Paladins is a Hero Shooter, each hero has distinct abilities and weapons, and therefore plays differently than the others. That means players don’t start on equal footing, which shakes up the familiar Battle Royale formula.</p>\n\n<h2>Will MMO Games Join the Battle Royale Trend?</h2>\n\n<p>By now, it's clear to see how online games are changing and evolving in order to stay relevant in a world dominated by Battle Royale. But is the same true for <a href=\"https://plarium.com/\">MMO games</a>?</p>\n\n<p>Expert analysts in the MMO world mostly agree that in early 2017, ingenuity and originality in the MMO realm seemed to be dwindling. While the titans like Counter-Strike, Dota 2 and World of Warcraft continued to produce marvelous content, it cannot be denied that many people were starting to feel that things were getting a little bit stale.</p>\n\n<p>In other words: The world of MMOs and online games has come to a creative standstill.</p>\n\n<p>But now, thanks to the interesting fusions of game mechanics and styles brought about by games like PUBG and Fortnite, MMO and MMORPG games are experiencing a curious phase of transition.</p>\n\n<p>Developers are enhancing their titles with new Battle Royale content, and new games with Battle Royale systems <a href=\"https://www.pcgamer.com/battle-royale-games-2018/\">keep coming out</a>. However, many popular MMOs seem to remain unaffected.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Battle royale is changing online gaming\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_8/Images-for-the-blog_Battle-Royale_fortnite_last2.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 500px;\" title=\"Battle royale is changing online gaming\" /></p>\n\n<p>But when players demand originality and newfound thrills, these games risk being left behind. The Battle Royale formula is so easy to implement, and there’s still so much of this new genre to explore, MMO developers would be throwing away an almost surefire success if they choose to sit this one out.</p>\n\n<p>Will we finally see a proper Battle Royale MMO? Can this subgenre even work as an MMO?</p>\n\n<p>It’s easy to imagine Counter-Strike introducing larger maps with more players in order to facilitate a proper “PUBG experience”. But what about a game like World of Warcraft?</p>\n\n<p>Many MMOs already have epic “Player vs. Player” arenas that might be perfect for combat on a larger scale, but there are still plenty of issues to overcome. Most of them are the same issues that pop up when <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/mmo-games/esports/\">MMO games try to become Esport titles</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Statistically speaking, we can very easily tell what an overwhelming majority of players greatly enjoy - being the “last man standing”. Developers need to pay heed and do what they can to associate their games with this new trend if they hope to be a part of the new wave of online games in 2018.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"bottom\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_Team_B74910_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSU.jpg\" /></a></p>\n","date":"2/11/2018"},"images":{"preview":{"href":"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_8/Images-for-the-blog_Battle-Royale_header_4.jpg"},"authorAvatar":{"href":"//cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/portal/common/avatars/default_avatar.jpg","sizes":[]}},"template_options":{"compositeId":"13149"}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/blockchain-games/"},"strings":{"title":"Blockchain Games Can Change the Gaming Industry","category":"MMO Games Blog","author":"PLARIUM STAFF","readTime":"420000","description":"<p>I personally have been involved in the Bitcoin space since 2012. I have watched it grow and flourish from the early days, where peers simply traded amongst one another on <a href=\"https://bitcointalk.org/\">bitcointalk.org</a>, the main forums for all things bitcoin and cryptocurrency related.</p>\n\n<p>I have watched great discussions unfold, which envisioned a future in which the revolutionary crypto technology reshaped large parts of our economy, and I have cheered it on along the way.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Blockchain Games\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_10/blockchain-1.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 500px;\" title=\"Blockchain Games\" /></p>\n\n<p>Some of these discussions unsurprisingly revolved around the gaming industry. Curious users started asking various questions, such as “what is the blockchain,” “how does the blockchain work,” and how can it be applied to one of our most beloved topic - the gaming industry?</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_RAID_EN_1920x1080_Serj_2018-0507_01Id5209_B74904_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSO.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>How Does Blockchain Work?