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Platform Nation’s “A Simple Question”: MMORPGs

By on February 16, 2011 in Gaming, General Gaming, Headline, Platform Nation 3

With the announcement that SOE has just released progression servers on EverQuest, it got me thinking about my glory days playing MMOs.  I guess I technically started back with The Sierra Network’s The Shadows of Yserbius (if you don’t count BBS roleplaying games like TradeWars 2002 or Legend of the Red Dragon), and grew from there into AOL’s Neverwinter Nights.  It wasn’t until Ultima Online, however, that I got a real sense of the “Massive” behind MMORPG (the term was technically coined at that point by UO’s creator and, looking back, UO is probably the first to give you that feeling).  I played Ultima Online until Everquest came out, and spent majority of my gaming in college on EQ.  So obviously, it holds a special place in my heart.  Hearing about the old-school coming back to EQ made me wonder:

What is your favorite MMORPG, and why?

Favorite doesn’t have to mean best.  I was really tempted to say Ultima Online here, because it was a game changer for me in what I expected out of my online experience, but I just think back to exploring Norrath, meeting people, dying, killing, dying some more, trains.. ah.. how can you forget the trains?  Anyway, EverQuest is, by far, my favorite MMO; one I wish I could go back to sometimes, but know that it would never be the same as those first few years, doing Karana runs, 45 minute boat rides, trying to creep along the walls in Unrest, sneaking through Neriak, getting lost in Toxxulia Forest.  I clearly have some bottled up issues I need to address.. don’t mind me.

Bonus points for mentioning if you’re still playing the game, and if there’s anything out on the horizon that has you excited.

A Simple Question (ASQ) is a weekly segment for Platform Nation.  Each week, you’ll be posed a question.   Give a response and let the world know what you think, there is no right or wrong answer here. If you have a suggestion for a question, hit me up on twitter @vttym.

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  • http://jonbarajas.com/ Jon Barajas (DZRK1345)

    I would have to say my favorite MMORPG experiences were either found in Star Wars Galaxies or The Matrix Online.

    There was something about Star Wars Galaxies in its original existences that made it the perfect player-oriented system. Everything from the buildings to the markets were designed and run by players, save for major cities. The crafting in the game was bar none; you had architects, shipwrights, weapon designers, armorsmiths and so on and so forth. Though, my favorite component of the game was no doubt the involved PvP factor. As we all know, there are two sides in Star Wars – the Rebel Alliance and the Empire. Players would choose to fight for a side and earn points with their faction for defeating enemy players or completing quests. These points would allow you to level up your rank in the army you fight for and also allow you to cash in for various rewards such as personal guard detachments, bases to include in your city (or even just an encampment), automated turrets to kill opposing players while you’re away or a variety of other awesome things like hospitals to respawn at.

    I personally remember nights where I would — alongside some old friends — travel across an entire planet across a 12-hour time frame where we would work in shifts to destroy Imperial bases to earn faction points to bolster our headquarters on Lok. There was a total of about 200 of us that would work in huge teams to take down AT-STs and cripple major Imperial player locations. We gained a ton of notoriety on the server and when our 12-hour raids began, Imperial resistance was at its highest. There were times, too, when our Rebel HQ was under attack, but we would line up our bases and call in detachments of rebel NPCs to help repel sometimes six-hour assaults by Imperial players. There was nothing more enjoyable than knowing your base could withstand such a relentless siege.

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  • http://www.platformnation.com/author/tym-kaywork/ Tym Kaywork (vttym)

    I beta-tested Star Wars Galaxies a long time ago, and remember thinking about the possibilities at that time of what kind of game this could be. I’m glad to see some of it came to fruition. Thanks for sharing that.

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