MMORPGs have exploded in recent years and the market cannot quite support so many new games with so few gamersWhat does it take to be the next big online game, and what game will you be playing in three years? My parents purchased our first computer when I was 9 years oldIt was a top of the line machine for its timeIt was one of the first machines to use a Pentium chip, running at 75 MHz and after a few months had the first edition of Windows 95 installed on itAfter having spent the first few years of my life playing with old Mac computers that my elementary school had purchased during the Reagan administration, I was enthralled with the possibilities of this new machine in our living room.

Soon, the internet followed suit and I was equally enthralledThere was so much I could think to do; create art, write stories, research homeworkAs you might have guessed, it only took a couple more years before I realized the true purpose of the internet and what it held for me - games

In 1999, I was with a group of my friends, watching two of them play Street Fighter, when someone popped out of the kitchen with a disc in his handsIt was an Ultima Online installation disc and by dinner time the next day all six of us were deeply involved in the online world of a MMORPGI didn't play Ultima quite as much as the rest of them in those early high school days

I felt like I was abandoning too much to spend time on itBut, my high and mighty stance only lasted until I reached college and the real explosion of MMORPGs took place and I couldn't help but be dragged into the middle of itFirst, there was Final Fantasy XIFrom the tender age of 10, I had played the Final Fantasy games religiously and the online version sounded like a great idea.

Alas, horrible customer service, a 2 year old computer, and the prospect of paying monthly fees for something that annoyed me more than anything else turned me off to the gameBut then there was World of Warcraft.

I'm not an avid World of Warcraft player like so many othersI haven't stayed on for days at a time, playing until I reach that last elusive levelI didn't stand in line for the expansion pack only to complain about how disappointing it was a week later when I'd finished leveling upNo, that was my family and friendsBut, I did put a few good months into that game and I did have a lot of fun with it.

My thoughts on the game though are slightly more philosophical, largely keyed by a three hour drive from my parents' house to the airport in Pittsburgh when I visited them last month

You see, my parents are huge fans of the gameLiving in the midst of nowhere and not knowing too many people, they spend a lot of time at homeSo, they picked a hobby that allowed them to socialize in some way and that was WoWThey both hit the maximum levels and bought the expansion, played it until there was no more to play and now largely pick apart the game's short comings, talking about the next big MMORPG to hit the market this coming summer, Warhammer