I have many fond memories of GemStone III. I can also credit my typing speed to the need to stance dance in that game, of particular importance for Warriors like me. I also had my fair share of...
I have many fond memories of GemStone III. I can also credit my typing speed to the need to stance dance in that game, of particular importance for Warriors like me.
I also had my fair share of relationships in game, and ended up meeting a handful of people I'd only ever known in-game in real life too. I remember calling a friend at like 2 in the morning, on his house's land line, because I'd gotten myself killed on the road to Icemule without any deeds. I remember that same friend calling me at a similar early hour with news that the Juggernaut had rolled into town.
Loved this article! I never played GemStone III, although I think I vaguely recall seeing it back in my early AOL days. This made me think of early online games I played. I don't think I really...
Loved this article! I never played GemStone III, although I think I vaguely recall seeing it back in my early AOL days.
This made me think of early online games I played. I don't think I really played much of any text-based online games, but I do have fond memories of The Realm, which was one of the earliest graphical MMOs. These games gave us low-stakes ways to get to grips with social interactions… and to lose innocence without all of the implications that doing that in real-life can bring. If your character has something stolen in a game, it teaches you about interactions with other people the same way that having something stolen in real life does, but it probably isn't traumatic.
I was in DragonRealms instead (another game from the same company) but was also a teenager in the late '90s and went through a lot of similar experiences. It was absolutely a formative game for me...
I was in DragonRealms instead (another game from the same company) but was also a teenager in the late '90s and went through a lot of similar experiences. It was absolutely a formative game for me and still shapes how I think about both social interactions/communities online and the mechanics of RPGs.
I have many fond memories of GemStone III. I can also credit my typing speed to the need to stance dance in that game, of particular importance for Warriors like me.
I also had my fair share of relationships in game, and ended up meeting a handful of people I'd only ever known in-game in real life too. I remember calling a friend at like 2 in the morning, on his house's land line, because I'd gotten myself killed on the road to Icemule without any deeds. I remember that same friend calling me at a similar early hour with news that the Juggernaut had rolled into town.
Loved this article! I never played GemStone III, although I think I vaguely recall seeing it back in my early AOL days.
This made me think of early online games I played. I don't think I really played much of any text-based online games, but I do have fond memories of The Realm, which was one of the earliest graphical MMOs. These games gave us low-stakes ways to get to grips with social interactions… and to lose innocence without all of the implications that doing that in real-life can bring. If your character has something stolen in a game, it teaches you about interactions with other people the same way that having something stolen in real life does, but it probably isn't traumatic.
I was in DragonRealms instead (another game from the same company) but was also a teenager in the late '90s and went through a lot of similar experiences. It was absolutely a formative game for me and still shapes how I think about both social interactions/communities online and the mechanics of RPGs.