</h2>\n\n<p>Blockgeeks, a website specializing in teaching Blockchain technology to businesses, offers this very helpful definition:</p>\n\n<p>\"Blockchain is a recorded transaction that has been added to a previous transaction to form a chain.</p>\n\n<p>\"Each of these transactions can account for various different things, for example in the world of Bitcoin, this transaction is the movement of a cryptocurrency. Each of these blockchains is encrypted, and any subsequent transaction requires the whole chain to be unencrypted when a new block is added, before again being ‘sealed up’ with encryption and passed on.</p>\n\n<p>\"This chain has a permanent log of all transactions from the first block up to the last. As such, blockchain technology allows for secure transactions to occur on an open source foundation that is hard to spoof.\"</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"How does blockchain work?\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_6/blockchain-infographics.png\" style=\"width: 1600px; height: 840px;\" /></p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Source: <a href=\"https://d2omlh28jsv4r7.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/infographics0517-01-1.png\">Blockgeeks</a></p>\n\n<p>Once you understand what blockchain is, the reason why this technology could become huge in gaming becomes clearer. Simply put, it comes down to the “uniqueness” of the blocks in the chain. If you can incorporate this uniqueness into gaming, this could lead to some exciting and unique games.</p>\n\n<h2>Bitcoin Games Find Their First Home</h2>\n\n<p>As the groundwork was laid and the economy surrounding Bitcoin began to flourish, these early dreams and aspirations began to take root and developers started looking into the various applications, of which the blockchain could be applied.</p>\n\n<p>Simple games began to arise, ones that were web-based only and used a portion of your processing power to mine bitcoins online, while you played your game. This was similar to the “mining pools” that have always existed within the crypto space, but of which had a new and exciting spin.</p>\n\n<p>Not surprisingly, most of these early Bitcoin games did not pay nearly as much. Sadly, they were typically of poor quality, leading to lower success and thus they were quickly discontinued.</p>\n\n<p>One of the earliest games that did find some success within the Bitcoin game space, however, was <a href=\"http://www.dragons.tl/bitcoins.php\">Dragon’s Tale</a>, launched on July 12th, 2013, by eGenesis.</p>\n\n<p>Dragon’s Tale is still ongoing and still using Bitcoin but in a more simplistic, raw way. Within the game, players can spend and use Bitcoin to perform various microtransactions, while at the same time, capable of withdrawing their in-game currency, thus creating a real-world economy for their player base.</p>\n\n<p>Traditional video games continued to struggle to find a home for blockchain games, but one sector of the “gaming” economy had little to no trouble at all in adopting Bitcoin as a close partner.</p>\n\n<p>The gambling sector, most notably online poker was under intense pressure via various sanctions and laws that <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_poker#Currency_issues\">outlawed US citizens</a> from partaking and making bets with real-world currency.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Bitcoin has replaced real-world currency in some games\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_4/aaa-3.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 400px;\" title=\"Bitcoin has replaced real-world currency in some games\" /></p>\n\n<p>This left a massive void in a space that had enormous consumer demand, as many online poker players previously made a living “grinding” and playing online poker, while many other simply enjoyed it as a pastime.</p>\n\n<p>Developers saw this gap and quickly closed in on the space, creating their own software that allowed players to deposit Bitcoin into their application and make bets against one another, purely and 100% based in cryptocurrency.</p>\n\n<p>In the early days, when Bitcoin was scarcely noticed and “flying under the radar,” this allowed websites such as SatoshiDice, or Bit777 to circumvent US laws, without outright breaking them.</p>\n\n<p>They operated in a “gray” space, and this style of Bitcoin games flourished.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"middle\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/11/RAD_RedGirl_B76234_970x66_Android_iOS_English&IMG=1MTM.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>Bitcoin Games Grow into Blockchain Games</h2>\n\n<p>Although Bitcoin was slowly and surely being integrated into many low budget games, and although it was booming within the gambling sector, purely blockchain-based games, which relied on the technology itself were absent and still lagging far behind.