3D MMOs cover various genres, including sci-fi, fantasy, and historical simulations. They can be match-based, sandbox, or guided games. RPGs are a large category with high character customization. Social 3D MMOs offer a blank canvas for players to build environments or chat with avatars.
Many massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) are made with three-dimensional (3D) graphics. They cover almost all game genres, from science fiction to fantasy to historical simulations. Within these genres, 3D MMOs can be first-person shooters, RPGs, social environments without rigid game logic, or more unique types such as puzzle games or real-time strategy games. 3D graphics are sometimes used to enhance gameplay, as in the case of a first-person shooter, or to inspire atmosphere, as can be done with elaborate RPG worlds. Some 3D MMOs can be match-based games in which players compete to defeat each other; sandbox, where players determine how the game is played within a certain set of rules; or multiple guided games in which players go through a narrative or other predefined content in a specific order.
Visually, the genre of many 3D MMOs determines their visual style and the type of 3D graphics used. Sci-fi games that take place in space tend to use more ephemeral special effects for astronomical bodies, while fantasy sword-and-sorcery games focus on character models and sharp object details. By far, most 3D MMOs are in the sword and sorcery fantasy genre, although spy, sports, and historical games also exist.
The type of game in 3D MMOs can vary. Most first-person shooter games are defined by a player interface that requires good reflexes and response times to play; this is often known as a twitch game, because the player’s short, rapid finger movements across a keyboard while playing sometimes feel like twitching. The processor horsepower and network bandwidth required for massively multiplayer twitch games that track every little player movement means that many of these MMOs pair players into smaller, more technically manageable groups to play in a wider world.
A very large category of 3D MMOs are RPGs. Despite the RPG connotations outside of MMOs, these games are usually defined by high levels of character customization, both during character creation and character advancement. Unlike twitch games, most RPGs use a point-and-click interface so that the game’s characters move predictably across the 3D terrain, reducing the need for servers to keep track of every little movement. This allows RPGs to have large worlds where thousands of players are able to persistently interact at the same time. Role playing MMOs also make good use of 3D graphics to build big and fantastical worlds that can, at times, push the limits of what 3D graphics cards can display.
Social 3D MMOs offer players a world they can use as a blank canvas. Different games give players the ability to build 3D environments to show off to other players, while a different type of social game is more like a chat room with 3D avatars. Some unique types of 3D MMOs have emerged through a fusion of social games and other genres, creating games where social interaction can translate into virtual character advancement in the game.
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