My vacation into the virtual lands of MMO’s began with Asheron’s Call in 1999. Playing with friends in a persistent world had a certain novelty to it. Granted, the release of Diablo II the following year quickly put my stay in Dereth on hold. Not one to limit myself to one game, I “toured” multiple MMO’s up until World of Warcraft’s (WoW) launch in 2004. Multiple MMO’s huh? Take a look at this virtual itinerary:
- Ultima Online (1 month)
- Everquest (1 month)
- Final Fantasy XI (1 month)
- The Sims Online Beta (a few days)
- Asheron’s Call 2 (a few months)
The release of Asheron’s Call 2, in 2002, marked the first time I had set up a base camp in an MMO since the original Asheron’s Call in 1999. My stay in AC 2 did not last long, however, the group of friends that I was playing with ended up quitting the game. For the first time in years, I was no longer traversing the virtual landscapes. A whole year would go by before I would once again venture forth.
- Saga of Ryzom Beta
- World of Warcraft
In 2004, the perfect storm came together in the form of the Warcraft universe becoming an MMO.
Blizzard + Warcraft + MMO = WIN!
Blizzard games have been a staple of my PC gaming diet for years. Warcraft II, Starcraft, Diablo, and Diablo II were go-to games for me and my friends.
Sidenote: How many of you remember playing the original Diablo with a modem? I remember many late nights, on my Macintosh, spent listening to the pinging/ ponging modem language as I hooked up to battle.net. Good times. Haunting music. No option to run!
World of Warcraft came out the year that I went away to college. The game quickly became a way to communicate/ game with friends three states away. WoW had a darkside, however, one that almost cost me my love in the summer of 2005.
Guild Wars launched the following year (2005). Though technically not an MMO, Guild Wars provided a few alternative to WoW. Unfortunately, the beta period for this game all but killed the game for me (there are only so many times you can create a character, level, and then have it deleted). So I went back to WoW until things came to a head with my real life. Decisions had to be made.
Girlfriend or WoW?
Girlfriend of course! She won.
Girlfriend now wife.
I have played many MMO’s since WoW.
- Dungeon Runners.
- Lord of the Rings Online
- Warhammer Online
- Dungeons and Dragons Online
So many hours poured into games I never plan on returning to again. Reminds me of books left half read, tossed under a bed. In the end, I can honestly say that I have enjoyed the different worlds that I have explored. Each has offered a different experience that the game previous could not provide.
2009 marked the year I returned to Azeroth with my wife’s blessing. In playing, I have found that World of Warcraft does not have the same pull it once did. So I left the game once more to try:
- Maple Story
- Guild Wars (again!)
- Lord of the Rings Online (again!)
As you can see, I am an MMO tourist with a passport full of stamps. If 2009 has been any indication as to my less than monogamous gaming habits, 2010 is sure to be a busy year.
(Used as a resource for this article http://biobreak.wordpress.com/mmo-timeline/)
(1/26/16 Update: Reader Kevin Woodberry emailed me and asked that I link to his guide as a further resource. Check it out: Guide to Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games.)
The nightmare of waking up to find that all your virtual loot has been stolen is one scenario that I have yet to experience — note that I am not asking for this. I cannot imagine the feeling of characters/ items being ripped off; online possessions that cost a great deal of time to obtain suddenly gone. Account hacking via keyloggers and other nefarious schemes are seemingly quite common in World of Warcraft. We at JohnnyBGamer are all about empowering the people. So here are a few common sense ways to protect yourself:
JohnnyBGamer 