Online Games - Can We Make Money Playing Them?

When we refer to online games we are normally referring to video type games that we play on a computer via the internet. Some video games are played over the internet using mobile phones and video consoles, but generally speaking online games means computer games that need an internet connection to be played. Simple text-based multiplayer games were the first of these types of games as internet connections were slow and expensive when these games were first introduced in the 1980s. Gradually these games became popular in the 1990s, with today's online games featuring virtual communities, realistic graphics and multiplayer games where people can even play one to one or in knock out tournaments for cash prizes. We all know that the internet is the fastest growing market place in the history of the world but did you know that there is an online games sector that is growing 4 times faster than the internet overall! Yes! and it's the "Online Skill Games" market.

There are many styles of Online Games

Some of the different types of online games that exist:

1. Real time strategy games: This type of game is all about strategy where, for your army to fight successfully against the other internet players you need to develop a game plan by building lots of resources

2. First person shooter: Here the players compete with each other one to one. In most first-person type games, the online game allows the death match or arena style of play. In this style of game play the view you see is the one seen from your character's eyes.

3. Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG): In this type of game each person has to keep trying to reach the next highest level until he has reached the top one written for that game and these online games can have, simultaneously, thousands of players from every part of the globe, playing in a giant virtual world interacting against or with each other. Gamers can keep playing these types of games for months or even years!

4. Browser type games: These are pastime games that are quick, simple and small that are played in your browser. The popular Java and Shockwave technologies are used to develop these games.

5. Online skill games: An online skill based game is a web game played in tournament format or one to one. Each player pays a cash entry fee to play with a cash or merchandise prize going to the winner or winners. The outcome of each competition is based on the player's ability and performance not luck.

How Do Online Game Companies Make Money

All games today, are playable online. How do we make money? This is the question that companies making the online games have to ask themselves. The majority of companies make single-player games that are played at home and in this the player has to beat the artificial intelligence of the enemy. Today these games normally include an online multiplayer version which can be played against or with other Internet players. By selling their game DVD/CDs is how these companies earn their profit e.g. Warcraft 3 and Counter Strike. Advertising and promotions is how browser game companies make their money. MMORPG companies generally charge their players a monthly fee and continue to add content by programming new scenarios etc in their games e.g. Everquest 2 and World of Warcraft. Some don't, but survive because their DVD/CD sales are high e.g. Guild Wars.

What is the future of online games?

Soon there will be a new entry into the online skill games market. According to their Free Online Games Market Report they will be the first company with their new online skill games platform, to launch a business that encapsulates three of the newest phenomena on the internet today. Online Games Entertainment, Social Networking using web 2.0 and a new way of marketing which has been described as Social Marketing 2.0. One of the core differences with this new platform over the conventional models is that we the players can if we want share in the profits while we play our games. With the market today (2007) worth approximately $5.2 billion USD and predicted to rise in the next 3 years to over $13 billion USD that's $412 per second and with social networking sites already reaching 45% of web users and the 4 major Instant Messengers having more than 400 million users between them this potentially could be a whole lot of money.

Ian Woods

To read the Free Online Skill Games Market Report mentioned in the article above you can view or download it from [http://www.uVmeGamesMaster.com]

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ian_Woods

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/774965

StarCraft 2 - Guide to Battle Craft by Miha Sem

Hello fellow Starcraft 2 addicts and those who are just interested in Battlecraft - the most popular UMS map for the moment! This is a guide on how to beat your opponents using some of the latest strategies for Battlecraft.

Ok, lets start from the basics:

This is probably a flaw in current design of Battlecraft, but the first thing you should do is just wait until your opponent sends you some units. This might be boring at the start because you'll see most of the times all the players wait for some one to make a first move. But the one who will send some units first puts himself in a bad position that my lead to a loss. I'll tell you later what you can do about it and how can you turn the match in your favour using some coordination with our partner (if you play battlecraft 2vs2).

Now let us see what units and unit combos are a counter to others. Remember - your job is to counter units by sending against them units of a lesser price so you can have more minerals then your opponent does for a final deadly strike.

Zerglings. Pretty ofthen you can see someone sending zerglings against you. They are very fast and may cause some significant damage until you deal with them. You should pay attention on how many stacks of units your opponent is sending against you. If there's just a one stack of zerglings the best way to deal with them is send a stack of zealots against them. Zealots are very good against an even amount of zerglings, but that's not quite what we are working on. If the opponent sends against you multiple stacks of zerglings you should consider counter them using Hellions (against 2 or 3 stack of zerglings) or Colossus (against up to 5 stacks)

Zealots. Now zealots are pretty strong against lite ground units (marines, zerglings, Hydralisk), but weak against armored types of units. If there's just one stack of zealots you are probably better to go with Banelings. If there's more the one stack of Zealots you should also chose Colossus.

