| rdfs:comment | - MMORPGs are usually based on the concept of a perpetual world. You make your character and enter a large world filled with cities, people (both other players and NPCs), and all sorts of intrigue. You can fight monsters, undertake tasks given by NPCs, and participate in many events. Exceptions to these rules are rare and usually gimmicky. See also An Adventurer Is You, Heroic Mime, and Status Quo Is God. This could be considered an Acceptable Break From Reality, given that it's pretty much necessary for the genre. For non-MMORPG examples, compare Medieval Stasis and Modern Stasis.
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| abstract | - MMORPGs are usually based on the concept of a perpetual world. You make your character and enter a large world filled with cities, people (both other players and NPCs), and all sorts of intrigue. You can fight monsters, undertake tasks given by NPCs, and participate in many events. However, if any real control were given to the players, they would ruin the concept faster than a heckler at a play. As such, many rules end up being put in place to prevent that from happening. Also, due to the fact that there is very rarely any single overarching character trait (outside of being a "hero" or "adventurer" or what have you), the developers have to write all plots with that in mind. This leads to a perpetually static world. Rules for the world are as follows: 1.
* Every NPC that has a permanent role and a part in the plot is immune to death or otherwise being unable to return to said role. 2.
* Every organization with a public face that exists when you start the game will continue to exist no matter what. Kingdoms never fall and companies never go out of business. 3.
* There will never be any sort of large geological change. Will that Floating Continent with the horde of baddies fall after you defeat the dark lord? Nope. Will the underground ruins sealing off the evil god crumble after you defeat it (or probably just seal it off some more)? Nope. 4.
* On a similar note, any faction's general outward attitudes will never change during the plot. If they're at war with another faction, they will always be at war with that faction. 5.
* Similar to the above is that the whole world is at a stalemate. Will the orcs that have a hideout within less than a mile of the kingdom ever make an attempt to invade? Not in any way where they could possibly succeed or be completely driven out. 6.
* As a corollary to all of the above, any major changes that do occur are basically a whole Retcon to the game done by the developers. For example, if they decide that a kingdom was destroyed, then everything in the game will be changed to reflect that it happened in the past. 1.
* You, the player, are the least interesting character in the story by far. If you have any lines, they are prompt choices scripted in a But Thou Must! style and are usually extremely generic. The other characters do all the talking for you. As such, it's actually fairly rare to have scenes interacting with a single person for very long. 2.
* Related to the above, you also play the smallest role in the story. You are little more than a glorified delivery service and bodyguard, fighting all the big bad guys and just being a mute witness to the scripted plot's main character NPC's.
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* However, practically every quest they hand you will do its level best to convince you that the fate of the world rests in your hands. If enemies are ready to blow up the castle, rest assured the guards will turn to you, the innocent bystander, with "you have to go stop them or all is lost!" coupled with some lame excuse why they can't do it themselves. Though, of course, Take Your Time, and try to ignore how this same quest gets offered to every other player who passes this way, and the castle never does get blown up, and.... 1.
* The longer a story is, the fewer options you truly get to influence it. The only possibility of Multiple Endings come from tiny, self-contained quests (and these will rarely have any impact on the rest of the game world). 2.
* No matter how many people you bring along (or, indeed, there are in the entire world), the story treats it as though the world's events are being influenced solely by your (non)action. 3.
* Time is meaningless outside cutscenes. You could finish a cutscene where you have to chase somebody, go do something else for two years, and come back to the next cutscene, where you corner them with the events of the previous cutscene still only a few minutes ago. 4.
* The most unique, irreplaceable and valuable Mac Guffins and even Cosmic Keystones that the hero is tasked with recovering will be a dime a dozen, and the player will at times be able to possess multiple copies at the same time! Exceptions to these rules are rare and usually gimmicky. See also An Adventurer Is You, Heroic Mime, and Status Quo Is God. This could be considered an Acceptable Break From Reality, given that it's pretty much necessary for the genre. For non-MMORPG examples, compare Medieval Stasis and Modern Stasis. Examples of Perpetually Static include:
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