</p>\n\n<p>Booms and busts wracked the price of Bitcoin and various scandals such as the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mt._Gox#Bankruptcy;_stolen_bitcoin_(2014%E2%80%93ongoing)\">collapse of Mt. Gox</a> slowed development and innovation, as it significantly tarnished the image of Bitcoin in the short term and created anxiety around delving too deeply into crypto-based technology.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Ctyptocurrency games were only a matter of time\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_10/blockchain-5.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 500px;\" title=\"Ctyptocurrency games were only a matter of time\" /></p>\n\n<p>Yet, time went on and wounds healed. Cold feet were warmed, and the market as a whole began to look at Bitcoin in a much more favorable and desirable light.</p>\n\n<p>As is now history, this was the start of one of the greatest bull markets in history, which eventually resulted in the price of Bitcoin <a href=\"https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/btc-usd\">peaking at $19,843.11 per bitcoin</a> near the end of 2017.</p>\n\n<p>During this run-up in price, a frenzy of interest was sparked by consumers and investors with anything remotely related to Bitcoin or cryptos in general.</p>\n\n<p>Game developers also got in on the action, and the first big Bitcoin game <a href=\"https://www.cryptokitties.co/\">entered the market space</a>, CryptoKitties.</p>\n\n<h2>Blockchain Games Find their Stride</h2>\n\n<p>For the developers of CryptoKitties, the timing of the launch of their game couldn’t have been better. Bitcoin was reaching new highs daily, and interest for anything Bitcoin-related was exploding.</p>\n\n<p>This simple game, although humorous as it is, was actually quite groundbreaking and history-making, as it was the first major breakout game to be based on the blockchain technology, unlike most of its predecessors, which merely incorporated the Bitcoin “currency” into their gameplay via microtransactions.</p>\n\n<p>This blockchain game allowed users to create, breed and collection CryptoKitties, which they 100% owned and were based on the blockchain. This meant that they could be transferred and sold to others who had interest.</p>\n\n<p>Essentially, these cats were and are their own form of cryptocurrency. Which means they have tangible and real value.</p>\n\n<p>How much value, you ask? That depends on the CryptoKitty in question. Prices vary from basically worthless to <a href=\"https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/06/meet-cryptokitties-the-new-digital-beanie-babies-selling-for-100k.html\">over $100,000</a>. Crazy, I know.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"CryptoKitties\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_6/cryptokitties.jpg\" style=\"width: 1600px; height: 709px;\" title=\"CryptoKitties\" /></p>\n\n<p>The success of this game has since spurred on others to take up the cause and create their own blockchain games, such as Etheremon, CryptoCelebrities, HashPuppies, and CryptoPets.</p>\n\n<h2>Cryptocurrency Comes Full Circle</h2>\n\n<p>With this rise in blockchain games, which is very much still in its early infancy, we have come full circle and old ideas are now new once again.</p>\n\n<p>Developers have returned to the early concepts that they attempted to put in place but were unsuccessful in doing so due to poor gameplay and graphics quality.</p>\n\n<p>We are starting to see games where developers \"loan\" a portion of the players processing power, willingly of course, as they enjoy their content. This allows games such as <a href=\"https://www.theadoraboos.com/\">AllMine</a> to mine cryptocurrency at a substantially increased and faster rate, while at the same time, give back to their player base via in-game rewards and currency.</p>\n\n<p>Unsurprisingly, this in-game currency typically comes back to the developers anyway, as to further progress in such games, you must spend that currency. This allows developers to profit on both ends, but ethically, as the consumer is knowingly and willingly partaking in the partnership.</p>\n\n<h2>Blockchain Games Are Here to Stay</h2>\n\n<p>Currently, the only thing slowing down the rapid expansion of Bitcoin and blockchain games is the current setbacks affecting the price of Bitcoin and cryptos in general. Confidence has sagged in tangent with their crash in prices over the course of 2018.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Crypto technology is here to stay\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_10/blockchain-4.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 500px;\" title=\"Crypto technology is here to stay\" /></p>\n\n<p>However, crypto technology is here to stay and like Pandora's box, once opened, it can never be put back in again. The possibilities are just too vast and too powerful.</p>\n\n<p>Blockchain games are going to continue to rise, as developers find new and unique ways to apply this revolutionary technology, making it work both for them as a business and the consumer.