Play Free MMORPGs
Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games or MMORPG's for short, are currently a very popular genre of video game. Western revenues from MMORPG's exceeded one billion dollars in 2006, and World of Warcraft, which is currently the most popular, has nearly nine million monthly subscribers. Many people who play MMORPGs, also play free MMORPG's (also known as free to play MMORPGs), such as Habbo Hotel, Runescape, Club Penguin, and Webkinz, with a combined total of 20.3 million active subscriptions as of June 2007.
MMORPG.com is a popular site, as they list all the pay-to-play and free MMORPGs. They also have links to download MMORPG free trials, and to download free MMORPGs.
But why play MMORPGs?
Well, because of the way RPGs work, you will spend a lot of time on one character, possibly a year or more, and because this genre of RPG is played online, you will be spending much of that time with the same people. In this way, a strong community bond will form. Infact, many people have married in real life, from relationships formed in MMORPGs. Everquest, one of the first highly popular 3D Fantasy MMORPGs is especially well known for this.
Another reason to play MMORPGs is the complete immersive experience. In an MMORPG you can literally be someone (or something) else. You can be a mighty dragonslayer with a strong sword arm, a stealthy rogue, or a mystical spell caster. In a science-fiction MMORPG such as Eve Online, you might be the commander of an interstellar spacecraft. There are more realstic MMORPGs as well, such as Pirates of the Burning Sea, where you can be a Naval Officer in 1720's carribean - or a nefarious Pirate, sailing the seas, pillaging and looting.
The importance of imersiveness for players can be seen in what's known as "True RP" (Role-Playing). There are often special game servers just for this. In True Role-Playing, it is common to see people speaking in old english dialects, and real-world conversations are not permitted. Much like in a play, you can not break the fourth wall; you can only speak as if you were the character, traversing the wilderness and hunting enemies. True RP is often too much for the casual player, however, and there are many more regular server types than there are True RP servers, for most games.
One of the more common reasons a player would tell you they play MMORPGs is in one way or another related to achievement of in-game goals. This may include getting to the highest rank/level, accumulating large amounts of game currency, or the best gear. In video games, the satisfaction of achieving a goal can be realized fairly quickly when compared with real life, and an achievement in an MMORPG can actually be quantified by other players. In other words, time spent playing MMORPGs feels more rewarding than with one player games, because at the end of the day, at least you have something to show for it all.