Designing a successful massively multiplayer online game may be one of the supreme challenges in all entertainment.

Such a game is not merely consumed, or even played. It is inhabited. In most of them someone who is online for 15 hours a week is considered casual. Subscribers who log 30 hours weekly are fairly common, and for people who play any online game at an elite level, it becomes a significant part of their lives, not only in the sheer amount of time spent but also in the bonds formed with other players.

Of course the average American spends more than 30 hours a week watching television, but he doesn