Torn

Torn City is a long-running browser-based MMORPG built around a sprawling virtual city where players create characters, earn money, develop statistics, join organizations, trade, fight, and generally get involved in the sort of trouble that sounds considerably more sensible when described as a spreadsheet. Progression is largely text-driven, with a huge range of activities and systems encouraging players to return regularly and build up their character over time. There are jobs, missions, businesses, factions, combat, and plenty of interaction with other players, giving the city a persistent social ecosystem. Its deliberately unconventional presentation may look modest compared with graphical MMORPGs, but Torn City demonstrates that numbers, menus, and a dedicated community can provide an impressively deep online world.