Most anybody with a serious interest in playing or developing games in the MMO genre will have likely read Richard Bartle’s Designing Virtual Worlds at some point since its original publication in 2003. As the co-creator of MUD1, Bartle’s knowledge of online virtual worlds stretches back farther than pretty much anybody around.
Now, following a well-earned retirement from the world of academia earlier this year, Bartle has published the first volume of a new second edition of Designing Virtual Worlds. Rather than merely bringing the first edition up to date, however, this is a complete revision of the original work. Every section has been greatly expanded upon to such an extent that the book will now span multiple volumes.
The book’s publisher, CRC Press, was kind enough to send me a review copy of the newly released Volume One, and, having spent many hours poring over its pages, you can now read my opinions over at The Video Game Library blog. Suffice it to say, anybody who finds themself on this site (and thus, presumably has more than a passing interest in virtual worlds) should pick up a copy with haste.
While you’re throwing books into your virtual basket, you might also want to swing by The Video Game Library’s extensive catalogue of MMO-related books. Since its founding in 2022, the site has quickly proven to be an essential resource for players, developers, historians, and researchers alike.
MMO Folklorist 
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