As humans, we tend to be social creatures and because of our social nature we are inclined to want to create and sustain relationships. It is no surprise then that when the Internet emerged people found ways to utilize this new medium to communicate with one another. By transcending the elements of time and location, Computer Mediated Communiciation (CMC) has forever changed the way in which people communicate. CMC is thought to be weak in comparison to face to face (FTF) communication because of the lack of social context cues employed in CMC.... What then, would happen to communication and relationship development in CMC, if it were adapted to include a visual environment that would employ social context cues?

Research into online games such as, Massively Multi-player Online Role Play Games (MMORPGs) would answer the above question. MMORPGs are three dimensional graphic computer games that allow a person to create an identity and explore a virtual world while interacting and communicating with other players over the Internet. The communication that people share in MMORPGs is very animated; the characters are personalized, they can move, gesture, and show emotions. In many ways the characters become vehicles for interpersonal communication, and over time, relationship development....