Banelings. This one is pretty tough if you don't consider Roaches as a counter. Roaches are pretty good against Banelings and there seems to be no better counter. You can also use Colossus for beeng a very good anti-light-ground unit, but if number of Banelings is significant you'll eventually get all your Colossus blown up with more Banelings rolling towards your Pilon (or Life Crystal as they call it)

Mutalisk. Mass Mutalisk attack may be hard to overcome if you don't know what's best counter against them. And the best counter is Archon with their strong aoe attack. And again - you should watch how many stacks or Muta your opponent sends against you and you can surely counter it with half of this amount of Archons.

Ultralisk. Mass Ultralisk may be scary. No point trying to counter em with air units as high armored Ultralisks will just run through and stomp your Pilon. The best way to counter Mass Ultralisk are Immortals. If your opponents sends you mass heroic Ultralisks (the bigger and tougher ones) you are safe to counter them with a combo consisting of a stack of Immortals (that should easily hold them for a while) and a stack or two of Siege tanks that will blow them up with ridiculous amount of damage they deal against massive armored units.

Ok. Now that you know the basics lets see some of the deadliest combos that are nearly impossible to counter.

level 2 Zealots, Immortals and level 2 Ghosts. You will need a cap of minerals (2000) to build up this combo. Be quick and build units in a right order which is the following:

1 stack of level 2 Zealots (they will stomp all the zerglings and marines that are good against Immortals)

1 stack of level 2 Immortals (they'll tank ultralisks and Archons - ghosts toughest nemesis)

2 stacks of level 2 Ghosts. 

This should set your minirals from 2000 to 0. While you keep getting more minerals spend em all on Zerglings. Just send em wave after wave until your opponent loses his pilon. Zerglings are needed to take damage that would otherwise be dealt to your main group of zealots+immortals+ghosts.

Battlecruisers and Thors. This comp is pretty simple - as you gain 2000 minerals spend em all for 2 stacks of battlecruisers and a stack of thors (since battlecruisers and thors cost 600 minerals per stack). You want to send waves of Zerglings as well, but a bit later when your Battlecruisers and Thors are half way to your opponents Pilon. This is due to Battlecruisers and Thors are pretty slow and you don't want to waste zerglings when your main group of units is still on its way

Hope this guide will help you to win more matches on Battlecraft! Good luck and have fun!

Guide brought to you by Starcraftsman.com - your guide to Starcraft 2 Maps, Replays and Strategies Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Miha_Sem

PC RPG Games - Is a "Top Ten List" Even Possible?..by Dave Felton

If someone offered to give you a list of the best PC RPG games ever made, would you believe them?

While searching the web today you could be forgiven for thinking that almost everything has been catalogued and all facts established as irrefutably as such. There seems to be a list for everything. Want to know what the best PC RPG Games "of all time" are, there is a list that will tell you. Even on more esoteric subjects like "dangerous dogs" there is another top-ten list available. The problem with lists like these is that they often do not tell you much about why the item in question is on the list, or even anything about the author's authority in compiling that list. In the case of computer games, do they even play them?

Players of PC RPG games are like most gamers in that they are looking for a temporary escape from everyday reality. Where RPG gamers differ though is that they want to see some kind of immersion in the world of their character and an opportunity for character development. This process of character development is going to be different for each character and each player, it may even be different for each character a single player makes!

Given such diversity in a players aims when playing an RPG game, is it likely that any "top ten" style list is going to be accurate?

Different players will no doubt value different aspects of any game they play, so perhaps the best we can expect in this area is an honest review. Unfortunately, many games companies pay the wages of games reviewers directly, or indirectly through advertising. This sometimes applies pressure on a reviewer, or their company, to give a game a better review than perhaps they would ordinarily. There have been some high profile cases where a reviewer has been honest about a game that the community knew was awful and actually told the truth, but his employer then altered or withdrew the review. Try Googling "game review withdrawn" or similar. You may be surprised how often this happens.

Clearly what is needed is some kind of community review by players that actually play the games being reviewed. This would allow players to get a more honest opinion on the game without commercial interests being able to manipulate the results. Perhaps this is another area where social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter will make an entry and change the whole review process? If this happens it will benefit the quality of all games production and not just PC RPG games.

I am a long time player of PC RPG games and have frequently been amazed by the glowing reviews a particular game will receive on a commercial website. Often I wonder if the reviewer ever actually played the game. My own reviews of PC RPG games are a personal effort to take back this process. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dave_Felton

Why Buy Airplane Flight Simulators? The Facts You Must Know...by Royce Gardiner

The highly competitive airplane gaming market allows for the finest aerospace engineering to be utilised in the creation of the games. What is more is that the technology is tested by high level air combat pilots, commercial aircraft pilots, helicopter pilots.

Whatever aircraft the game is equipped with, if it is anywhere half decent, has been used by real time captains, flyers who have invested thousands of hours into real-flying experience.

You can understand why these game are at the height of realism, graphics, physics, etc. What is more is that a standard game in todays market, will include real time flying maps, airports, cockpits, synchonized time with the time of your PC clock.

Everything you could possibly imagine and more has been carefully detailed and added to the game. Depending on your preference gaming, there are all the kinds of flight experiences available.

