Everyone has a special relationship to a number of games. This might be the case because you have played these games very extensively or during an important time of your life. For me, one of these games is Freewar.
You might have never heard of Freewar, because it originally was a german Browser game, but there is an english version for several years now. The Browser game fact was important to me, because I did not have access to a Computer when I was younger (at least not all the time), and actually started playing this game through the Internet Browser of my Nintendo Wii (yes, motion control - ugh). I was looking for an MMORPG and this was the closest I could get. It was the first game for me to experience random drops and bragging about it to hundreds of other players, and it was magical. Another great thing back then was the ability to chat with so many people (via text, not voice). Now it is considered normal and can be done via Discord etc., but it was new to me and that made it so special. This is what the game looks like:
Short explanation: You are some creature with the usual RPG stats (attack, defense, life points, inventory etc.). The whole world is mapped on a 2D coordinate system, and you can see your current position on the map in the lower right of the screen marked by the red cross. Click on a field next to this cross to move around. Attack monsters, collect items, level up skills. It is simple and addicting or at least was back then.
When I first started playing, there were only german worlds. These servers had been online for a long time already, and I was just one of many players. In this time, I learned all the basics of the game. But the real fun started when the first (and only) english-speaking server went online. Everyone started at zero and by grinding you could easily become one of the more influential players. It made you feel like an important Lord in a fantasy middle-age world.
The first few years were just great. But then, things started to fall apart. On the german servers, there were regular updates with new content which kept players motivated. The english server however was managed by a different guy, and he did not enough to keep this game alive. Don't get me wrond, this is a huge task and I can imagine the struggle. But for this reason, the playerbase declined. The remaining players were basically gods at this point, and did not really need anything except for luxury items. They managed to earn tons of Gold (the ingame currency), which led to a huge inflation. With no new incentives to play and a broken economy, even the hardcore players became inactive.
What's left is an almost empty world and a wasted opportunity. To this day, the english server still has the most registered players (more than 20000), but only 10 or so are online simultaneously.
If you want, check it out. The registration is simple and there is no download or anything needed. I would also be happy to show you around, so message me if you like. Also, what is your childhood game?
I hope that this game will be brought back to live at some point, but I guess that it will just disappear in the vastness of the internet over time.
