Multiplayer

Multiplayer is a mode of play for a video game or computer game in which multiple people can play the same game at the same time.

When referring to a computer game, the term "multiplayer" today usually implies "multiplayer by means of connecting multiple machines via the Internet", whereas when referring to a video game console game, the term "multiplayer" usually implies "multiplayer by means of several controllers plugged into the same game console, with that console hooked up to a single television set", oftenly via split-screen. However, online adapters now exist for the Gamecube, PlayStation 2 and XBox consoles, and some multiplayer Internet games on consoles have become popular.

In most multiplayer games, players compete against each other in a test of skill. There are some games in which players ally to achieve a common goal, and in others, groups of players form teams which fight as a group.

There have been countless multiplayer games played on a single display, starting with the seminal Pong and continuing up to the present day.

Notable multiplayer games in which each player uses a different display include:

• MUD games
• MMORPG videogames (like Ultima Online, Everquest, etc...)
• Neverwinter Nights (1992-1998 on America Online)
• DOOM, DOOM II, Quake, Quake II, and Quake III by id Software
• WarCraft, WarCraft II, WarCraft III, and StarCraft by Blizzard
• Counter-Strike
• Any number of card games played on gaming web sites

This category of games currently requires multiple machines to connect to each other over the Internet, but before the Internet became popular, MUDs were played on time-sharing computer systems, and games such as DOOM were played on a LAN.

See Also

Lan Party