Some opt to play for the thrill of attacking and killing other players. Other choose to avail themselves of the opportunity for online roleplaying, or becoming another character. Still others play just for the chance of meeting new folks and making new friends. Manytimes the nature of the game itself, and the company behind it, dictates what direction its particular community will take. Generally, these stages are divided under Alpha and Beta .
Alpha refers to the initial design process.
This is when the backstory of the game is written. The world is drawn and created. The characters are all developed and modeled. And all the programming necessary to tie these elements together is implemented. In the Beta stage, the game is tested.