I loves me my MMOs. The old cry of “SOW PLZ” from the trade channels of Everquest still ring in my ears (kids, ask your gamer parents). Though I’ve tried a great many, I never got very far in most of them. In fact, of all the MMOs I’ve played, I’ve only reached the endgame content in Daddy WoW. I made a great group of friends doing 10-man raid content in WoW:BC and WoW:WotLK. That time, alas, is past.
As Nick mentioned, it’s quite remarkable how much creating new worlds from scratch can devour one’s free time. Parenting does an impressive job of p0wning the rest. (L2P means ‘learn to parent while playing MMOs’, amirite? Haven’t mastered that one yet. I’m such a n00b.) It’s crushing me to watch Cataclysm’s release date approach and know that I won’t be able to play it. Because the fact of the matter is, while I’d still love to play, I can only seem to squeeze in a couple two-hour sessions a month no matter how hard I try. This, dear friends, makes the $15 subscription fee to continue the work of my beloved tank to free the world from evils great and small while keeping my friends from getting their faces melted cost-prohibitive.
So when I heard that Lord of the Rings Online was moving to a freemium model, I was thrilled. I’d stuck my head in the LotRO door a couple times in the past, so I already knew I’d love this game. Creating a new character and logging back in, it was everything I remembered. The graphics are gorgeous, the music is compelling, and there’s enough quest content to keep my lizard brain extremely satisfied smashing mobs and returning lost trousers to townsfolk in need. Plus, LotRO has something WoW will never have. Soon after I created my character, he crossed paths with a shadowy gentleman who went by the name of Strider. Strider was helping a Sackville-Baggins who was being pursued by a Ringwraith, but Strider in turn needed my help. He explained that there was a different Baggins that needed protection elsewhere–the true target of the Ringwraiths. Strider needed to get to that Baggins quickly before the Ringwraiths realized their mistake.
Um. Wow. Yes sir, I will help your cause.
Needless to say, I’m really enjoying LotRO, as little as I get a chance to play it. It’s firing on all cylinders for me. There’s just one problem. When you play as intermittently as I do, you end up missing out quite a bit on the “massively multiplayer” part of the MMO experience. I find myself agreeing with Leigh Alexander in her recent Kotaku post: no matter how much fun a game may be, it’s always more fun with a posse. But how can you gather a posse when you’re just not around all that much? We’re trying to answer that question in our own way with Bastion: Call to Arms, but I’d love to figure out a way to play with friends in the MMO environment as well, even if it’s just a couple of times a month. Has anyone else figured out a way to do that?
The only possible solution is to find others in the same boat. If only you know other gaming obsessed parents who wished they could play, but can only eke out a few hours of gaming a week!
Tongue in cheek, of course, but it does seem like the solution. There are many of us who must plan any fun two weeks in advance and only after cozying up to our SO to do the bedtime rituals. And many of them miss video games, but can’t afford to spend 17 hours a week playing.
Well hey there, fantasy gaming parent! Would you be interested in downloading one certain free-to-start MMO set in Middle Earth and schedule a few late night hours every week or two to traipse around as hobbits or elves?
Moi? 🙂 Actually, a certain other fantasy gaming parent you happen to know (who may or may not live in the same house) might appreciate getting first dibs. I know he’s desperate because he’s talked me into a one-player-game that he proceeded to spend the entire weekend “prepping” for.
Y’all should both play! There’s nothing more romantic than a night in virtual Middle Earth…with…a gamer friend…killing…orcs….. Well, perhaps not romantic, but definitely fun! I don’t recall what kind of PC equipment y’all have on hand at home, but given that you’ve both been known to hack a line or two of code, I figure there’s a decent chance you have two halfway decent PCs in the mix. AND, three is the magic number for some of the party quests in LotRO. 🙂
You’d be surprised at how bad the computers of two programmers can be. (Unless we use our work computers!)
I ran this idea past him, and he pointed out that only one of us named her trumpet “Anduril: Flame of the West”. I’ve never played an MMO before, although I have managed to mostly survive NWN, so I might need some handholding. But shall we set a date?
You’d be surprised at how bad the computers of two programmers can be. (Unless we use our work computers!)
It’s true, actually. My Mac mini is a joy to work on, but a gaming powerhouse it is not.
My neighborhood must be wondering why the crazy guy looking at his phone is laughing so loudly while walking his dog. Anduril, indeed. Let’s figure something out tonight!