If you’re an online gamer, particularly if you’ve spent hours on World of Warcraft, you know the online gaming scene- you understand the inside jokes about the genre, the guild politics… this game truly becomes a second life for many.  Of course, stereotypes abound and every female you run into is of course assumed to be a 40 year old fat guy in his mom’s basement (sorry, I only play male characters- it’s not me!)

However, online love happens- often- but a running joke is the trend of many male players instantly hitting on any female character they encounter in game.  Still- what’s a greater fantasy for so many male gamers than to date that perfect female- another gamer?

No one has a better understanding of the stereotypes and humor that lies not-so-hidden behind the surface of massively multiplayer gaming than Felicia Day, as she has proven with her award winning web series, “The Guild”.  If you have yet to watch these mini-episodes, you’re missing out on quality comedy and gaming humor with a specifically brilliant touch on how the obsession over these games impacts the lives of the players in the “real world”.  The videos are available online on iTunes (purchase and show your support!) and also on the Xbox Live videos area-  please, if you’ve missed them, go watch those first then return to this post to see the music video (you’ll get a much, much greater appreciation.)

The Guild – YouTube Channel (Subcribe- you won’t be disappointed!)

For those familiar with The Guild, you will adore their new music video directed by none other than Jed Whedon- that’s right, Joss Whedon’s brother.

So make sure you’re up to date on The Guild, then enjoy The Guild cast in their epic music video- I think I see another award on the horizon.

I only have two issues: Felicia obviously needs to read my blog on a more accurate name for “MMOs”- The lyrics should have figured a way to use “MMGS” (well, if she wants to be even more trendsetting. )

And the second issue?  Forget her Avatar-  how the heck can I date Felicia herself?!

If you’re a gamer, you’ve heard and used this phrase countless times. Even when it first became widespread in its usage, jokes flew with its lack of brevity. You know the name… “MMORPG”: “Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game”.

That name has to be changed.

Why? Certainly some will agree it’s a pain to say, but you can just call it an “MMO” instead, right? Unfortunately, that doesn’t reach the crux of the matter… it’s inaccurate. My first question to you is: Name one massively multiplayer game that is not online.

I’ll wait while you rack your brain. Football isn’t massively multiplayer. Golf isn’t. Baseball? No. A marathon isn’t a game. There is no game which exists offline that has thousands upon thousands of simultaneous players!

We’ve just started, and we’ve already found that part of the title isn’t necessary!

• First change to the genre name: The O’s gotta go.

So, we’ve whittled “MMO” down to “MM”. What about the “MM” portion of the title? What defines “Massively Multiplayer”? Thousands upon thousands of players all within the same game universe able to freely interact in game at the same time.

Some games that are often considered massively multiplayer fall short due to design and gameplay considerations. Let’s examine Guild Wars. Great game! Fun times. A solid title to own for most gamers. Guild. Wars. Is. Not. Massively. Multiplayer.

What? Everyone says it’s an MMO! That is nothing more than a case of people being stubborn when presented with overwhelming evidence to the contrary. The actual developers of Guild Wars have themselves proclaimed it not to be an “MMORPG”, but instead call it a “CORPG”: “Competitive Online Role Playing Game”. I refer to it as an “OCG”- “Online Computer Game”, like Diablo 2, for instance.

Still, when you are discussing a game with the proper design to allow simultaneous mass-gaming, “Massively Multiplayer”, or “MM” works well enough to describe the genre.