Combat, pleasure/luxury (Leer jets), acrobatic, freight, commercial, classic. If that is not enough, there are solo missions, multiplayer cooperative missions, combat missions including multiplayer combat.

One of the best qualities about aircraft simulation are the myriad of software and hardware upgrades frequently being released to tweak the game, fix any bugs, add more aircraft, missions, maps, etc. There really are no other genres of games that have as many features and are as highly competitive and designed as flight sims.

Flight simulation at a unique level of sophistication, and is improving each year with more intensive research, advanced technology designed by nasa, and other top engineering institutes.

For a GREAT Airplane Simulation experience:

http://pcairplaneflightsimulators.blogspot.com/

Pay very close attention here- You are about to discover the sure shot ways to burn fat like crazy. What you are about to read on the next page will save you years of hard work. This is the main reason why I strongly urge you to pay close attention and follow the instructions on the next page- CLICK HERE! Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Royce_Gardiner

Top Gaming Keyboards...by Paul Raker

Well-equipped gaming keyboards help players play games in faster and smarter ways. Since keyboards vary vividly in their design and function, it is quite tough to compare them. It requires a good analysis of the characteristics of each of the keyboards to arrive at a solution of listing some of the top gaming keyboards.

Top 5 Keyboards for Gaming

1. Optimux Maximus - Usually exceeding the budget of most gamers, Optimus Maximus 01 is the most innovative and most expensive keyboard in the market. With an option of changing keys to a variety of different setups and fully customizable colored OLED display, it is the wave of the future. It provides the advantage of switching between QWERTY and gaming display.

2. Razer Lycosa Mirror - With a high gloss mirror finish, the Razer Lycosa Mirror is definitely one of the best names in gaming peripherals, tailored for the gamer's needs. A wide array of macro capabilities and fully programmable hyper-response keys ensure reprogramming of keys using advanced software. It serves as the ultimate macro keyboard for gaming.

3. Merc Stealth - An illuminated keyboard with a user-friendly hybrid design it offers blue, red and purple colors for the backlighting. Rubberized keys, 125 pre-defined mapping layouts and other macro features make Merc Stealth an ideal gaming keyboard.

4. Razer Tarantula - Known for having extremely comfortable keys, Razer Tarantula is one of the most elegant keyboards in the market. The keyboard comes with 32KB of onboard memory and includes 10 programmable hotkeys as well as two USB ports. It has a wickedly fast response time.

5. Microsoft Sidewinder X6 - With 30 programmable keys and dual color backlighting, the keyboard provides the most unusual facility to detach and fit the Keypad on either side of the keyboard. It also facilitates mode switching with one button, convenient for transition from a regular keyboard to a gaming keyboard.

Gaming Keyboards with special features help gamers to fight the best battles no matter what game it comes to, thus the search for a perfect gaming keyboard continues.

Paul has been writing on just about everything since the 4th grade. But you can check out his latest reviews of the best gaming keyboard on the market, the Logitech G15 here. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_Raker

Kid Games

This version of the popular Japanese puzzle game features kid-friendly shapes and colors.Genre: PuzzleRelease Date: TBA (EU)

Software For Your Kids by: Zack Macchio

Computers are all the rage today for people of all ages including children. There are many different types of software that you can choose from when it comes to picking something for your children to enjoy on the computer. Depending on the age bracket of your children you'll have to take some time to choose software that does what you want it to do.

For the younger child aged three to five there is software that features some of their favorite television characters such as Dora the Explorer or Bob the Builder. Your children will be both entertained and educated as they play games, learn the alphabet, and learn to count. Software for very young children is easy for them to play so that you're not always coming to their assistance whenever they press a wrong key.

Software for older children aged five to ten has even more interactive features than software for the younger child. You can buy software that is exclusively for learning and software that will only provide entertainment. Most software comes with a rating to let you know that it doesn't contain any material that is inappropriate for children. Some types of software for this age group of children include puzzle games, software for learning a second language, math and science software, video game software, software for the artist, and software that allows your child to connect with the internet and play games with other children around the world.

Software for teens is something that you'll need to supervise a little more closely since much of the software on the market can be objectionable and will often test the morals and virtues that you are trying to teach your children. When you buy software for your teen make sure that you take a good long look at what the software is all about, since many of the software games can feature a large amount of violence. There are, of course, software programs for your teen that are educational as well as fun and that they can use to enhance their schoolwork.

With so many different software choices out there how do you know that you're making the right choices? Check out some of the parental listings that can be found on the internet. Many parent websites will offer you advice and ratings for much of the new software that comes out each month. This way you can be assured that other parents are approving a certain piece of software before you make your purchase.

Keep in mind that you should always limit the amount of time that your children spend on the computer. Children should be encouraged to spend just as much time playing outdoors as they do playing and learning on the computer. About the author:Zack Macchio is a software enthusiast and webmaster of "Software - Fone Software", a top Internet directory for software resources. Get more great software tips and tricks at: http://www.fonesoftware.comCirculated by Article Emporium