</p>\n\n<p>I for one am both excited and interested to see where the future of blockchain technology will take us, both in the gaming industry and the broader economy as a whole, as we plot our course through 2018 and the many years that lay ahead of us.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"bottom\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_Team_B74910_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSU.jpg\" /></a></p>\n","date":"2/5/2018"},"images":{"preview":{"href":"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_10/blockchain-header.jpg"},"authorAvatar":{"href":"//cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/portal/common/avatars/default_avatar.jpg","sizes":[]}},"template_options":{"compositeId":"13144"}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/truple-a-games-microtransactions-loot-boxes/"},"strings":{"title":"Microtransactions and Loot Boxes in AAA Games","category":"MMO Games Blog","author":"PLARIUM STAFF","readTime":"480000","description":"<p>The freemium, free-to-play but pay-to-win (P2W) model has been around a long time, and it’s been hugely successful in <a href=\"https://plarium.com/en/mobile-games/\">mobile games</a>. These <a href=\"https://plarium.com/\">free-to-play games</a> are among the most lucrative and profitable games on the market.</p>\n\n<p>It makes sense - you get to play the game for free, and the developer gets money if you choose to invest through microtransactions. It’s a win-win.</p>\n\n<p>Big companies and AAA game developers don’t want to be left behind and are starting to take advantage of this model more and more. It’s both a tempting stream of revenue and a way to keep multiplayer games relevant for years. More money coming in means developers can continue to deliver new content.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"More money coming in means more new content\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_4/aaa-1.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 400px;\" title=\"More money coming in means more new content\" /></p>\n\n<p>We’re already seeing games like Star Wars Battlefront 2, Evolve, and NBA 2K18 using this model, but in their own AAA way.</p>\n\n<p>The trouble with AAA games that include microtransactions is obvious: you purchase the game at a premium price, but then have to pay if you want to get ahead and keep up with the “big dogs”. Naturally, this is more of a problem in competitive multiplayer games, though we already starting to see single-player games with loot boxes and other in-game purchases.</p>\n\n<p>Are AAA developers getting too greedy by developing these premium P2W models? Will they have a negative and long-lasting impact on the gaming scene? Will the mobile industry adopt this new take in the freemium model?</p>\n\n<p>Maybe. Maybe not. As you know, each coin has two sides.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"top\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_RAID_EN_1920x1080_Serj_2018-0507_01Id5209_B74904_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSO.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>Star Wars Battlefront 2: Kicking Off the Controversy</h2>\n\n<p>Much of the controversy around loot boxes and microtransactions in premium games comes from the <a href=\"https://www.gamespot.com/articles/star-wars-battlefront-2s-loot-box-controversy-expl/1100-6455155/\">new system EA presented in Battlefront 2</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Basically, the game required you to purchase loot boxes to get things that many felt should be included in the game’s $60 price tag - like the ability to level up your character.</p>\n\n<p>(Funny enough, players started resorting to using <a href=\"https://www.polygon.com/2017/11/24/16696870/star-wars-battlefront-2-economy-cheats\">rubber bands on their controllers</a> to bypass the ridiculously complex system.)</p>\n\n<p>You buy these loot boxes and get random Star Cards. These cards are used to level up your character’s stats and abilities. Because they’re random, you can buy a ton and get almost no upgrades.</p>\n\n<p>Within hours after the Battlefront 2 beta started, players were voicing their anger about how they are required to spend more and more money in order to achieve any meaningful progression. And they were voicing it very loudly.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Players are voicing their anger about having to spend more and more money.