MMORPGs take a lot of time, a lot of skill, and above all a lot of money to build and maintain, so my question to you is: How much time and money do you have to spend on this?

MMOs are absolutely no beginner projects, first of all because of their enormous scale (hence the word 'Massive') which implies an enormous amount of content and the technical challenges you'll face trying to get thousands of players to play together without any issues.

I'd advise you to do some research on runescape and world of warcraft, look up how many people have worked on them and how much they cost to build, and how much it still costs to maintain them to this day. Unless your budget can match those figures to get a team assembled and to cover production and maintenance costs you should probably put the idea of creating an MMO out of your head.

Some interesting reading material on the subject:
http://www.gamedev.n...-making-an-mmo/
http://sol.gfxile.net/mmorpg.html

What kind of stuff have you worked on already? A lot of people like MMOs and are working in some way to get to making one someday. I'm sure if you start now with small, simple projects, and scale up as you go, making bigger and bigger games, you'll eventually learn everything you need to know to make one. Start small and learn.

The first M in MMO stands for "Massively", that should be a first clue as to the amount of work required. The rule of thumb for becoming competent at something is 10,000 hours of practise. That roughly equates to 5 years full time using a skill. To produce something on the scale of an MMO you'll need many VERY skilled people, not merely competent.

You're setting yourself up for disappointment/failure at the outset if you aim so high. It can be your long term goal, but in the short term I'd recommend a project more within your grasp.

I'd say the same as the above guys talking about MMOs. BUT: Minecraft and Terraria may not be MMOs, but they are great multiplayer experiences and this may just be the way to go for you. I'm having a similar project that is anchored in a Singleplayer experience with the potential to expand into the Multiplayer sphere later on, once the finances improve.

But don't waste energy trying to make an MMO. It's waaay too ambitious. Keep it simple, keep it clean. Don't overthink things and only plan out the core elements. The rest will come naturally as you massage your game into existence.