Welcome to the last MMOries of a Gamer of this year. 2010 comes to an end and when you read next column, 2011 will already be here, with new hopes for the gaming community.
This week, I want to tell you of a special moment I’ve lived playing MMOs in these special dates. We all know MMOs never stop, are always there, always ready for us to play; so you’ll find many players in virtual worlds, even on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. What’s the point of it? Well, many players have a strong sense of community and they simply miss their online friends or their “guildies”. It’s nice to log on and say hello to your mates, taking the opportunity to wish them a happy Christmas. That’s how my story begins…
It was 2000, New Year’s Eve. I was playing my first MMO and I was curious about how busy the servers would be, on a day like that. I logged in and, to my surprise, the game was full of people, giving me the best welcome I’ve ever had in my whole life. Everyone was cheering, shouting and wishing the best to me, but what really got me was certain player that messaged me:
Friend: -“Hey, Merry Christmas. I was waiting for you, mate. :)”
Me:-“Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas, nice to see you online, I was hoping to wish you the best for this year. :)”
Friend: -“Look behind you, mate.”
Me: -“What?…”
I turned back to see my friend right behind me, waving, smiling and cheering.
Me: -“LOL, what a coincidence!”
Friend: -“It’s not. I knew where you logged out and figured out the time you would log in to say hello… I was waiting for you, as I told you. Surprise, my friend! :D”
You know, avid gamers, that was amazing. I really thought then, that real friendship comes up from MMOs sometimes. Since then, I’ve made really good friends. We stay in touch, outside of the MMOs we play and I know I can count on many of them. Isn’t that awesome? Gaming friendship is something that really amazes me. My friend was on the other side of the world, thousands of miles away from me, but in that moment he was so close. Christmas time.
So I wanted to dedicate this week’s MMOries of a Gamer to all my online friends, the ones I keep, the ones I’ve lost and the ones not among us anymore. The best of MMOs, are all the great people I’ve met all over these years. To all of them: Cheers, may I see you online for another 10 years more and, of course, happy Christmas to all the gaming community too!!