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I play them, I like them and I wanna talk about them!
Now, what IS a pbbg, you ask? Well it is a "persistent browser-based game". These are the MMOs of the cheap encounter! They require NO download, unless you don't have an internet browser in which case you can't REALLY be seeing this unless someone gave you the offline save file, which would be odd.
Nestled in your browser lay a simple game, I play several at the moment they are not so similar as most think but pbbgs still have their positives and negatives.
Now, what IS a pbbg, you ask? Well it is a "persistent browser-based game". These are the MMOs of the cheap encounter! They require NO download, unless you don't have an internet browser in which case you can't REALLY be seeing this unless someone gave you the offline save file, which would be odd.
Nestled in your browser lay a simple game, I play several at the moment they are not so similar as most think but pbbgs still have their positives and negatives.
Positives
Minimal System Requirements: Because a pbbg rests in your browser you do not need more than that and an internet connection. If you are viewing this post, unless you have the offline version (which would be odd), you can play a pbbg. Some may require java or flash but most do not.
Price: 90% of pbbgs are 100% free to play and/or rely on a donation system to survive. This means that unless you WANT TO you do not need to part with your hard earned cash to play these games. It is usually the "hard-core" overly devoted type that pays for some "bells and whistles".
Access: Location is a key feature with pbbgs. Many players have jobs where they are "stuck" in front of a PC all day and in order to amuse themselves they play a game. Now your boss would clearly see a full 3-D game moving about on your screen but would HARDLY notice some links and text. There are even games with "work mode" that actually look like a word document or the like.
Price: 90% of pbbgs are 100% free to play and/or rely on a donation system to survive. This means that unless you WANT TO you do not need to part with your hard earned cash to play these games. It is usually the "hard-core" overly devoted type that pays for some "bells and whistles".
Access: Location is a key feature with pbbgs. Many players have jobs where they are "stuck" in front of a PC all day and in order to amuse themselves they play a game. Now your boss would clearly see a full 3-D game moving about on your screen but would HARDLY notice some links and text. There are even games with "work mode" that actually look like a word document or the like.
Negatives
Get What You Pay For: Not paying has its disadvantages as well as advantages. A free game strickly focues on the donations of others either in time or money. That being said, you are on another human beings time schedule. If the creator of your game goes "on holiday" and the thing crashes you either have to wait for a miracle of god OR him/her to return. Not paying means that, sometimes, you get bad service.
Breaking In: This is common of ALL mmos but it seems the "free kind" are more particular, especially pbbgs. A few games are well known for their "disgruntled" player base and others games are not known at all. This is because there are so many games that a few can "get lost" while others attract EVERY Tom, Dick, and Harry who knows what the mouse button does. Sometimes a community game can be a scary to new comers.
Poor (if any) Graphics: This works on both sides as it was stated in system reqs. The lack of graphics is what makes pbbgs both a BIG TURN ON and TURN OFF. Some players WANT that smearing effect on the ocean and others don't even want pictures on their games. Flash pbbgs and java pbbgs, like RuneScape, are both rather popular because they fix "this problem".
Breaking In: This is common of ALL mmos but it seems the "free kind" are more particular, especially pbbgs. A few games are well known for their "disgruntled" player base and others games are not known at all. This is because there are so many games that a few can "get lost" while others attract EVERY Tom, Dick, and Harry who knows what the mouse button does. Sometimes a community game can be a scary to new comers.
Poor (if any) Graphics: This works on both sides as it was stated in system reqs. The lack of graphics is what makes pbbgs both a BIG TURN ON and TURN OFF. Some players WANT that smearing effect on the ocean and others don't even want pictures on their games. Flash pbbgs and java pbbgs, like RuneScape, are both rather popular because they fix "this problem".
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