Step 1 of 5

Step 1: What an online multiplayer game asks of you

Before choosing a game, it helps to know what kind of thing you are choosing. This step explains how online games work, what they need from you, and the words you will keep meeting in later steps.

What "online multiplayer" means

A computer game is "online" when it needs an internet connection to work. A game is "multiplayer" when more than one person takes part at the same time. Put together, an online multiplayer game is one where you play with or against other people who are connected over the internet, often from different cities or countries.

This is different from a single-player game, where the computer controls everyone else in the game. In a single-player game you can usually pause whenever you like. In an online multiplayer game the other players keep going, so stepping away mid-match affects them as well as you.

Many online games are built around short matches. A match is one self-contained round of play with a beginning and an end, often lasting somewhere between a few minutes and half an hour. When it finishes, you return to a menu and choose whether to play another.

Other online games are persistent worlds, where the game continues even when you are not signed in. This course mostly uses match-based games as its examples, because they are easier to fit into an ordinary week, but the same ideas apply to both kinds.

What happens when you play

There are three pieces to almost every online game on a computer. Knowing them makes later steps much easier to follow.

The first is the game client. This is the program installed on your own computer. It draws the pictures on your screen, plays the sound and sends your key presses and mouse movements to the game's servers. Clients can be large, and Step 2 explains how to check whether yours will fit.

The second is the game server. A server is a computer run by the game's publisher that keeps track of what every player is doing and tells each client what to show. When you fire, move or speak, your client sends that to the server, and the server passes the result to everyone else in the match.

The third is your account. An account is the record the publisher keeps about you: your sign-in details, the progress you have made and anything you have bought. Because your progress lives on the publisher's servers rather than your computer, you can usually sign in from a different computer and carry on. It also means the account is worth protecting, which is the subject of Step 3.

Online games also change over time. Publishers release updates, sometimes called patches, that fix problems, rebalance the game or add new content. Unlike most programs on your computer, an online game usually will not let you play until the update is installed, because everyone in a match needs to be running the same version.

The time a game asks for

Online games are designed to be returned to. That is not sinister in itself; a good game is one people want to come back to. But it means the decision about how much time to give a game is best made before you start, while you are thinking calmly, rather than at eleven at night after a close match.

It helps to separate three kinds of time. There is the time a single match takes, which tells you whether a game fits into a lunch break or needs an evening. There is the time it takes to learn the basics, which for most team games is several sessions of feeling slightly lost. And there is ongoing time: how often the game nudges you to come back through daily rewards, events or friends inviting you.

A practical approach is to choose a weekly number of hours and a time of day that suits your household, and write it down. Writing it down sounds trivial, but it gives you something to compare against later. Step 5 returns to this and suggests ways of keeping track.

If you share a household, think about when the computer is available and when noise from a headset or speakers will bother someone. Many disagreements about games are really disagreements about shared space.

The ways games are paid for

Online games are funded in a handful of common ways, and many combine more than one. Knowing the general patterns helps you read a game's website with a clear eye. Always confirm the arrangement for a particular game on its official website, because publishers change their pricing and it varies between countries.

• A one-off purchase. You pay once to own the game, and then play without further charges, apart from optional expansions.
• A subscription. You pay a recurring amount, usually monthly, for continued access or extra benefits.
• No upfront charge, with in-game purchases. You can start playing without paying, and the publisher earns money by selling items, upgrades, time-savers or cosmetic extras inside the game.
• Randomised paid items. Some games sell containers whose contents are chosen at random. You pay first and only then find out what you received.

None of these is automatically good or bad, but they ask different things of you. A one-off purchase has a known cost. The other models put the decision about spending in front of you again and again, often at moments designed to be tempting. That is why the before-you-start checklist on the home page asks you to settle on an amount in advance, and why Step 5 is devoted to keeping to it.

Playing alongside strangers

In most online games you will be matched with people you have never met. A matchmaking system picks who plays together, usually trying to group players of similar experience. As a beginner you can expect to be grouped with other beginners for a while, although this varies from game to game.

Team games add another layer. You are not only playing against others; you are relying on teammates and they are relying on you. Most players are pleasant or simply quiet. A minority are rude, especially towards newcomers who make mistakes. Step 4 explains the tools every reputable game provides for muting, blocking and reporting, and suggests starting with chat switched off.

The eSafety Commissioner publishes guidance on online gaming, including how to deal with abuse and how to protect younger players. It is worth a look before you start, especially if anyone under eighteen in your household is interested in playing.

An example: World of Tanks

To make these ideas concrete, here is one example of a match-based online game for desktop computers. We are paid when readers create and activate an account through our link to it, which is explained below and on our Affiliate Disclosure page. You do not need to look at it to finish this course.

The vendor describes World of Tanks as an online multiplayer tank action game in which players take part in team battles against other players from around the world. It says the game has more than 160 million players worldwide; that is the vendor's figure, which we have not verified. The vendor also mentions graphics powered by its Core engine, destructible objects, 30 maps remade in HD and a new soundtrack.

Read against this step, that description tells you a few useful things. "Team battles" means it is a match-based team game, so other people will rely on you. "Online multiplayer" means you will need a steady connection. A graphics engine and HD maps suggest you should check the system requirements carefully in Step 2. What the summary we work from does not state is the price structure, the system requirements or the Australian classification, so you would need to check those on the vendor's website and the Classification Board's site.

Words you will meet

Client

The game program installed on your computer.

Server

A computer run by the publisher that coordinates everyone in a match.

Match

One self-contained round of play with a start and an end.

Matchmaking

The system that decides which players are placed in a match together.

Latency (ping)

How long information takes to travel from your computer to the server and back, measured in milliseconds. Lower is better.

Patch

An update to the game, usually installed before you can play again.

In-game purchase

Anything bought with real money from inside the game, including virtual currency.

Classification

The official Australian rating for a game, such as G, PG, M or MA 15+, with consumer advice explaining why.