Engl1020: Post 2

Have you ever visited a website that a friend was completely infatuated with and thought to yourself, this site is completely incomprehensible, disorienting, confusing, or bewildering and left thinking it was a waste of time? Well, perhaps it was a waste, or perhaps you simply didn’t have the background knowledge to understand it.

Having even a basic understanding of the cultural contexts of a site will assist in giving you a better understanding and appreciation of what you are looking at. Who? What? When? Where? Why? These are important questions to ask when looking at a new site, especially if that site is of unfamiliar genre. In order for you to get a basic understanding as to why I appreciate Dark Throne in the way that I do, I will enlighten you to the cultural context of the MMORPG. Don’t know what MMORPG means? Click here.

Dark Throne is a game consisting of players of various cultures, ethnicities, and nationalities, who speak different languages, and believe in different religions. It is a world created for all people; this Internet based site knows no skin color, no gender, no language barriers, and no socio-economic levels; simply people.

This fantasy realm is a text based massive multiplayer online role-play game, where you can create your own custom account with a personalized avatar, and individualized profile. In this world you can create an army, recruit citizens, accumulate gold, and create friends and foes. Dark Throne is a place where your fantasies rule and you take fate into your own hands.

Dark Throne is set in a medieval scenario/time period. The site was created approximately three years ago with the alpha version; currently the beta version is in use. Dark Throne Time is used as the rule for all users, no matter what time zone you live in. Dark Throne Time makes it possible for all users to use a standardized time system, so they have the capabilities to efficiently schedual meetings, initiate organized attacks, and view when messages were posted and sent out. Dark Throne Time is in military time format and appears in the gaming scroll to the left of your screen when you are logged in.

Access to Dark Throne is available to anyone with internet access at the web address www.darkthrone.com.

The majority of gamers on Dark Throne use the web page as a means of personal entertainment. Users spend time improving their characters and their rank in the game, as well as making friends and some enemies as well. The site was developed because it afforded the creators a profit given that some users took the advantage to become Legend members or sponsors in order to reap the benefits.

Without the basic understanding of the game principles and commands, one may find the site confusing and turn the other cheek. However those who have taken the time to learn the contents of the site will have their eyes opened to an amazing dream world shared by thousands across the globe.

Open Your Eyes To: My Fantasy World

Engl1020: Post 1

Where do I spend my time hours a week? Online, with my head buried in the MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role play game), Dark Throne. This fantasy realm set in the medieval era is my escape from reality, my fresh breath of air when life just keeps getting in my face. This website is a world shared by thousands and yet, it is all my own. It is an alternate reality where I shape my destiny; I am in control, not my parents, my teachers, my friends, or my luck. In this universe, knowledge, strategy, leadership, skill, commitment, and drive have comprised who I am and will determine who I will become.

This addictive fantasy world instantaneously captures the viewers focus and attention with an emerald backdrop. The backdrop is topped by a radiant gold heading spotted with small droplets of crimson blood reading the label “Dark Throne”.

On the left of this heading is the image of a warrior with a glowing gaze that seems to be staring right through the computer at the viewer of the page.

Once the viewers’ attention is initially captured, their eyes will automatically wander to the black box at the heart of the page. The black box was intentionally meant to be a focal point of the page because this my friends, is where you sign up, interested? Click here to experience the magic of Dark Throne!

Dark Throne is an online based communication of multi-cultural and multi-national players based on teamwork, cooperation, diplomacy, negotiation, skill building, and resource management. It is a text-based webpage and adheres to the basic coded standards of any site, with ad’s, sponsors, tabs, graphics, a comprehensible layout. However, in the field of altering conventions Dark Throne provides users the opportunity to cooperate with each other as well as the chance to compete against each other whether players choose to do so individually or banded together.

Traditional print/paper-based writing can be used to communicate with individuals with the creation of letters and notes or to mass communicate with newspapers. However, with the advanced technology in internet based mediums you are able to communicate with people in relatively small amounts of time. In Dark Throne you are able to communicate with fair sized groups in small amounts of time via open forums; and instantly with individuals via messaging. For Dark Throne alliance leaders, such as myself, there is a feature called mass-messaging in which the user can send a message to all members of a given alliance instantly.

This capability assists in tactful, well planned, and organized attacks on enemy alliances; which in turn strengthen the given alliance and in turn promotes membership. Mass messaging also allows leaders to post attack targets for dominant enemy accounts so that members with accounts in range of the targets can assist in diminishing those accounts with assassinations and attacks, thus weakening enemy forces and helping the alliance reign supreme. Think about it, don’t we all have the internal desire to reign supreme?