\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2017/week_35/toxicity-in-mmo-header.jpg\" style=\"width: 1368px; height: 384px;\" /></p>\n\n<p>On the Star Wars Battlefront 2 Reddit page, a user expressed frustration after taking advantage of one of the microtransaction options, purchasing 12000 Crystals for $80 (with a 10% EA Access discount). Unbeknownst to the player, the Crystals couldn’t be used to buy the various hero characters, which are only available in exchange for Credits. This user wanted to unlock Darth Vader, <a href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWarsBattlefront/comments/7cff0b/seriously_i_paid_80_to_have_vader_locked/\">who at the time cost 60,000 credits</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Within this same thread, an EA spokesperson responded to the post, stating the following:</p>\n\n<p><em>“The intent is to provide players with a sense of pride and accomplishment for unlocking different heroes.</em></p>\n\n<p><em>\"As for cost, we selected initial values based upon data from the Open Beta and other adjustments made to milestone rewards before launch. Among other things, we’re looking at average per-player credit earn rates on a daily basis, and we’ll be making constant adjustments to ensure that players have challenges that are compelling, rewarding, and of course attainable via gameplay.”</em></p>\n\n<p>This response soon became the <a href=\"https://www.gamespot.com/articles/star-wars-battlefront-2-reddit-post-receives-over-/1100-6454919/\">most disliked comment in Reddit's history</a>, with over 675,000 downvotes.</p>\n\n<p>Players are concerned that if they can’t afford lots of loot boxes, they’ll need to spend a lot of time (hundreds of hours) grinding away at the game just to keep up with the whales who can afford the microtransactions. Even if you do buy these boxes, but get unlucky with your Star Cards, you might get left behind to face other players with much better stats than you. In competitive games, that is a huge and unfair disadvantage.</p>\n\n<p>In a nutshell, players are arguing that they shouldn’t have to pay money to level up. Many feel that the $60 price tag should unlock the full game, as it has in the past.</p>\n\n<p>Let’s look at both sides.</p>\n\n<h2>Arguments for Microtransactions in AAA Games</h2>\n\n<p>Despite the anger around the P2W model, there are actually some good things that can come of it.</p>\n\n<p>For example, <strong>microtransactions lower the barrier to entry for new publishers and indie developers</strong> to create games and get into an otherwise saturated market.</p>\n\n<p>The costs of developing and marketing a game have risen dramatically in the last 20 years. Salaries for developers are increasing, the cost of rent is getting higher, and it requires more people than ever to develop these games. Yet, games' prices have remained $60 for an average title since 2005! So developers need other ways to make money.</p>\n\n<p>Which means <strong><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Games_as_a_service\">games as a service</a> allow the publisher to continue to generate revenue for a game</strong>. And if they can continue to do that, they can keep paying their developers to continuously update the game and add new content.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"The games as a service allow the publisher to continue to generate more revenue and more content\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_4/aaa-2.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 400px;\" title=\"The games as a service allow the publisher to continue to generate more revenue and more content\" /></p>\n\n<p>Finally, having <strong>microtransactions in AAA games allows players with less time for gaming to stay competitive</strong>. Even if you don’t have 20 hours a week to play a game, you can spend a little money to catch up with those who do, and level playing field with the more hardcore players.</p>\n\n<p>However, the gaming population also has some strong counterarguments to the pay to win model.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"middle\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/11/RAD_RedGirl_B76234_970x66_Android_iOS_English&IMG=1MTM.jpg\" /></a></p>\n\n<h2>Arguments Against Microtransactions in AAA Games</h2>\n\n<p>Gamers are passionate people, and that passion comes out whenever game developers do something they don’t like.</p>\n\n<p>Naturally, the BF2 controversy started, well, lots of other controversies. People spoke out about how they felt. Here’s what they said.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Microtransactions can prevent some people from playing the game</strong>. If you don’t have dozens of hours to dedicate to a game, and can’t afford to pay to win and remain competitive, you’re stuck. You either don’t play it at all, or you play it and don’t ever get the full experience.</p>\n\n<p>Sure, plenty of games require you to “grind” to get better gear and higher levels. Just look at the original version of World of Warcraft, which took the average player over 10 days (a full 240 hours) of actual play time to reach the max level, usually over the span of several months.</p>\n\n<p>The problem comes in when you’re playing with people who decided to spend the money for the in-game purchases, who are now at higher levels than you. Your gameplay experience immediately gets far worse than anyone who shelled out the cash.