Massively Multiplayer Online Games - Wizards and Warriors: Massively Multiplayer Online Game Creation - page 19

Lego Universe
Lego games have become extremely popular in the last few years, since TT
games released a number of movie-based tie-ins, starting with Lego Star Wars
and Lego Indiana Jones. Trying to cash in on the popularity of Lego, Net Devil
(Gazillion Entertainment), the creators of the Lego Universe, have set about
making an MMO game that will allow children to create their own in-game Lego
items, complete the normal MMO quests, and socialize with other Lego users.
The game is aimed at the younger market.
You can find out more about Lego Universe at http://universe.lego.com/.
Lord of the Rings
Lord of the Rings is a set of topics written by J.R.R. Tolkien, set in a fantasyland
called Middle Earth, featuring races of orcs, elves, humans, and hobbits. The
story follows a ring of power called the One Ring, which must be destroyed in
Mount Doom before the Dark Lord Sauron can retrieve it and turn the lands of
Middle Earth into a wasteland and enslave its people.
The topics were followed by an animated cartoon, which unfortunately was
never finished, though it was released. In 2001 the first of the three movies was
released to both critical and commercial success. The rest of the trilogy followed
in 2002 and 2003, and is considered by many to be one of the best book to film
adaptions. There have been a number of very successful RTS games, and with
the success of the movies and the amount of story content available from the
topics, this was a perfect title to make into an MMO. The game was released in
2007, and has had numerous in-game expansions (called topics) and one boxed
expansion pack called Mines of Moria.
You can find out more information about Lord of the Rings at the EU website of
http://www.lotro-europe.com and the US website http://www.lotro.com. LOTRO
is also available in Japan, Korea, and Russia.
Mafia Wars
Mafia Wars is a Facebook game where you start a career in crime as the boss of a
mafia group. The game is pretty simple; you can get involved in crimes, use