An MMO Tale

Let me share with you a short story: back when I was about 20 years old or so, a friend I used to see frequently played many a game with me. The old Jedi Knight games, Alien Vs Predator 2, Quake 3, we would play a lot of games together and it was a good old time. These games were reserved for days neither of us could be bothered travelling to the others’ house (a good ten minute walk from my house; too far), and so online was our only option. However one day he didn’t log on to MSN - hey don’t laugh, it was a legit thing back then - and I called him, thinking maybe he was ill or something. As it happens, he was playing this ‘amazing’ new game, Lord of the Rings: Online. “What’s that?” I ask him, to which he tells me it’s this brilliant thing where you basically get to live in Middle Earth and do whatever you like. This sounded fantastic to me, so I immediately said I would go buy it right then. He then dropped the bombshell that it would cost me on a per month basis after the initial purchase. I laughed at him, said that was stupid, and he drifted away shortly thereafter, I saw him less and less, and eventually, I can only imagine he decided to live in Lothlórien forever, emerging only to eat and go to the bathroom.

That was my introduction to MMO’s. Something you buy, then continue to pay for afterwards. That riveting tale above was what set in motion my stance to never play one of those silly things, no matter how good they sounded, as it seemed absurd to buy a game, then keep paying for it. Years pass, I use the internet more, I come across posts regarding these MMO behemoth’s - World of Warcraft in particular - and start to get an itch. They did sound rather good. Whole worlds, millions of players, expansive lore to go with it all? Maybe I could try one! I think. I mean, they come with a month’s trial, don’t they? Surely the box price and a month of play is worth the money, I mean I’ve bought full priced, £40 console games and lost interest in a week, how much worse could this be? And so I went to the local GAME, browsed and eventually settled on what seemed like the most logical option: WoW. I bought the Battlechest, which contained the main game and its first expansion pack, along with a month’s play time.

As I installed it, I read the book I got with it as part of the pack - inside was lore-aplenty, something I treasure in my fictional worlds, and tales of generous players who may offer you food on your travels, or perhaps they would cast a spell on you in passing to make you stronger for a little while, to which a brief “thank you” would be appropriate. I was filled with hopes of a bustling fantasy world, filled with like minded people who would explore with me and help me learn the lore of this large new world. 20% complete installation, I’m getting antsy. To YouTube!

I search for videos and come across a ‘Raid’ group, something I had no idea about, fighting a behemoth of a boss. It looked like a massive struggle, with spell effects everywhere, warriors charging, healers staying behind helping their friends survive, it looked fantastic! I would be one of those noble souls who forsakes doing damage in favour of healing my companions, I thought. If I saw a stranger in trouble I could give them health and help them on their way. My mind started going at a million miles per hour at all the things I could, and would do. 50% installed.

I was running out of things to pass time with. I decided my slow computer was the bane of my existence, and I would ignore it for the time being - I slept. 100% installed. Patching. Patches... something I had known to be about 20MB in size or so. Now a hulking download that would take longer than it took to install the game. Dejected, I went to bed for the night, eager to start my adventure with a fresh outlook tomorrow. I wake up, the ‘PLAY’ button is lit up, it’s ready. I’m ready. I hit play, and excitedly click through the terms and conditions as fast as I can. I selected the advised realm, and proceeded to take 20 minutes creating my perfect character I would spend the month with - an Orc, he looked vicious, but he would be a nice guy at heart, he would heal, he would be friendly. I started the game and immediately realised one thing was missing -- people.

I looked online, baffled at how this huge place was empty, and was met with only one answer: Orgrimmar. Everyone was at my chosen factions’ capital city. No problem, I thought. I’ll play as fast as I can to get there, and I can make friends and start playing properly! I trudged through quest after quest, disappointed there was no-one to heal (never entering my mind I had no healing abilities as of yet), and after some hours I got the message in my quest log: “Travel to Orgrimmar.” This is it, I thought. This is the moment I’ve been waiting on! I explored as I travelled, and so while it took me longer than it should have, I saw it in the distance, the walls of Orgrimmar. I gingerly made my way toward the hulking gates.

People flying, people using monsters as transport, people looking like they were straight out of a fantasy novel, it was terrific! I prepared to type something into chat asking for fellow new players who may want to play with me, but then I noticed what this place was. It can be defined in three letters, three letters that will outlast any meaningful message you may type into that little chat box: “LFG.” Every single person, it seemed, was shouting these random three letters. I had no idea what it meant, but I figured I was too late to be a part of the game. I thought I left it too long and there was no longer a place for newcomers. I explored Orgrimmar and left out the back gate where my quest log told me to go. About ten quests later, I got bored. More bored with a game than I had been for a long time. Less than a week after my heroic thoughts of saving my new friends from certain defeat and I had given up. I quit the game, uninstalled it, and threw the Battlechest box into my cupboard. I thought I was done with MMO’s. I firmly believed that since I was too late to start playing, I missed out on the initial socialising and thus would never be a proper part of the worlds, but then, later, something happened. A new MMO was announced. One that not only could I play from the very start of its life, but one I would surely enjoy more than anything that came before it. I was convinced. I would play an MMO, I would pay the monthly fee, and I would be there from day one, so I could be a part of things. I decided the day it was announced, that I would play Star Wars: The Old Republic.