by Matt Remley

Created on: April 07, 2009

It's hard to believe that almost a decade ago the concept of alternative reality was confided to episodes of Star Trek. However in recent years there has been the invention of video games that simulate alternative realities that people can use to potentially escape from the real world if only for a few minutes.

All of this innovation was caused by video game systems moving into the new age with high-speed Internet hook ups and services. One of the first gaming systems with online support to be released in the United States was the Sega Dreamcast. So maybe online games have been around for a while on PC, but the technology to put them in console gaming is new to the scene.

MMORPG

If you've ever played an online video game, then you've most likely heard of massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPG). This sub genre of role-playing games has players controlling a character in an alternative universe created by the games designers. These games are the best way to try and escape from normal everyday life and into a video game.

One of the best examples of a MMORPG game is World of Warcraft, which literally has millions of players, and all of them could communicate with each other inside the game. These types of games often have breath-taking landscapes that seem to stretch farther than the eye can see in many, if not all cases.

In addition to those facts, these MMORPG's are always limitless in design, meaning that the developer can always decide to add on additional content. This method is used both to expand games with already large player bases, and cut back on the costs of creating an entirely new video game.

First Person Shooter

Another style of alternative reality online gaming is first person shooter. These games aren't as open ended as MMORPG's, but these games also have millions of players. In this case, one of the current best examples of online first person shooter games is Battlefield Bad Company or Call of Duty World at War.

Typically first person shooter games just have a large landscape in which players battle their characters to the death through first person perspective. Usually these games are played with characters using guns or other weapons, and can be played alone or on teams against other human players from around the world.

Sure, in these online games you can't do all of the things that a person could do while playing MMORPG's. However, both are virtual realities that could potentially be an alternative reality for someone wanting to escape the real one. In either type of game, it's hard to know what make happen next because these games are ever evolving, just like real life.

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