[Each day, Worlds in Motion will be taking a closer look at individual virtual worlds. We'll start with a nuts-and-bolts overview, then move on to an in-depth tour, to be followed up with a conclusion-- all with the aim of bringing you all the essential info and details on each world in the rapidly-developing virtual landscape.]

Following our previous decision to look at the most interesting "non-traditional" MMOs (starting with Kingdom of Loathing) we're looking at ForumWarz, a polished and popular browser-based RPG that satirizes internet culture while including community features such as leaderboards, clans, forums and player vs. player challenges.

Name: ForumWarz

Company: Crotch Zombie Productions

Established: February 2008

How it Works: ForumWarz is experienced on the web through html and was written using tools including Ruby on Rails, MySQL, Haml, memcached, script.aculo.us, Prototype, Mongrel and NGINX. It requires no installation and navigation and gameplay are accomplished via mouse and keyboard input.

Overview: In ForumWarz, players choose one of three classes and begin a largely single player adventure to gain levels, earn Flezz (the world's currency) and "pwn forums". Each player is allowed a limited number of forum visits per day. Players who choose to can take part in multiplayer aspects, including clans, "Forumwarz Domination" (a player vs. player challenge), building new forums or Incit, a mini game about creating amusing text to accompany images.

Payment Method: Forumwarz is free to play, and earns revenue through donations, which grant players special in-game items.

Key Features:
- A very polished and technically accomplished browser RPG
- Multiplayer features for players who wish to compete and also co-operate
- Live chat, forums and clans

Useful Links:
About
Official Blog
Official Wiki
Official Forums