<s>
Achaea	B-Application
,	I-Application
Dreams	I-Application
of	I-Application
Divine	I-Application
Lands	I-Application
is	O
a	O
roleplay-focused	O
,	O
text-based	B-Application
multi-user	B-Application
dungeon	I-Application
(	O
MUD	B-Application
)	O
released	O
on	O
September	O
9	O
,	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
published	O
by	O
Achaea	B-Application
LLC	O
,	O
now	O
known	O
as	O
Iron	O
Realms	O
Entertainment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Achaea	B-Application
is	O
operated	O
by	O
collecting	O
the	O
revenue	O
through	O
a	O
microtransaction	O
system	O
,	O
which	O
allows	O
payment	O
for	O
the	O
acquisition	O
of	O
in-game	O
benefits	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
players	O
explore	O
a	O
fantasy	B-Application
sword	O
and	O
sorcery	O
world	O
revolving	O
around	O
six	O
city-states	O
and	O
their	O
respective	O
Houses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
major	O
forms	O
of	O
interaction	O
is	O
player	O
vs.	O
player	O
combat	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
dynamic	O
conflict	O
,	O
especially	O
the	O
conflict	O
between	O
Good	O
and	O
Evil	O
plays	O
a	O
dominant	O
role	O
in	O
Achaea	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
may	O
choose	O
among	O
eighteen	O
classes	O
,	O
ranging	O
from	O
familiar	O
fantasy	B-Application
elements	O
such	O
as	O
paladins	O
to	O
more	O
unusual	O
options	O
such	O
as	O
Tarot-using	O
Occultists	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Recent	O
structural	O
changes	O
have	O
enriched	O
the	O
environment	O
of	O
Achaea	B-Application
further	O
,	O
by	O
opening	O
up	O
the	O
seas	O
to	O
player	O
controlled	O
ships	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Achaea	B-Application
is	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
known	O
examples	O
of	O
a	O
game	O
with	O
microtransactions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
had	O
been	O
initially	O
launched	O
when	O
Internet	O
service	O
plans	O
were	O
time-limited	O
,	O
effectively	O
gating	O
access	O
to	O
MUDs	B-Application
so	O
that	O
their	O
cost	O
of	O
operations	O
were	O
low	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
when	O
America	O
On-Line	O
offered	O
flat-rate	O
plans	O
,	O
this	O
removed	O
that	O
gate	O
,	O
and	O
many	O
MUDs	B-Application
like	O
Achaea	B-Application
became	O
unprofitable	O
since	O
players	O
could	O
spend	O
much	O
more	O
time	O
on	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Achaeas	B-Application
creator	O
Matt	O
Mihaly	O
came	O
up	O
with	O
the	O
idea	O
of	O
a	O
dual	O
currency	O
system	O
to	O
generate	O
revenue	O
to	O
cover	O
the	O
higher	O
operating	O
costs	O
;	O
while	O
one	O
in-game	O
currency	O
remained	O
free	O
,	O
the	O
other	O
premium	O
currency	O
could	O
only	O
be	O
purchased	O
with	O
real-world	O
funds	O
,	O
and	O
many	O
special	O
items	O
could	O
only	O
be	O
purchased	O
with	O
the	O
premium	O
currency	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Achaea	B-Application
's	O
controversial	O
revenue	O
structure	O
has	O
received	O
attention	O
from	O
the	O
game	O
development	O
industry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
Iron	O
Realms	O
Entertainment	O
provides	O
a	O
custom	O
MUD	B-Application
interface	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
neither	O
up-front	O
costs	O
,	O
nor	O
monthly	O
fees	O
typical	O
for	O
the	O
MMORPG-genre	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Recently	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
Achaea	B-Application
has	O
somewhat	O
deviated	O
from	O
this	O
model	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
International	O
Game	O
Developers	O
Association	O
(	O
IGDA	O
)	O
has	O
noted	O
that	O
Achaea	B-Application
has	O
been	O
successful	O
in	O
this	O
"	O
revenue	O
from	O
object	O
sales	O
"	O
model	O
,	O
"report[ing]	O
substantially	O
higher	O
average	O
revenue	O
per	O
customer	O
...	O
than	O
the	O
usual	O
subscription	O
prices.	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Achaea	B-Application
's	O
use	O
of	O
this	O
model	O
was	O
compared	O
to	O
higher-profile	O
releases	O
such	O
as	O
Magic	B-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Gathering	I-Application
Online	I-Application
and	O
Project	B-Application
Entropia	I-Application
and	O
has	O
been	O
highlighted	O
by	O
game	O
developer	O
Daniel	O
James	O
and	O
researcher	O
Richard	O
Bartle	O
as	O
a	O
possible	O
solution	O
for	O
the	O
problems	O
other	O
online	O
games	O
face	O
involving	O
commodification	O
and	O
interaction	O
with	O
real	O
economy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Achaea	B-Application
has	O
received	O
generally	O
positive	O
reviews	O
for	O
both	O
its	O
mechanics	O
and	O
social	O
complexities	O
,	O
including	O
a	O
review	O
from	O
Leo	O
Laporte	O
on	O
the	O
June	O
10	O
,	O
2004	O
episode	O
of	O
The	O
Screen	O
Savers	O
on	O
TechTV	O
that	O
was	O
reported	O
as	O
favourable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
role-playing	O
and	O
social	O
aspects	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
have	O
also	O
led	O
to	O
Achaea	B-Application
being	O
cited	O
as	O
an	O
example	O
of	O
"	O
political	O
game	O
design	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
