So I've officially closed my account with Ultima Online. It is a massive multiplayer online role playing game, or mmorpg. I mentioned a bit ago how I was going to be making this move and how I'd miss it. I just closed the account last night, and I do miss it some already, but it's more of what it used to be than what it has become. Even if I weren't so busy with kids in school, work, and my committments to other self-improvement ideals such as keeping in shape, learning to play an instrument and making myself more well read, I'd still doubtfully be playing too much. It's fun periodically, and when you get into one of "those moods", you can immerse yourself into the game for hours and it feels like minutes; but ultimately it has changed enough that it's not as much fun anymore for me. So below will chroicle my introduction to Ultima Online and highlight my journey through it in my feeble attempt to purge myself of any desires to make a futile attempt to return to the game in the future.
I started playing the game shortly after I met my wife. We were working at the local Toy Store and going to college. Actually, by this time, she had quit since I was her boss and she wanted to focus more strongly on her studies. We had just moved in together, and Everquest had just came out. I remember all the awesome looking signage(that's what those in the biz call posters and cardboard cutouts and such) and just thought the game looked like it would be fun.
I had just delved into the realm of role playing games with Final Fantasy Tactics...to this day it is probably still my favorite game of all time. My good friend had grown up on Dungeons and Dragons and told me how great role playing games were. I had already shown interest in the medieval time period when I loved the renaissance faire we went to. So, I decided to look more into this Everquest game.
I went into Electronics Botique, the fancy video game store that was all the rage when I was a young adult, and looked at the game. The problem was...they were advertising this fancy VooDoo graphics card that would be great for playing Everquest. This was back when I barely understood these kinds of things, so I was leary about buying a game that I may not be able to play. By a stroke of luck, Ultima Online was merchandised near Everquest, as they were the same type of game, and they had just came out with their second version of their game, called The Second Age, or T2A. As a young adult in my early to mid 20's, it was the Mature rating that Ultima Online had, along with it's assurance that it would work on my computer, that reeled me in. Murders, blood, and violence...how could I go wrong? So...Ultima Online it was.
I got it home, and loaded it up. Barely realizing what I was doing, and quickly dove into the game. I was original and named my character after myself, and set out to figure out what to do in this game. My home town was Minoc, and what a splendid home town it was. It was a mining town, and I recalled briefly reading that mining was a good way to start to make money, so that's where I started, and ultimately where I finished. I love you Minoc!
As I recall, I didn't really die immediately. I got to go around and ask some people some things, even the NPCs. I didn't realize at the time what NPCs were...non player characters. So I am sure people were laughing at me as they watched me try to have a conversation with someone that was just an game character not controlled by anyone. Rather quickly, though, I found myself magically in a dungeon (ok, I walked through someone I didn't know's travel gate). Moments later, before I even realized I was in a dungeon, I was dead at the hands...errr breath...of a dragon.
So now, as I ghost, I'm running around this dungeon aimlessly, not sure what in the world to do. What seemed like hours later, I got out of the dungeon, still dead mind you, and promptly declared the game stupid and quit. It was at least a week before I thought about the game again, so I decided to get back on and give it another try.
Still a ghost, I wandered around the forest for a while until I was magically ressurrected, or so I thought. I really have no idea how, but I eventually made it back to Minoc and ran into the lone helpful guy that would provide me the foundation to desire to continue on in the game. I don't remember the man's name, but I remember the name of his home. In fact, I later on named my home The Holy Grail after his, in his honor.
So armed with the wisdom imparted by this unnamed hero, I began to stock pile money by mining and selling the ingots to blacksmiths. Ah...it was a simple time, when you could make an honest living by being a miner.
Now armed with a good sum of money, I believe it was 20K, I set out to purchase myself a home. There were no places that I could find, so I couldn't build a home myself, I had to purchase one from someone else. This lead me to a man named Mucs fo Duts. Leave it to me to not realise that someone that named himself Stud of Scum, backwards, wasn't completely trustworthy. The kindly Mucs fo Duts *read sarcasm* introduced me to the only man in the game I've ever hated, Ramuah. I know I've said before that I don't understand hate, but even recalling this man, Ramuah, envokes rageful feelings inside my soul.
"I'll sell you a house for 20K," the loatheful Ramuah said gleefully. And so I follow this man to a medium sided house that I should have known wasn't available for 20K...but me, the Happy Idiot, followed him into his house, ready to become a homeowner in this new adventure called Ultima Online.
"You've got the check, on ya, right?" he prodded.
"Yep," I replied blissfully.
"Great. Go ahead and have a seat in what will be your new home," he said, hoping I'd take the bait.
Of course, me being the Happy Idiot, I took the bait and sat down. At which point he set a crate down in front of me and locked it down, making it impossible for me to move out of the chair. Then, ever so calmly, Ramuah began to kill me with Energy Bolts. My heart sank as I watched my healthbar go down, realizing that all the work I had done for the past few weeks was going to be lost. Before I knew it, I was dead and my ghost was banished from his house so that he could pull the check from my carcass. The only solace I was able to take was the fact that he seemed shocked that it took me more than 2 Energy Bolts to die. He had to meditate so that he could come back for a 3rd.
That was on of my many low points in my Ultima Online career...my first PK, or Player Killing.
Eventually, I met a nice man named Southern. He sold me 3 very small houses over the next few months. He even tolerated me as I prodded him to let me pay half up front and then the second half after the house was transferred to me. Can you blame me after my first housing debackle?
During this time, I also met my best friend on the game, Amroth. He was an awesome young kid...and even helped my wife, then girlfriend, "refresh" my houses when I was in the hospital getting my appendix taken out. He quit rather early. I missed playing with him in the Lost Lands, where I foolishly thought I could easily take on a Ophidian Knight-Errant.
Yes, it was fun, but never quite the same after Amroth left. I largely became a loner, intent on becoming entirely self-sufficient in the game.
I joined a guild, stuck through all the PKs that I fell victim too, battled through the introduction of Trammel, and even held out through the beginning of Ileshnar. I quit for a while, sold my account, and then bought it back and started playing again. That was fun too, but as you may be able to tell from the abrupt change in pace of my story, it just wasn't quite the same after Trammel was introduced.
It was seem by many "hardcore gamers" as the sellout to expand the game for the newbies. Shortly after Trammel was introduced, many items were "duped" and the economy was never the same. You can easily build a home in half the time it took when I first started...which seems to take the fun and challenge out of it.
And now, as I wind down my trip down Ultima Online memory lane, I feel better in my decision to leave the game and have little doubt that I will refrain from making a return attempt. It's hard sometimes, but also can be for the best to leave with those memories still fond and intact. You're a great game Ultima Online...you provided lots of great memories. I'll miss you.
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