<s>
Illyriad	B-Protocol
is	O
a	O
free	O
to	O
play	O
massively	B-Application
multiplayer	I-Application
online	I-Application
persistent	O
browser-based	B-Protocol
strategy	B-Protocol
game	I-Protocol
developed	O
by	O
the	O
UK	O
software	O
company	O
Illyriad	B-Protocol
Games	O
Ltd	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
first	O
full	O
online	O
strategy	B-Protocol
game	I-Protocol
,	O
first	O
released	O
in	O
beta	O
in	O
2010	O
,	O
and	O
launched	O
in	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
many	O
browser	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
,	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
set	O
goal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Illyriad	B-Protocol
was	O
showcased	O
in	O
the	O
Mozilla	B-Operating_System
Labs	I-Operating_System
2010	O
Game	O
On	O
Gallery	O
and	O
an	O
IGF	O
2012	O
Main	O
Competition	O
Entrant	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Illyriad	B-Protocol
is	O
set	O
in	O
a	O
persistent	B-Protocol
fantasy	I-Protocol
world	I-Protocol
–	O
when	O
a	O
player	O
logs	O
out	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
continues	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
has	O
four	O
playable	O
races	O
,	O
each	O
with	O
their	O
own	O
advantages	O
and	O
disadvantages	O
:	O
Humans	O
,	O
Elves	O
,	O
Dwarves	O
,	O
Orcs	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Advanced	O
resources	O
are	O
built	O
from	O
basic	O
resources	O
:	O
horses	O
,	O
livestock	O
,	O
beer	O
,	O
books	O
,	O
spears	O
,	O
swords	O
,	O
bows	O
,	O
saddles	O
,	O
leather	O
armour	O
,	O
chainmail	O
,	O
plate	O
armour	O
and	O
siege	B-Application
blocks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Illyriad	B-Protocol
's	O
military	O
unit	O
categories	O
are	O
:	O
Infantry	O
,	O
Spearmen	O
,	O
Cavalry	O
,	O
Archers	O
and	O
Siege	B-Application
engines	O
;	O
with	O
multiple	O
strategies	O
including	O
attack	O
,	O
raid	O
,	O
feint	O
,	O
occupy	O
,	O
reinforce	O
,	O
blockade	B-Application
and	O
siege	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Illyriad	B-Protocol
's	O
technology	O
tree	O
has	O
400+	O
research	O
options	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Light	O
Tropical	O
Cover	O
,	O
Rockhewn	O
Monastery	O
,	O
Dense	O
Jungle	B-Device
,	O
Dense	O
Rainforest	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
main	O
overall	O
terrains	O
for	O
combat	O
purposes	O
are	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
world	O
of	O
Illyriad	B-Protocol
is	O
supposed	O
to	O
change	O
and	O
is	O
supposed	O
to	O
evolve	O
over	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
can	O
form	O
alliances	O
,	O
and	O
are	O
provided	O
with	O
alliance	O
forums	B-Application
,	O
chat	B-Protocol
and	O
a	O
central	O
treasury	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alliances	O
interrelationships	O
begin	O
neutral	O
,	O
but	O
they	O
can	O
choose	O
to	O
enter	O
different	O
states	O
with	O
each	O
other	O
such	O
as	O
:	O
Confederation	B-Operating_System
,	O
NAP	O
or	O
War	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
"	O
hard	O
power	O
"	O
of	O
alliances	O
in	O
war	O
,	O
diplomacy	O
,	O
protection	O
and	O
politics	O
;	O
alliances	O
in	O
Illyriad	B-Protocol
allow	O
players	O
to	O
cooperate	O
to	O
achieve	O
things	O
that	O
would	O
be	O
beyond	O
them	O
as	O
individuals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Illyriad	B-Protocol
also	O
features	O
server-wide	O
tournaments	O
in	O
which	O
players	O
compete	O
and	O
players	O
are	O
rewarded	O
individually	O
and	O
at	O
the	O
Alliance	O
level	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
January	O
2011	O
:	O
The	O
first	O
tournament	O
was	O
an	O
Alliance	B-Protocol
versus	I-Protocol
Alliance	I-Protocol
"	O
Hold	O
the	O
Fort	O
"	O
event	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
eight	O
locations	O
from	O
the	O
first	O
tournament	O
acted	O
as	O
spawn	O
points	O
for	O
elementals	B-Device
,	O
which	O
would	O
bind	O
to	O
the	O
player	O
holding	O
the	O
square	O
and	O
become	O
a	O
unit	O
in	O
their	O
town	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
the	O
elementals	B-Device
,	O
at	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
tournament	O
players	O
were	O
also	O
rewarded	O
for	O
each	O
of	O
the	O
elementals	B-Device
they	O
had	O
bound	O
and	O
the	O
top	O
players	O
from	O
each	O
square	O
received	O
a	O
Tournament	O
Winner	O
's	O
Statue	O
