MMOX/WoW entity properties

	Note!
	Well known game worlds are used in this analysis because many readers will be familiar with them. This is not intended to imply that these specific worlds are being considered for interop: they merely provide effective use cases.

Entities

• Player Characters - the representations of the real people making use of World of Warcraft
• Non-Player Characters - AI or dumb scripted representations that are either entirely automated, or operate based on Player Character input
• Guilds - formal collectives of PCs
• Party - transient formal collective of PCs
• Factions - formal collectives of NPCs
• Alliances - informal or formal collectives of Guilds or Factions, though the WoW platform does not appear to have support for guild alliances, the Alliance Vanguard and Horde Expedition are examples of NPC alliances.
• Shard - multiple instances of the overall world exist in order to distribute the user base evenly so as to provide the best experience possible.
• Zones - large chunks of the overall world. Zones can vary greatly in size. Not taking phasing into account, all PCs share the same experience of a Zone.
• Sub-zones - sub-areas of Zones. Zones can stack vertically.
• Instances - similar to Zones, with the exception that only Parties can share the same experience of a Zone.
• Events - Occurs in a sub-zone. Related events can occur simultaneously in multiple sub-zones across several zones or shards (seasonal events).
• Quests - A task given by an NPC to a PC to provide a reward, an example of the "Role Playing" aspect of World of Warcraft
• Achievements - similar to quests, except these are usually a case of "meta-gaming", falling outside the realm of the "Role Playing" aspect of World of Warcraft, though they are usually attained in the process of Role Playing.