Free-to-Play: No Download Required! Web-Based MMOGs

Before there were big and flashy, graphical internet games, there were web games. While your average DVD-ROM based MMORPG will devour several gigabytes of space and demand high amounts of memory, a web-game will humbly exist within your web browser, asking only for what the application can spare. These are not MMORPGS in the contemporary sense of the term, but they remain popular even now, when techonology makes games with incredible visuals popular. It is a different genre of game altogether, but occasionally, these browser-based games, such as Anime Cubed's Billy vs. SNAKEMAN, can compete with bigger names for several unique reasons.


Browser games are often asynchronous; a world is persistent, but "ticks" on an hourly or daily system - that is, reources (and therefore playtime) can be managed simply by setting the pace of the tick. This pacing makes it logical for players to log in for 10-20 minutes, once or twice a day, play to their hearts' content, and set down the game until tomorrow. A browser-game is not an EVE online, Everquest, or World of Warcraft, games that can demand large blocks of leisure time to accomplish anything within. Players can play because they feel like they have the time to. In addition, asynchronous playing often comes with a hieghtened sense of anonymity, for those players who absolutely hate being social with others ;)


Browser games are (often) easy to pick up. Most tick-based games make their money on advertising, so players are usually encouraged to refer other players for in-game benefits. This is certainly no new concept in the world of marketing, but the simplicity and convenience of a web game can often lead to people outside a demographic to pick up the habit.


Browser games are (often) free! As mentioned above, advertising makes most of a browser game's revenue, and the implications of click-through and page impressions are obvious. Doing nearly anything in a browser-based game will refresh or change the page you are visiting, which loads new ads and (possibly) convinces a user just a little bit more to click on one. If a player doesn't care for advertisements, perhaps a flat fee can be assessed to remove them - a deal that the host of the game will enjoy, no doubt. Barring this, there is usually no cost for a player when registering for a browser-based game, making them risk-free for the consumer.


If you haven't played a web-based game before, consider giving one a try. You could discover a new sort of video game that tickles your fancy.