I was listening to The Online Gamer’s Anthology podcast, episode 2, last night and it inspired me to formally document my own MMO/gaming memories before they slip the surly bonds of earth and are forever lost to me.  While I will probably work on that project offline in more detail, I thought it might be interesting to document some of my experiences and impressions here as well.  Today I thought I might reflect back on the heady days of Everquest, what led me there, and what some of my best memories of those times are. 

Although I had been a gamer for years before EQ came out, the games that lead me directly to EQ came originally in the form of MUDs.  I was in my sophomore year of college when a buddy of mine walked in one day with this list of telnet addresses.  Apparently he had helped some guy with some homework, they had gotten to talking about games, and this guy introduced us to the wonderful world of MUDs.  These were text-based games that we played from a dumb-terminal, green or orange text on a black screen.  The number of worlds seemed endless, and in all flavors.  We tried out several until we finally settled on a fantasy MUD called Mortal Realms.

I remember being so enamored with these games – it was such a novel experience in 1993.  One of the first things my friends and I realized was that you couldn’t “win” the game – there was no end point.  The second thing that struck me was how interesting and exciting it was to play with other people in real time, interacting and communicating in the same world.  MUDs introduced us to a whole host of other mechanics that later would form the foundation of the modern MMOs, “leveling up” being chief among them.  Once we tired of Mortal Realms, we moved onto a different fantasy realm called Mystic Adventures.  Little did we know at the time, but the roots of MMO addiction were being formed.  Even with nothing more than text against a black screen (and your imagination), you felt compelled to play and keep going. 

After my college days were done, I found myself in Chicago working at my first “corporate” job.  About a year after I’d gotten there, Everquest hit in March of 1999, and life was never the same.  Now I had played tons of computer games growing up, lots of RPGs, and even MUDs.  But to actually have a graphical, 3D fantasy world there thousands of other players would join you – that was exciting beyond words and it had never been done before on this scale.  I was fortunate to get into their phase 3 of beta, and played the game into release from there (it was at this time I remember buying the first computer I fully paid for – a Dell that ran at 450mhz – uber!).

I know I keep using the word “excited”, but it really is the best word – maybe “awe” as well – to describe what I felt at the time getting into EQ.  I quickly made a monk named Senjen Silentfist and proceeded to start exploring the world of Norrath.  I played very hardcore for seven months and got my character to level 42 in that time.  If any of you played EQ, especially at that time, you will recall how slowly leveling progressed, which was especially true when you hit the dreaded “hell levels” (30, 35, 40, 45) I actually ended up quitting EQ at that time due to it consuming my RL, but it was just about the time that enough 50s were around to start attempting the first Plane (Hate or Fear – someone can remind me).

For the sake of brevity, I’ll just list a few of the many EQ moments that to me are memorable and serve as milestones in my own gaming history: 

Camping for Ghoulbane:  I had a regular group of people I played with, a paladin being one of them.  I remember camping for the Ghoulbane quest so – many – hours.  We actually killed the rare spawn one time and our bard as the last one alive.  Just before she died she looted the body and typed “OMG a sword!!”.  So we all thought we had done it – defeated but victorious at the same time.  Turns out it was a rusty sword!  Aaugh!! 

Camping for the Flowing Black Silk Sash:  At the time, this was one of the best items for a monk.  If I recall correctly, it had a haste effect that would make you attack either faster or more times per attack.  So I desperately wanted to get one.  We camped that for hours and never did get it to drop. 

Grinding for Lightstones and dodging Griffons:  Early on in my EQ days, I was looking for a way to make money.  One way to do so was to sell Greater Lightstones (like 5 silver apiece I think).  These were valuable because not many people had them yet and the game was dark – you needed a lightsource.  So I would literally get up at like 5:00 a.m. just to be one of the first people out in the Commonlands with all the wisps to myself.  You had to be careful though, because there were silent, deadly Griffons who flew around the area and they could hit through walls, even if you ran inside an inn!! 

My first trip from Freeport to Qeynos (and back):  Attempted at a ridiculously low level, I ended up getting in a group of people with a couple of higher level people leading the way.  We went the Rivervale/Runnyeye/Gorge/Karanas route.  I can tell you, I don’t think I’ve ever been as nervous – scared!? – was I was running high above the Gorge of King Xorbb, in pitch black almost, looking down and seeing giant Evil Eyes roaming the paths below.  One false move and I would either lose my group – doomed to wander the gorge forever, or slip off the mountain and fall down into the path of those eyes.  On my trip back, I had gotten almost all the way to Highpass via the Karanas (and that was a long way!) when I died.  So I’m back in Qeynos, facing a trip of all that time again, with no guarantee of success.  Luckily a higher level person had mercy on me and led me back to Highpass, helped me get my body back, got me through Highpass itself (which was also scary), and back to the Commonlands.  Probably the most epic journey I’ve ever had in an MMO to this day. 

So those are just a few of my many EQ memories and what led me to its door.  I think that game and the experiences I had there will always hold a special place in my heart because it was my first real MMO.  I do remember some of the frustrations and things I didn’t like, but they are certainly overshadowed by all the great times.  Thanks for indulging me today and letting me walk down memory lane.