</p>\n\n<p>Again, this wasn't a problem if you didn't already spend $60 to get the game, and now you have to pay even more just to have a fair gaming experience.</p>\n\n<p>Secondly, <strong>not all paid in-game items are cosmetic</strong>. Cosmetic DLC doesn’t give a player any inherent advantage over another player. It’s purely for show. But when microtransactions are required to unlock the best gear, stats, and abilities? Well, that’s when players get unhappy.</p>\n\n<p>Finally, the most obvious argument is that <strong>you already paid full price for the game</strong>. Many players feel that paying the $60 price tag on a game should unlock the whole thing, and they shouldn’t have to spend any more on it.</p>\n\n<p>But ultimately, companies are created to make money. Even if a company starts as a small one-person studio built with love, passion, and a desire to change the world, it still has to make money. And that person’s business may one day grow big enough to be acquired - and investors are really all about the money.</p>\n\n<p>So now that you understand both sides of the coin, we are left a few questions.</p>\n\n<h2>Are Microtransactions Going Away Anytime Soon?</h2>\n\n<p>Microtransactions first gained large-scale visibility in 2006, when Bethesda released the highly anticipated and popular game: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img alt=\"Microtransactions are here to stay, in mobile games, casual games, and now in AAA games\" src=\"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_4/aaa-3.jpg\" style=\"width: 888px; height: 400px;\" /></p>\n\n<p>Soon after the release, they added the ability to buy a Horse Armor Pack for $2.50. Then came new dungeons, a player home, new spells, and more.</p>\n\n<p>When other companies saw the massive success of these mini DLCs, they jumped on the bandwagon, and it quickly became a universal phenomenon.</p>\n\n<p>Despite the controversy around recent titles and their microtransactions, publishers will inevitably continue to experiment with new business models.</p>\n\n<p>A recent report proves that <a href=\"http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-10-10-games-as-a-service-has-tripled-the-industrys-value\">games-as-a-service systems have tripled the industry's value</a>. In fact, EA made a whopping <a href=\"http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2016-03-02-eas-ultimate-team-earning-around-usd650-million-a-year\">$1.3 billion from add-on content</a> in the last year alone.</p>\n\n<p>Activision has recently filed a patent for a <a href=\"http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-10-18-patent-which-pushes-microtransactions-through-matchmaking-granted-to-activision\">matchmaking system designed to encourage more consumer spending</a>. The publisher stressed the system had not been implemented yet, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see it in future games.</p>\n\n<p>Microtransactions are here to stay, in mobile games, casual games, and now in AAA games as well. If anything, we’re going to see more of them.</p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-analytics-id=\"blog.banner.test\" data-analytics-payload=\"{\"position\":\"bottom\"}\" href=\"https://plarium.com/en/how-to-download-unauthorized/?plid=147426&pxl=seo\"><img alt=\"Raid Shadow Legends On PC\" src=\"https://gallery-pl.go-game.io/uploads/2019/10/RAD_Team_B74910_970x250_NoOS_English&IMG=1LSU.jpg\" /></a></p>\n","date":"1/14/2018"},"images":{"preview":{"href":"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/images/2018/week_4/aaa-header.jpg"},"authorAvatar":{"href":"//cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/portal/common/avatars/default_avatar.jpg","sizes":[]}},"template_options":{"compositeId":"13099"}}],"listArticles":[{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/navi-partnership/"},"strings":{"title":"When Your Hometown Heroes Become Your Teammates: RAID: Shadow Legends Partners with Natus Vincere"},"images":{"preview":{"href":"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/company/Blog/Articles/2021/january/partnership/navi.jpg"}},"template_options":{"compositeId":"13356"}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/game-vs-meta-game/"},"strings":{"title":"Game vs Meta-game: What Makes You Keep Playing?"},"images":{"preview":{"href":"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/casual/blog/illustrations/family-zoo.jpg"}},"template_options":{"compositeId":"13355"}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/the-rise-in-popularity-of-retro-games/"},"strings":{"title":"The Rise in Popularity of Retro Games"},"images":{"preview":{"href":"https://cdn01.x-plarium.com/browser/content/blog/covers/general/5_b.jpg"}},"template_options":{"compositeId":"13353"}},{"links":{"link":"/en/blog/soothing-psychology-in-games/"},"strings":{"title":"The Soothing Psychology of Completing Tasks in 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