Philosophy- Why do we game?

MissTerious

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First of all, let's throw out the thrill of being better than other people. That doesn't apply to me.

I just turned 65. My sons are grown and play other games. I have all the money to build a stable of super tough characters. Before Facebook, my community was Everquest. I socialized THERE.

Remember the metaphor of gamer types being linked to a deck of cards? Diamonds were in it for the loot. Hearts for community. Spades (like for digging) were the explorers (what will happen if I do this?) And clubs for the domination (clubbing people over the head.) I'm a heart and spade type. I don't even have any new zones to explore or riddles to solve.

I don't have a lot of time left so I have to choose between entertaining myself and building something of value. Energy is an issue- gotten a lot worse since my pulmonary embolism/stroke in 2014 although my hand-eye coordination is below average, even for an old woman. (We didn't take typing class until 9th grade!) When I think about logging on 4 characters and dragging them around, I decide I'd rather read.

Everquest, for socialization purposes, was hurt more by the direction that games in general, went. Get in, play hard, get out. Raiding stopped being fun when they started parsing everyone and it only took 2 minutes to med to full. No time to chat! Just be professional. ><

So, here I am, with everything I thought I wanted 15 years ago and no purpose. Should I just quit? What's the point in a treadmill of gear upgrades? I'd help people but they don't really need anything I'm good at. (I suck at melee because of the aforementioned visual-motor suckage.)

I'd especially like to hear from others at my point in life.
 
I guess what I'm really missing is grouping.
 
I really can't answer if the time / reward is there for you MissTerious.

If you DO want to keep playing the game and socializing you may want to consider shopping around for a good casual guild with an active voice chat channel.

Maybe post this question on the EQ forums and see which server/guilds might be good to try out.
 
Hmmm, I COULD get more guildies to log into our Discord channel! Some of them are old (not like me, :-D) and averse to anything approaching RL socialization. And my first officer is as deaf as a door post.

Good idea though. I might try that. Even if it's a one-night a week meeting. Overseer really took a lot out of socialization.
 
I really can't answer if the time / reward is there for you MissTerious.

If you DO want to keep playing the game and socializing you may want to consider shopping around for a good casual guild with an active voice chat channel.

Maybe post this question on the EQ forums and see which server/guilds might be good to try out.

Sometimes, we have keggers in POK but not a lot of chatting goes on there.
 
Early EQ was a highlight. None of us knew what we were doing. It really was a new medium that nobody had really figured out how it properly worked yet. Progression was exploration of the world, trying to figure things out with people you met ingame. The world seemed huge. Chatting was the best way to learn what to do. The thought of getting max level, so you can contribute to a guild raid was a huge drive. When you wipe because you were missing a certain AA, that pushed you to grind that to help the greater good. I still remember getting about the 3rd monk epic on the server. You'd spend your off raid hours trying to do the leg work. The whole guild was generally excited when you finished your epic as it was a huge boost to the guild power. We really had no idea what we were doing but we wanted to progress. Over time the world got smaller, leveling turned into a science of go to this zone at level XX, kill this level mobs with this group makeup, to get XX% exp per hour. Don't do this encounter unless you have xx Clerics with xx AA and a warrior with xxxxxhp's.

I remember spending about three months, everyday with a group of friends hanging in howling stone to hit level 60. It is a great memory. It felt like a huge accompaniment at the time as level 60's were still pretty rare. Every single person in that group from 2000 I still talk to 21 years later. It wasn't the most efficient way, but it was a long grind, as we didn't really know what we were doing.

I always thought when I retire, I'd just play EQ 24/7 but without a good group of friends I am not sure that will happen. The problem is the magic is not there when you get cookie cutter expansions, and you just start to feel it's a carrot on a stick hanging in front of you.
 
Nailed it, Fry.

I know it's easier for them to just use the same maps from earlier expansions because the companies are pushing for a Product on a Deadline. In a way, we worked ourselves out of jobs with databases of known knowledge. And guilds, in their rush to be the first, have taken away everything except the competition aspect. It's all a grind. A "what now" scenario.

So I had an idea. A server-wide Discord channel that's always open. Alternatively, a monthly Discord party for the server. It's critical that we have voice and photo ability. Remember when the servers were down and we'd all join the chat and catch up with each other? One small thing we could do as this community is have Voice Night in Bugs' Discord.
 
