Today is Veteran’s day and a time to reflect on the sacrifices and duty of our servicemen and women. Though this story is not about them specifically I do want to acknowledge the solemn nature of the day and say I truly am grateful for everything our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines for me and this country. As we honor their past and future service I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on my MMO lifestyle lately and looking back at the various things I’ve done over the years. It comes to my attention that I’ve pretty much played virtually every title released and did so for more than just “the free month.” I’ve found fun and excitement in all of them but none last past the one year mark for me. I always feel that something is lacking and refer back to a “better time” in the industry: the time of EverQuest.
Frequently I will see forum arguments and blog posts about how players don’t normally make rational choices about which MMO they like. They simply “remember their first” as the best and always stick to that. I’m honestly not sure I buy the argument. This is especially true for me since people frequently explain away my zealous EQ devotion as “first MMO syndrome” regardless of how many times I point out it wasn’t my first rodeo. Before EQ I played a lot of Ultima Online and, prior to that, I played on MUDs. I was no stranger to massive online games when I first stepped into Norrath. EQ was just something different and special.
I remember being in a gaming store with Dresden talking about UO. The clerk overheard us and explained this “first person” MMO that we had to try. It almost sounded impossible but we went out and got it. EverQuest was a real “wow” moment for me in computer gaming and things have been different ever sense. I became an MMO gamer then and have yet to slow down.
These days I don’t really look at EQ1 as my favorite MMO. Everquest 2 has taken that title and holds onto it tightly. There is just something about the EverQuests that pull me in and hold my attention. They don’t seem to cater to the “players are morons” and “everything has to be extremely easy and totally explained” trends that some developers are currently hitching their wagon to. I also loved EQ1 for the fact that the attitude of “we can’t let players do that” or “we have to follow these design rules” didn’t exist. EQ developers would make crazy decisions that sometimes turned out to be huge mistakes. Sometimes those crazy decisions would turn into the most amazing features, though. Developers, like players, lived by “risk vs reward” then. These days it just seems like nobody wants to take the risks and I believe that is why these MMOs don’t resonate with me as much.
That leads me to ask the question, “Is your favorite MMO your first?” Is it your favorite because it was your first or because of something else? What makes you love your MMO?
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EQ1 was my first, but far from my favorite. Dark Age of Camelot holds that title, and will continue to for the forseeable future. The thing that DAoC did better than any MMO so far is give the players a sense of realm pride. People cared what was happening in the open RvR areas because it effected them whether they were involved in the fighting or not. That, and I loved the combat system. Directional styles made people GASP move their character during battle rather than auto target and hit hotkeys till something died.
Star Wars Galaxies was my first and by far my favorite. I have yet to play a game that allowed me to focus solely on crafting and have fun doing it due to it being such a great system. Even though I rarely did combat (except for space once Jump to Lightspeed came out), I never felt bored playing. I could hang out in cantinas and just have a good time with good people.
As far as liking it because it was my first, I don’t think so. Its just the only MMO I’ve played that embraced my playstyle the most.
The rose tinted glasses argument always runs into one major flaw with me. That flaw is that the people i played with in my first mmo, EQ1 were the reason i kept logging in and loved the game. Being a warrior the game wasnt hard or overly engaging so it wasnt the game play that kept me around. I know that i wouldnt trade the friendships that I made from playing there for anything.
I think my first MMO was indeed WoW. I liked it, and thought the whole genre of MMOs held great promise. I played for the ten day trial (via a friend code in those days), and loved it, but never subbed (knowing full well that it wouldn’t offer me good value). I almost picked up Guild Wars when it came out because it didn’t have a sub, but I didn’t have a good internet connection or $50 to spare at the time. I’ve played it since then, but as good as it is, it just didn’t *stick*.
I’ve since moved on to Puzzle Pirates as my “main” MMO. It’s still the online game I play most. The way they handle their business model has shaped my thinking on MMO monetization. It’s a very different critter from any other MMO, but that’s part of why I love it.
I’ll still fire up a WoW trial now and then, or jump back into GW. I play Wizard 101 fairly frequently, and pick up the occasional trial for others, like Free Realms or Runes of Magic. I’m even planning on trying out WAR with their new trial.
They are all fun in their own way, but they just don’t fit what I want out of MMOs. In the meantime, Puzzle Pirates is clearly the game that fits my schedule and preferences most. Do I look at it a bit rosily? Sure, but since I’ve made it a habit to look at the whole genre critically, even I, a big fan, can still see that it’s not perfect. None of these games are.
My first MMO was DAoC. I definitely do not think that was or is the best MMO. I don’t think I’ve ever particularly liked an MMO for more than 2 weeks straight. I think EVE came the closest.
My first MMO was EQ2. I can’t say that it is my favorite MMO but it definitely ranks pretty high compared to my current MMO, WoW. There are many things about EQ2 that I miss.
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Nah, first MMO syndrome is about the first multiplayer game where the push and pull of social connections hits you. It’s the first game where you realize there are real people on the other side of the monitor, and that you need them (as allies or as adversaries or simply as witnesses) in order to succeed in group goals (that contribute to your own game goals.) It’s the first game in which you gave up a RL social obligation for a virtual one.
That first social bond in the virtualverse is the one that’s hard to break and brings on serious nostalgia. A lot of it is self-projection, too.
First MMO syndrome is also about then viewing all future games through the perspective of a (insert your first MMO) player. What assumptions of the game systems (UI, combat, crafting, endgame, etc) are you carrying with you to judge the next game by?
People who haven’t played enough varieties of the genre then simply take the game they are most familiar with and call it their favorite, because that’s all they really know.
It’s once they break free of the first MMO pull and start sampling, that they hopefully start getting more of an idea of what they really like in a game, and form a more well-reasoned, rational kind of favorite then.
Well said!
From all the responses though most people seem to think the rose colored glasses of the first MMO is bunk. That means I can go back to talking about how EQ1 did design better in certain cases!
Well, if we can’t look at design objectively, what good are we when trying to make it better?
If EQ did indeed do things better (I wouldn’t know), absolutely hold it up as an example!
No way my first MMO is my favourite.
My first MMO was WoW. Which took me 3 years to realise has a design philosophy totally different from what I, personally, want out of an MMO, as a player. =/ Yeah it took me 3 years to realise that. Guild Wars is definitely my current MMO sweetie. Even if I am cheating on GW with Jade Dynasty. It’s nothing but a fling darling! She means nothing to meeeeeeeee! *mad giggles*
…my first MUD that I actually stayed on at more than 3 weeks (became 8 years or so lol) though? Yeah. That’s the ‘that girl was once my one true love, even though we’re no longer together’ game. (>.< weird innit. Me girlnugget, yet saying girl instead of boy in the preceding sentence sounded better to me.)