We used to hype up and try every single new mmorpg our computer could run, trying to find our next gamer nest. Eagerly waiting for that one perfect game. Most of us had it. Most of them died. We're all left with personal tales of that one MMROPG.
The era of MMOs as every online gamer's passion is gone. It lasted several years while client-server technology and gameplay concepts advanced. Lots of it was just Tibia copycats, crappy World of Warcraft clones or Perfect World variations.
Some of them hooked me or you. We just sank in and devoted countless hours from our youth we fondly cherish. Those were the good times. Guilds, groups, solo exploring, item hunting.
But eventually the non-wow playerbase always dies. Years go by while we continue game hopping until we find a new home.
All of a sudden releases are much scarser. There is too much competition so no companies can keep players for long enough. Everything had been feeling generic since the commercial goal was reaching a level of success comparable to World of Warcraft. Developers were finally giving up on this.
Sure, we still those mildly successful Aion-likes and plenty of instance-based casual exploration "mmo"rpgs, but that's about it. The current sandbox mmorpg trend is dying out as well, like a bitter goodbye.
I hold precious memories of my Trickster Online guild, a long term group in Dungeons & Dragons Online (not Neverwinter) and all of the minining/smithing from Runescape 1 (the very first version).
What about you guys? What fond memories do you hold on to this day? Do you think Wow Classic will bring some of it back? (I hope so)