I personally hate voice chat. I prefer to have music on and read/write as my primary method of expression. The mmobugs discord has a few regulars but isn't what I would call super active and I don't recall seeing much in the voice area, in part because I never look.

If you want to chat about EQ stuff there is an official EQ discord.
 
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people play EQ for the chicks LOL :p

Actually here is a dark analogy
Its the addict that still goes thru the motion of getting high but never gonna get that feeling again, no matter how many classes they try or how many progression servers they go to

either regularly or from time to time, go thru the motions, not remembering how fun it actually once was.

People have grown up, moved on and some even died
those of us still here didnt read the memo so we remain

Its now more of a dirty habit kind of like chewing tobacco
you know its not really socially acceptable but you dont care.

Camp check!!!
 
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I'd especially like to hear from others at my point in life.

I'm in my late fifties and still enjoying EQ. I like the social aspect. I find the fun in raiding. It's a nice set time when I know there'll be people I know and we'll knock over something together. It ebbs and flows in terms of excitement. Toward the end of an expansion, it's boring as you're doing the same raids over and over. But with a new expansion, it's fun trying to figure out raids. I don't play a melee class on raids as I can't handle the quick grab adds, etc., aspect. There are classes though where you don't have to be super fast. I play one of those classes.

I usually keep a few toons in casual guilds and I have buddies I enjoy helping out on things. Even so, I stop playing EQ ever nine months or so for 3 to six months and then come back. If the game stops being fun, quit. But you might try raiding if you haven't before. Raiding isn't nearly as hard core as it used to be. I do 9 hours a week over three days. And if I don't feel like logging on one of those days, I skip a day.

But I do hear you. I almost quit EQ in June when the guy I'd grouped and did things for nearly the full 20 years of EQ died of cancer. It just stopped being fun for awhile. Which reminds me, I need to call his mother. We got to know each other and I promised to keep in touch.

Good luck, I hope you keep playing. But there's nothing wrong with taking an extended break from the game.
 
I have raided in the past. When you had nothing to do but chat for a few minutes while recovering from a wipe, it was very social. But now, even on open raids, moronic raid leaders are blaming the healers when it's the tank's fault for them getting killed. Everyone is parsing. It's all so serious and business-like. I used to admire the Get-er-done attitude when we had time to socialize before and after the raid.

I can't take a break for more than a few days. I'm the leader and the Face of the Guild. Many sociable people quit after one of their toons were wrongfully banned. I miss a lot of old friends. I feel your pain. Nobody I am close with in EQ has died. I'm really sorry for your loss.

It boggles me that instead of giving big boosts in xp for real grouping, DBD gives us more time away with Overseers. A returning player asked me, "Is is always this quiet?" I pretty much don't go out on adventures anymore.

And General Chat is a cesspool.
 
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If you want to chat about EQ stuff there is an official EQ discord.

When people had to have some intelligence to get online (cue modem tones,) it would have been great. Now, the conversation there is only slightly higher caliber than General Chat.

I've having fun this weekend! Old school science fiction convention online. Just what I needed!
 
So much truth in these replies. The MMO decline started when they became accessible to normies (just like the rest of the Internet). Fry is right that the early days were magical because there wasn't much in the way of guides/resources around that you could look at for easy walk-throughs on how to do things (anyone remember shelling out for those "how to make plat" guides back in the day, or eqmaps?)

Dealings hit the mark on the head too. We didn't read the memo to move on. I'd be willing to bet that those of us still playing EQ today probably have some obsessive/addictive tendencies lol.

There's always P99 if you want to relive the glory days. There are a lot more people there that are social. Yes, there's guild drama, too. But, you definitely get the group experience of the early days. Death is meaningful. Groups matter. There are good casual guilds. People visit zones that are normally dead. The world is big again because there's no fast travel outside of druid/wizzie ports.

There were three EQs (and no, not eq2 haha). There was classic, there was the transition with Luclin and the AA system, and there was PoP-onward which is where I mark the point of the transition to the game as it is today. Side note: it would be cool to see an emu server that incorporates most expansions, but without PoP/fast-travel, and re-tooled to be done without AA.
 
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Remember when everyone was standing outside the bar in POK to group with anyone to do the Old Man McKenzie missions?