MMORPGs.

*courtesy of http://meltyzombie.deviantart.com/

The first MMORPG I attempted to play was Final Fantasy XI.  I played for about a day before I put it down though eventually I’d return.

I switched to Star Wars Galaxies.  I still think the Pre-CU version of that game was my favorite MMORPG.  I bet if I played it now I’d see so much wrong with it.  (Which I could do if I wanted.  Head here if you’re interested: http://www.galaxiesreborn.com/).   There was something about it though.  It felt like you could almost do anything.  I played religiously, exploited like hell, and then quit.  Ah – memories.

My friend had gotten FFXI so it was back to that.  This time I played daily for well over a year.  I had an active membership I would come back to for at least a few years off and on too.  Games like this give you memories.  They bring you together with other people.  It helps distort what your doing just enough to keep playing.   I eventually realized I didn’t play the game because I liked it.  I played it for the people I met.  I’m grateful that I’m still friends with them, but man, I hated that game.

You were always poor!   If you didn’t put actual work into the game to make money you were always gimped.  You had to party with six other people to make anything happen.  You could wait for hours for this.   And before you could join they would ask what type of gear you had.  No gear?  No dice.  No money? No gear.   Repeat.  I bought all my money in the game, which is a big no-no.

The game would tell you something was easy and it would kick your ass.

In my opinion it was unplayable, but I played it (and others)… for way too long.

*I’ll throw a note in here about my experience with FFXI.  This was from years and years ago.  I know the game is still going on, and I am not sure of how it has changed.  This is all from my perspective during my active play time a long time ago.  I’d love to hear about how it has changed.*

That’s one thing about MMORPG’s (at least all of them I’ve played) – You stop playing it for the game and start playing it for other reasons.   I tell my non-gamer friends that MMORPG’s are basically just really advanced chat clients.

That’s still my feeling on them.

I’ve played a half dozen or so I guess.  FFXI, SWG, Lineage II, WoW, SWTOR, and I’m sure some others I can’t remember.  The experience was always the same no matter the game or people.

Eventually you’re just chatting with people (or watching the chat) while running monotonous tasks.

I’ve mostly switched to other types of games.  I had gotten rid of my PC which made it so MMO’s were harder to play.  I’ve just gotten a PS4.  I still keep my eye out for new MMO’s to play.  I’ll buy them too.  And I’ll try to play them.

I’ve said a few times, “Elder Scrolls Online is coming out have you heard anything about it?  Should I try FFXIV?  I’ve heard bad stuff.”

It’s just a weird type of game.

I play single player RPG’s off and on and they don’t feel the same at all.  In a single player RPG the story either drives the game or it doesn’t.  If it doesn’t you just put the game down and you’re done.

To be honest after thinking about MMO’s so much I’m not sure if it’s just my personality, or my view of the game, or whatever that keeps me around.  I imagine other people just quit without issue.  It just doesn’t seem that way from my experience.  It feels like people stick around.

I would love to play one of these games again and feel thrilled to be playing.  Maybe my tastes have just changed when I haven’t wanted them to.  Maybe some of the newer ones coming out will rejuvenate my interests again.

What do you guys think?  Have you played these types of games a lot?  What kept you playing?  Why did you stop?