| Imagine, you're piloting your space ship | | | | |
| through the galaxy, searching for fame and | | | | Eve Online is one of various MMORPGs on the |
| fortune. You're in the process of working a | | | | internet. An MMORPG is a Massive Multiplayer |
| trade route, transporting ore from a mining | | | | Online Role Playing Game. A MMORPG like Eve |
| colony to a heavily industrialized planet to | | | | Online is different from most computer games |
| sell it at a massive fortune. You're gliding | | | | in that in a regular computer game you are |
| through the star system when your sensors | | | | the only human player, all of the other |
| select up something. | | | | characters you interact with are just |
| | | | computerized "bots." |
| Pirates close in on you, and you fire off a | | | | |
| few shots to keep them at bay. One of them | | | | However, in MMORPGs you're interacting with |
| challenges you, "Hand over your cargo or | | | | other people who populate the world of the |
| die." You consider bargaining with them, but | | | | game. There are some characters that are |
| realize it's no use. You fire off a missile | | | | simply part of the game, usually called NPCs |
| salvo at the nearest pirate, and he | | | | (Non Player Characters), but for the most |
| disintegrates into dust. The other two | | | | part you're interacting with other people. |
| pirates open fire, weakening your shields as | | | | The pirates in the Eve Online example are |
| you make a run for the planet. You duck into | | | | other people, sometimes on other parts of the |
| its protection just as your shields dissolve, | | | | world, connected through the Eve Online |
| narrowly escaping death and heading towards | | | | server. When you receive messages, there is |
| the biggest sale of your life. | | | | someone sending them on the other end. |