Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Why everquest was the best... for a time
When I began playing EQ I was 13... I played on my parents p2 800 mhz, 256mb ram dell with dial up...
It didn't matter what rig I was playing on... Or how fast my connection...
I ran around hailing every npc trying to guess what the trigger phrase was so I could maybe start a quest and maybe get a special item.
I wasn't concerned with being the first to 50... Just maybe getting a new weapon... and yea that practice sword was sick.
I'd run around trying to collect fire beetle eyes- shouting in EC to pettle them 7 at a time to the humans for money so I could buy that sewing kit I had my eye on.
Animals didn't drop money... you could actually use their pelts, silks, eyes, and bones for different- meaningful things...
That full set of patchwerk armor could mean the difference between life and death when that shadow wolf jumped you... and yes you would barely survive- it did matter.
I'd run to newbie log jumping all the way (because it made you just far enough away from the mob not to get thwacked)... I knew there were many other people hunting there and they could help me with this crazy skeleton that came out of the shadows to attack me... and they would help- they would share the triumph and maybe even the loot- thanks for the rusty scimitar and the shield...
The forest was black as night... I didn't know about gamma settings... I'd click frantically hoping to target something that wouldn't kill me first... there was no map to make sure I was going the right way either... just mashing the sense heading button- hoping for a proper direction.
I saved a female necromancer whos pet died from a bear and after she stuck to me like glue because she was afraid to die.
I joined a guild because they were good people, very talkative, very nice- some were higher level, but level or not- if anyone needed help they were there... no one had even seen the grats on 50 message yet- and no one cared... there was too much else going on.
Killing an orc that for some reason hit harder than normal- to find someone had put a fine steel rapier on it, and not being able to wait to do similar for someone... eventually I dropped an fbss on a decaying skelly.
Reading the text of the first e-prick I ever met... then watching the other 30 people in the zone gang up on him for being a prick... not joining him.
Exploring the world for npc's to interact with- or strange mobs to fight hoping for a good item- being amazed at the sight of my first gnoll - not because the graphics were stunning... though they were good at the time... but because it was different, yet it fit without begging for BS story lines explaining its existence.
My memories go on and on, and I could probably fill a good four full posts of stuff but I think this brings to light what I dread... You see I went back to EQ not to long ago... and aside from the zones changing... and glowly lights showing me the way... maps... port books... overpowered items... a rediculous training zone... the passing over of starting zones... the bazaar... and the almost futuristic buildings... the people had changed... of course I was not expecting to play with or find the individuals I first played with... but the type of people... immersion is a fairy tale... the etiquette non existant... if you don't have 1200+ aa's no guilds care... If you aren't on all the time- don't fit other people's needs, they don't want you...
And then I think about how I fit in to this picture... People call me a hardcore gamer now... if I'm not competing, proving i'm better than everyone else- i'm not playing... If I don't have better gear than you, can beat you in a duel or pvp... I'm not satisfied. I don't care about my gear at level 5... because I am going to power grind to cap and I know those items won't matter... If I get hung up on a quest... I know I can google it or download a mod to lay the whole damn thing out for me... I know that dying really doesn't matter... I know how to adjust the gamma... I wouldn't just give up an item- I'm going to rip you off... there's no way i'm selling it at market value, and there is no way in hell you're getting it below that. I know that classes can be interchangeable- I know that a dark elf warrior can never technically be as good of a tank as an ogre so why be one....
Newb armor... dropping off kobolds is better than some old lvl 50 gear... sense heading is obsolete... people only grind in specific zones that maximize exp...
And honestly this isn't just about EQ I suppose, as I'm thinking of every other mmo I have tried since... the communities, the etiquette, the reasons... just aren't there. My own knowledge... our collective effort that was originally to document and help people- now abused, spoiling even my own fun... Sure I could choose to play with no mods with a stripped ui- never opening a web browser in the back- doing quests by myself... but it's just different now... hell, even if I wanted to- It would be too much work to just play by myself... because people prevent it... the game discourages it... and I know better...
Will snakes ever learn to kick again?
ALL YOUR PLAYER BASE ARE BELONG TO KITTY!
