   How would one create an MMORPG?
  Hi,First off I would like to say that this is not a "I wana make a game like _______ how do i do it fast" threads :) I actually do know how to program, and have been learning C++ for a few years. I'm a teenager and I take tech courses at school and work closely with our tech instructor. I really do feel like I'm getting good at writing programs(I've used graphic libraries before but never made any big games.)So I was always wondering how MMORPGS are made. Yeah I know I can't make one now, especially by myself. But I'm just curious about how someone with the right resources would go about it. Say you wanted to make a game like MapleStory, or if you want to go 3D WoW or something. I really want to know about how they use servers, how many people they have working on staff, how much it costs to start up, how long it could potentially take, etc. I really hope to go into this type of industry some day so all your help is really appreciated :)Thanks!   
Quote:I really want to know about how they use serversWoW has around 75,000 cores, ~112 TB RAM.Quote:how many people they have working on staffProbably several hundred in development, 1500 at primary company,  ~3000 GMs, helpdesk and other support stuff (IIRC, can't find a decent link, might have been 6000).Quote:how much it costs to start up$60 mil or so, plus around $50 mil per year for maintenance. Quote:how long it could potentially takeAround 3 years, with above stuff, according to above links.Just saying...   ;  Using WoW's statistics is daunting to say the least but one of the best things about MMO's or any game now that is designed with online components is that they are never released then forgotten. Even single player games on consoles have adopted fairly heavy use of downloadable content (DLC). If your game is online and designed right from the start you can start small then scale accordingly, plus you don't have to offer a WoW killer just a specific mechanic that you and others can enjoy that works around the whole social platform that MMO's offer.Don't give up too soon.   ;  I feel that this question is a loaded one.  There are a variety of different MMORPG's there with varying complexity, funds, employees, etc.  While WoW would be considered one with AAA resources, there are many free-to-play/microtransaction MMO's that most likely use about 1/100th the resources that Blizzard uses to support WoW.Most of the questions you've asked will be based on 1) Who your target audience will be 2) What sort of resources you DO have available to start with 3) How complex you want the game itself to be.Your best bet in ANYTHING design wise is to start out with a design document, that encompasses all aspects of development.  Proper planning is often times key to those projects that succeed and those that fail.  Googling "Game Design Document" will give you many .PDF and other resources available to find what you're looking for.Also, please note that there are many great minds, and industry employees that frequent the GameDev.net forums -- so you're starting in the right place.  Take all this information that you have and build upon it based on your own resources and circumstances and I'm sure this process will come to you.   ;  Please. No scary WoW comparisons :)It's (as I've mentioned several times by now) quite possible to do a multiplayer online game by yourself. Whether or not it will be an MMO is debatable, since there is not clear definition of what defines an MMO. (In terms of number of players supported)You can just make a simple server + client and get it working. If you're worried about scalability for 100's of players, your focus is obviously in the wrong area for a one man multiplayer online project :)It would probably do the server in something simple like Python to keep it simple and easy.(Eve Online uses Python and is currently the most advanced mmo, player and technology wise).Remember WoW can only hold 2500 players per server. Something even the most basic server should be able to handle.With regards to scalability one could always use Amazon cloud and then just add instances along the way. For Java, Terracotta with some simple usage of their shared objects API will give you scalability almost for free :)Don't worry too much about the scalability of the server, because you will most likely never reach a point where it's feasible. And if you do, you probable made enough money to do the transition :)Nothing is impossible for one man with enough determination. Try reading Masters of Doom or the Official Ultima book :)Info: I've worked on quite a few professional (and running) MMO's. Nothing like WoW though, but we faced the same challenges. Also my man Egg, did EUO (http://euo.swut.net) all by himself.   ;  May be worth taking a look at this article? http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/05/07/make-your-own-mmo-ryzoms-open-sauciness/It says that they are releasing the Saga of Ryzom code as open source, so may be fun to play around with?   ;Quote:Original post by ChocolateI really want to know about how they use servers, how many people they have working on staff, how much it costs to start up, how long it could potentially take, etc.Perhaps this is more of a "business" question and ought to be on the Business/Legal forum... Perhaps.