placed	O
at	O
the	O
winners	O
 '	O
choice	O
on	O
any	O
unoccupied	O
map	O
square	O
within	O
10	O
squares	O
of	O
their	O
Capital	O
City	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Illyriad	B-Protocol
can	O
be	O
played	O
in	O
any	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
which	O
supports	O
the	O
HTML	B-Language
standards	O
;	O
including	O
mobile	O
devices	O
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
iPad	B-Device
,	O
iPhone	B-Device
,	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
BlackBerry	B-Operating_System
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Illyriad	B-Protocol
is	O
also	O
featured	O
in	O
the	O
Facebook	O
application	O
directory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
virtual	B-Application
currency	I-Application
can	O
be	O
purchased	O
via	O
PayPal	O
,	O
mobile	O
payment	O
using	O
Fortumo	O
,	O
Google	O
Checkout	O
and	O
Facebook	O
Credits	O
for	O
Facebook	O
players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Illyriad	B-Protocol
began	O
development	O
in	O
2009	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
Illyriad	B-Protocol
Games	O
Ltd	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
core	O
Illyriad	B-Protocol
development	O
team	O
's	O
background	O
was	O
from	O
web	O
and	O
enterprise	O
software	O
,	O
not	O
games	O
-	O
and	O
the	O
initial	O
content	O
was	O
provided	O
by	O
volunteers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
James	O
Niesewand	O
,	O
Illyriad	B-Protocol
Games	O
founder	O
,	O
described	O
the	O
process	O
:	O
"	O
From	O
start	O
to	O
finish	O
it	O
took	O
us	O
about	O
a	O
year	O
to	O
get	O
something	O
playable	O
...	O
for	O
us	O
that	O
was	O
just	O
the	O
point	O
at	O
which	O
we	O
had	O
something	O
fun	O
that	O
people	O
could	O
enjoy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Critical	O
development	O
software	O
included	O
Microsoft	O
ASP.NET	B-Language
MVC	I-Language
and	O
jQuery	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Illyriad	B-Protocol
uses	O
Microsoft	O
SQL	O
Server	O
for	O
persistent	O
game	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
initial	O
launch	O
,	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
Illyriad	B-Protocol
continued	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
then	O
followed	O
by	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
biomes	O
including	O
desert	O
,	O
jungle	B-Device
,	O
marshes	O
and	O
the	O
polar	O
north	O
;	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
regions	O
and	O
NPC	O
Factions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Illyriad	B-Protocol
Games	O
continued	O
development	O
with	O
a	O
team	O
composed	O
of	O
remote	O
workers	O
in	O
different	O
countries	O
and	O
outsourced	O
suppliers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
09	O
Aug	O
2011	O
the	O
World	O
Map	O
changed	O
from	O
HTML	B-Language
DOM	O
to	O
HTML5	B-Language
Canvas	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Illyriad	B-Protocol
hired	O
artists	O
to	O
improve	O
their	O
character	O
portraits	O
,	O
which	O
were	O
released	O
in	O
August	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
deferred	O
shading	O
can	O
be	O
done	O
in	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
with	O
no	O
plugins	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
2012	O
the	O
Illyriad	B-Protocol
user	O
interface	O
was	O
refreshed	O
and	O
friends	O
lists	O
and	O
Alliance	O
medals	O
were	O
introduced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Of	O
the	O
three	O
games	O
chosen	O
to	O
go	O
with	O
Massively	O
on	O
a	O
trip	O
to	O
the	O
desert	O
island	O
Illyriad	B-Protocol
was	O
one	O
of	O
them	O
:	O
"	O
I	O
...	O
would	O
have	O
to	O
go	O
with	O
Illyriad	B-Protocol
,	O
the	O
fantastic	O
browser-based	B-Protocol
builder	O
....	O
Illyriad	B-Protocol
is	O
a	O
delight	O
to	O
play.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
and	O
added	O
:	O
"	O
Given	O
Illyriad	B-Protocol
's	O
realistic	O
trade	O
,	O
amazing	O
community	O
,	O
and	O
variable-speed	O
gameplay	O
,	O
I	O
would	O
be	O
insane	O
to	O
leave	O
this	O
one	O
off	O
the	O
list.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
also	O
selected	O
for	O
the	O
top	O
eleven	O
(	O
in	O
no	O
particular	O
order	O
)	O
of	O
Massively	O
's	O
Fifty	O
games	O
for	O
the	O
mobile	O
lifestyle	O
:	O
"	O
This	O
little	O
surprise	O
 [ Illyriad ] 	O
has	O
taken	O
hold	O
of	O
me	O
.	O
</s>
