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MMORPGs are like giant chatrooms. The gameplay is, at its core, very simple. You fight monsters or do quests in order to gain experience and money. You gain a level, get some snazzy new items. Repeat. This sounds a little boring, but it's this simplistic gameplay that provides a background for the more social pursuits in MMORPGs.
When you walk into a virtual city it's like being at a lively party. You hear people all over talking about everything from hit points and mana to real life events. It's a place to adventure with friends, to meet fellow gamers, or just hang out. Guilds are another popular social aspect of MMORPGs. They can allow you to be part of a group and create social networks online. These elite bands of players at times even go as far as having websites dedicated to their guilds, creating a sense of community.
Even the gameplay itself is geared to encourage group efforts. Certain classes, for example, have limits that create the need to have parties with various types of characters, such as healers, buffers, tanks, and so on. A fighter may be good at attacking directly in the heat of battle, but it's up to that healer in the back to keep that combatant going. It's these sort of game mechanics that make "Looking for a party" a common line to be heard in MMORPGs. Because some of the appeal in gameplay also comes from the drive to level and progress, being in a party will naturally speed progress in that goal.
MMORPGs bring a level of human interaction to games that make the genre what it is. Maybe it's just a game, but I think they can give us some insight into social matters and teamwork. They get us talking to each other, playing together, and they let our gaming community grow.
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