Monday, November 23, 2009

Online Games-Fragging On The Net

Online games – spoken casually or formally – normally refer to video games that are played on a computer using an Internet connection. There are video games that are played online using devices such as video consoles (Playstation, X-Box) and mobile phones, but online games generally mean PC games that can be played only when you are connected to the Internet. These games kicked off in the 1980s even as Internet connectivity was slow and expensive. The earliest versions of these games were simple multiplayer text-based games. In the 1990s these games started getting popular, and today they feature high-end graphics, virtual communities, and lots more.

Types Of Online Games

Online games can be of the following types – (1) First-person shooters: Here the players battle with each other head-to-head. In most first-person shooters games, there are online components that allow deathmatch/arena style play. In these games the view you see in the gameplay is the one seen from your character's eyes. (2) Real-time strategy games: These are games where you have to develop a combat strategy or gameplan by building resources and making a strong army so that you are able to fight with other Internet players. (3) Browser games: These are simple, small, and quick pastime games that can be played on your browser. They are developed using the popular Shockwave or Java technologies. (4) Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG): These are online games that can support thousands of players from all over the world simultaneously, playing with or against each other in a giant virtual world and also interacting with each other. Here a person has to keep leveling up till he reaches the maximum possible level written for the game. These games can keep a gamer engaged for months or even years!

How Online Games Make Money

Today, every game is playable online. The question before the company that is making these games is how to make money. Most companies make single-player games that can be played at home. In these games the player has to overcome the artificially intelligent enemies. These games feature an online multiplayer gameplay model, using which a user can play with or against other Internet players. These companies make their money by selling their game CDs/DVDs [Examples: Warcraft 3, Counter Strike]. The browser game companies survive by revenues generated from advertising and promotions. Many MMORPG companies keep adding content by developing new patches in their games and they charge a monthly fee from the players [Example: Everquest 2, World of Warcraft]. Some of them do not, and survive because of their CD/DVD sales [Example: Guild Wars].

One last thing about the title: "Fragging" in game jargon stands for finishing off a player or an artificially intelligent enemy.


Online Games - Types Of Popular Games

This article gives brief information about the popular computer online games. Today online games are becoming very popular. It is important to know about the types of games that are available.

Action and adventure Games: The games which come in this genre are the ones, which involve fighting games, space adventure games, situational games where the player is required to achieve some objectives, etc. Most of the games in this genre are rich in animation and may also come with a story line.

Arcade Games: Gaming arcades earlier used to be the place in the neighborhood, where gaming machines were installed. To play a game, one must put some coins into the machine. Online arcade games are just another term.

Board Games: These are some of the most popular games. Board games played online are the same, which we play in our real life. They are animated versions of traditional and favorite board games.

Card Games: These need no explanation. Card games are ever popular with the gaming population. There are a lot of games designed with playing cards.

Casino Games: Now again, these are fairly addictive. They simulate the games available in real casinos. When you play with virtual money, there is nothing to lose. So you get a lot of people playing online casino games. You may believe it or not, but a lot of online casino games may even involve real money transactions.

Strategy Games: These are the games, which take considerable time to play and complete. The player has to apply his mind totally to devise strategies to play and win. Some people may not like strategy games, but others like these. These games may take some time to master.

Sports Games: People like to play sports games on the Internet. One does not need much time to understand sports games, if one already understands the real sport. One can have many levels of play. And there may be the option of competing against a second player or the computer itself.

Shooting Games: These are great stress busters. People can play these games and let out their anger on shooting enemies and objects in virtual games. There can be a lot of variety in shooting games. These can also be included in the action and adventure genre of games, but are kept separate due to their popularity.

Puzzle Games: These games are again very popular for people who don't like too much action or violence. These can actually help you sharpen your mind. Puzzle games are loved by all ages. In fact there is no age group for puzzle games.

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Online Games Relieve Your Stress

Whether you’re at school, college or work – stress is inevitable. This is an unarguable reality, and can be detrimental to your health. How can it affect your wellbeing, you ask? Anxiety alone is identified as a cause of ‘obsessive-compulsive disorder’ (OCD). Setting aside the scientific jargon, allow me to show you how online games can help you.

You may find yourself overwhelmed with assignments at some point, or unprepared for an upcoming exam or test. You may be in a hectic situation at your job, but in desperate need for that bonus or promotion. At times such as these, the ideal resort may not be to intensify the workload, but rather take a momentary break. The key to your productivity is the time-span of your breaks. Your perfect choice, in such a situation, may just be online games!

Your second question now arises – why online games? First and foremost, they don’t consume a significant amount of your time. With a few clicks, you could be playing an online game within seconds – far better than scavenging for an open coffee shop especially after midnights. An excess of caffeine, while effective upon consumption, will lead to you being worn out in the hours that follow. On the other hand, resorting to an instant messenger or a social-networking website may stretch for longer than you anticipated. Secondly, online games give your mind a much needed break from work, while preventing it from going into a complete shutdown. As such, online games at Arcade Temple will divert any thoughts of you being exhausted or even sleepy. Better yet, online games may quite plausibly revitalize you, making you far more productive when you return to the task at hand.

Even so, I cannot emphasize enough the amount of time you devote to online games. Begin each task by setting benchmarks (varying by the assignment’s magnitude), with an estimated time of completion for each one of these targets and what you would like to accomplish by then. Jot this down so you don’t forget! Attempt to set an hourly benchmark, taking a break with online games at this instance to refresh your mind. The length of your break for online games, then, should be no longer than 10 minutes for every hour worked. The perfect formula to calculate the time you invest in online games is 10 percent of the amount of hours worked since your last break. In an ideal world, this would equate to 6 minutes for online games after every 60 minutes worked. It’s rather defined, but abide by this rule and stress will become inexistent.

I can assure you that a few odd minutes of your time playing online games at perhaps Arcade Temple will increase your efficiency ten-folds; call it 'mental investment' if you will.

Bored? Taking a break? Play free online games at Arcade Temple (http://www.arcadetemple.com) - your source for online games!