I’ve been in love with MMOs for a long time. Although I’m all crotchety and jaded now about new releases, I still have that yearning to disappear into a virtual world. The games that I’ve played the longest and been the most faithful to have been ones with a living, vibrant world and good community.
My first love and my introduction to MMOs was Warcraft – like a lot of gamers who have been around a long time, I suspect. I didn’t play in beta, nor immediately after launch, but after Phil had gotten into it and I’d become a gaming widow I made my first little warlock. That character still exists, and I’ve played since early 2005, finding along the way some very good friends and experiencing new worlds.
I recently re-subbed and have spent time collecting gear around Timeless Isle as well as levelling a few of the lower-level characters that I had on various servers. Phil resubbed for a bit, and it was nice to play together again. I’m not planning on raiding, I’m not planning on jumping on that iLevel/GearScore elitist treadmill again…I’m just enjoying the sights and feeling really nostalgic.
I remember seeing dawn slowly rise in the Barrens (this was when the game had actual night and day), the light slowly spreading across the plains. A herd of gazelle-type things ran through the high grass in front of me, bounding away with the light gleaming from their horns.
I remember how excited I was to get my first mount.
I remember raiding, which I did for several years from vanilla through Wrath, and the great times that we all had. Even during wipes. I remember our Spanish guild leader screaming at everyone with his adorable accent during a wipe on Lurker in Serpentshrine. “IS that a brain in your head, or a peanut? I wonder! ‘E is a FEESH, a stupid FEESH, and still you stand there and die!” It wasn’t quite up to the standard of the “More Dots” guy, but in his own way it was a classic and still makes me smile.
I still remember falling in love with my hunter, who introduced me to RP. Kitsune was born with a personality and backstory already in place, and I still think about her as being her own person, existing elsewhere, but existing all the same. I even had her name tattooed on my spine…now that is love. :)
Gaming and virtual worlds are part of the heart and soul of me. I’ve written before about loving the idea of magic doors to other worlds (wardrobes, doors, whatever) and I suppose that gaming is as close as I can get to that. For the moment, anyway…I still haven’t given up hope that I’ll find my door. :)
I love this post, Ravv. I started WoW in early 2006, with a little mage – also as a bit of a Warcraft Widow, but then my husband and I logged a lot of hours together. :) Lol on the Lurker wipes – I was the fisher-upper in my guild, being one of the only ones who had bothered to level my fishing. Fun times!
I feel that MMO early-days nostalgia too, fairly often. My door back into magic is writing books about… well, about people who find their way into the Realm of Faerie through immersive gaming. ;)
I love that you’re doing my covers now!! <3
That’s why I was so excited about having the chance to do one of your covers after I’d read the descriptions! I suppose I don’t have to tell you that I’ve spent time in any number of virtual worlds that I would have given anything to be able to actually step into. (OK, The Secret World? Not so much. Great game but I wouldn’t want to live there!)
Aww. ^^ Thinking about it, we met in WoW didn’t we? Single Abstract Noun! They were some good times. I can’t 100% remember you from that guild but I know that’s where we met and kept in touch then through blogs and Twitter. I really like how our little friendship has grown in a somewhat similar direction.
I also remember my first dawn in Warcraft. It’s actually a strange memory.. it was back in BC. There was a guy. He liked me. We used to mess around and talk Shadow Priests and he pretty much taught me how to play my class and be a good raider. He was the basis for my knowledge of ranged dps classes, basically. Except I was with Dan already – who you obviously know, it worked out with. Well one night we were chatting away the morning hours and he made me follow him. We were both Blood Elves and he made me follow him onto the boat to Darnassus, which was a long journey, and he led me to a little area just outside of the tree. It would have been around 5am and the Sun was coming up.. I still have a screenshot of my character from that very morning. I cannot remember whereabouts this place was. But it is firmly implanted in my memory. As I say.. a weird memory..
I have SO many good memories of Single Abstract Noun! The gnome rights march that we all did was hilarious.
I think a lot of people have these very special memories of Warcraft, and it isn’t because it was their first MMO. There were so many places that felt real, that had genuine emotion and power to them. That is why I still have the deep love of MMOs that I do – I think I’m still trying to find that feeling in every game I play.