Hello again. It seems there are some people following me and stuff. That is cool. I'm spreading the word about my blog. Not sure why, even I don't find me that interesting. Granted, I am doing it anyway because I am bored. So, I think I am going to talk a bit about Star Wars Galaxies. It has been on my mind recently, and with the imminent closure of one of the best games ever made, I feel it is time to share some of my feelings on it.
Let me start out by saying one thing:
I LOVE STAR WARS GALAXIES
Now that I have that out of my system, I can tell you all why. I have been playing Galaxies for quite some time now. Some would say too much, which is probably true. I have enjoyed my time in this game immensely. Normal people get so put off by MMOs sometimes. "Why would you spend so much time on a computer on something that doesn't even matter?", "Why not go make some friends outside?", "Nerd! Get away from me!"... Well... That last one wasn't really related. But you get my point. I know so many people who will put in hours and hours into first-person shooter games yet, how often does that time show? Sure you are good at the game, but what else do you have to show for it? MMOs to me are all about what you get out of the immense amount of hours you put into it. I'll explain.
There are a lot of things that bring people to an MMO. Things that draw you in. People love game play mechanics, or graphics, content, or story. Whatever it may be, there are things in games that make people come back year after year. In terms of Star Wars Galaxies, it was the Star Wars that drew me in. More than anything, it was the ability to leave my mark on the Star Wars universe. But I got so much more out of it. Yes, the game play is fun, yes the mechanics are neat (I will go much more in depth later), and the story is obviously cool. What kept me going was the people. I have played a lot of MMOs, and I have yet to find a game that forces you to interact with people more than Star Wars Galaxies. 99% of the end game content (armor, weapons, all that) is player-created. Even if you buy three accounts, have all the different kinds of traders and a combat character, and craft all your own weapons and armor, you still need to find groups of players to run content for stat bonuses or loot-able schematics. This game forces you to meet and speak with other people. I suppose you don't have to, but where is the fun in that. Go play a single player RPG.
Back to my original point. An MMO is all about what you get out of it. I got friends! Which might be weird to some of you normal people. I know plenty of people who think that everyone who sits on their computer and plays a lot of games has almost no friends. Not true, in face, it is quite the opposite. We have a lot of really good friends. Mostly because of how often we interact with those that we play with. Sure, you can make some friends when you play Call of Duty, but do you spend hours on end talking to them about whatever is on your mind? I doubt it. Please note, I am sure there are some of you who do, but the majority do not.
This is where SWG sets itself apart. Because of the forced interaction, I have made more lifelong friends than in any other game I have played. A lot of whom I have met in real life, and am still great friends with to this day. It is an awesome experience. Sure, I have a lot of high-end items, cool pets, awesome armor, some paintings and stuff in my house, and a badass weapon. But even when this game goes toes-up on December 15th, I will still have my friends. Gaming is a stronger bond than you'd think. Just remember that normal people, next time you go to make fun of that nerdy guy who plays online game. He has a life, just a different kind.
Man. This was kind of all over the place, wasn't it? Sorry about that. Granted, if you came here for coherent posts, you are probably in the wrong place to begin with. As soon as my thoughts get more coherent, I will be sure to let you all know.
Peace.
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