Comments
Brilliantly written 3rd post. I truly believe EQ was the golden age of mmorpgs. First, because it was a collective first for so many people -- nothing will ever match the "first" experience. And second, as you nailed it, we're encouraged to game the game using the plethora of information available on the internet, ui modifications, and as a general rule, race through the content as fast as possible. Playing the game for the sake of the game....like reading a book...seems lost on may people, and even the "authors".
My first was Dark Age of Camelot -- about 6 of us were sucked in by a single friend, we started in Albion -- approaching Camelot for the first time is an indescribably amazing memory. ( ' :
Thank you rain. I am possibly thinking too deep into the situation- but I asked myself after posting this, why I am the way I am with how I game- and is it truly because it was my first or because of something else. After remembering my fond experiences of Horizons and Neocron after Everquest- games I started playing by myself- I realize that maybe it is not that Everquest was the first, instead because we were so used to single player games... when you played just for yourself- I wasn't concerned with leader boards (possibly because there were none) but instead about the content of the game and my own personal accomplishments/progression at my own pace.
I have played every major mmo to date- and after those three... I entered games with different guilds- all claiming to be the best and only wanting the best... joining betas... not to just help out, but to get the edge for release... to be the first- to be the best... for what? For whom? I believe I am at fault for ruining my own experience, but then I think- so many others do the same thing... because yes we enjoyed Everquest or DAoC or Meridian, UO, AC... but before the online gaming world mirrored the business world. Raid schedules... competing for spots... forced into meetings about strategy... to be the first... the best.
And though having your game name touted on some game site as proof of one random accomplishment is nice... what you sacrifice in return... is maybe not worth it... and I don't mean the time or effort- but the fun of the game... It reminds me more of sports practice... doing suicides and wind sprints till you puke so you can be a little better than the rest... And I gave that up years ago.
I don't expect to re-capture the first experience of an mmo... just the ability to experience a game for what it is- a game, entertainment. But could we as a growing gaming culture except such a pleasure? Leveling at your own pace- experiencing a game and playing it fully...
I think to recapture as so many have called for- these first experiences... it is not that we cannot attain them because it is no longer our first...
I feel we would most certainly be able to achieve the same enjoyment out of any new well developed game. It is more up to the gaming community to decide that gaming is meant to be immersive and enjoyable... personally gratifying- yet collectively energizing. The online gaming community feels more like to be a part, is to have a job, and a bad one at that.
Is it too early to will a gaming renaissance into existance? Or do corporations take too much stake in their profits, and the gamer too much in his own clout. By merely having communities such as this- as open and as boisterous as those we have become- As self stroking and knowledgable- are we creating our own demise? Few have gamed as long as we have, but as time passes for the rest- and that feeling of angst and dissapointment with what a game truly now provides- will it all come crashing down? Or will people except the competitive nature that it currently thrives in?...
I can't say what will happen- or even if my experiences hold water to anyone elses situation. But I can make an educated guess through years of observing, that yes it does... and yes it is time for a change...
I want it to... I wonder how many others could admit what I have to enjoy it all again? Would you?
ALL YOUR PLAYER BASE ARE BELONG TO KITTY!
EQ is still among the online games featuring the most content. What has changed? Sony doesn't advertise. And for that reason, the zones aren't being repopulated with new gamers(people who have never experienced an online game before). What is the result? Many of the people who first join EQ have been spoiled by other online games that offer instant gratification. If it isn't endgame within 2 weeks then it must be horrible right? Sadly, the only reason that this ruins gaming is because so many groups of friends get split up in online games, and they are forced to regroup in the games that allow them to reach "endgame" in a short period of time. EQ came out with shrouding in an attempt to combat this issue, but it didn't work out as well as it appeared on paper. Fortunately, many people are returning to EQ, who remember the days when most of the EQ zones were densely populated and the interaction level was such as you described. Perhaps with time, the playerbase will arrive at a critical mass for re-establishing EQ as the premier online gaming experience it truly is. I think of mercenaries as a sort of stimulus within EQ, and maybe with enough time enough people will be logged in at a given time for me to check LFG before immediately unsuspending my mercenary. Not today, however, it might happen in the future. Keep up the good work Sony.