Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams on Game Design

Advantages of Online Games

As we said, online games have many positive qualities. Some of them are advantages to us as game developers; others are features that attract players who might not otherwise play computer games.

Player Socializing

The single greatest benefit of online play, as far as the players are concerned, is that it offers opportunities for social interaction. Of course, they can't talk as well as if they were in the same room together, and they can't give each other the high five, but these are minor considerations. The social aspect doesn't affect the internal economy of the game much, but it has a distinct effect on the players' enjoyment of the experience. One of the reasons that girls and women have traditionally been less ...