My roleplaying life started with MechWarrior 3. I picked the game up on a lark because it was on sale and I liked giant robots blowing each other up.
I was not expecting to enjoy the game as much as I did. I was even less expecting the lore of the MechWarrior universe to be so deep.
Offline play bled to online matches in the MSN Gaming Zone, which was my first true online gaming experience. People chatting, opening and closing rooms, just having fun...it led me onward to related forums. From there I decided to participate, and then start my own merc company--the Order of the Crimson Shield. It was a mercenary company that was devoted to identifying and naming in-game cheaters while fostering a roleplay story of free fighters, former Clanners and overall guns-for-hire. In-game, we carried ourselves as holy knights, and kept to Clanner ROE--no intentional legging of an opponent, and no firing on an enemy that was knocked down or shut down. The company survived for about three years, seeing us through the Pirate's Moon expansion release and the MechWarrior 4 release and Mercenaries ex-pack.
Trust me, folks, these were some of the best people I've played with and against. When you can get a bead on an enemy yards away on a 56K dialup connection, you can boast that.
I would play XI for about four or five years but only play it as the mindless grind it was, and so would think I was exhausted by MMOs until I found a title called City of Heroes. Not only was the game character creation robust, but so too were the creativity of the players. I was back in the RP fold, maining as The Midnight Kestrel, a sneak-thief and privateer who worked with the Sky Pirates supergroup before going rogue and playing both sides of Paragon City and the Isles. She would have adventures with random people and steady friends that saw her across time, space and beyond.
Ever since, I've seen MMOs as a roleplay space, and write characters and study lore accordingly. I've always been embroiled in long-running, full-featured and close-knit storytelling, while allowing an open door and free interaction policy in the groups I've run. It's enriched my gaming and my creativity in ways that no other medium has even compared.
That's why I RP. Interaction. The adventure and the connection and the drama and romance and sweat and camaraderie and challenge that only bands of heroes seem to achieve.
I was not expecting to enjoy the game as much as I did. I was even less expecting the lore of the MechWarrior universe to be so deep.
Offline play bled to online matches in the MSN Gaming Zone, which was my first true online gaming experience. People chatting, opening and closing rooms, just having fun...it led me onward to related forums. From there I decided to participate, and then start my own merc company--the Order of the Crimson Shield. It was a mercenary company that was devoted to identifying and naming in-game cheaters while fostering a roleplay story of free fighters, former Clanners and overall guns-for-hire. In-game, we carried ourselves as holy knights, and kept to Clanner ROE--no intentional legging of an opponent, and no firing on an enemy that was knocked down or shut down. The company survived for about three years, seeing us through the Pirate's Moon expansion release and the MechWarrior 4 release and Mercenaries ex-pack.
Trust me, folks, these were some of the best people I've played with and against. When you can get a bead on an enemy yards away on a 56K dialup connection, you can boast that.
I would play XI for about four or five years but only play it as the mindless grind it was, and so would think I was exhausted by MMOs until I found a title called City of Heroes. Not only was the game character creation robust, but so too were the creativity of the players. I was back in the RP fold, maining as The Midnight Kestrel, a sneak-thief and privateer who worked with the Sky Pirates supergroup before going rogue and playing both sides of Paragon City and the Isles. She would have adventures with random people and steady friends that saw her across time, space and beyond.
Ever since, I've seen MMOs as a roleplay space, and write characters and study lore accordingly. I've always been embroiled in long-running, full-featured and close-knit storytelling, while allowing an open door and free interaction policy in the groups I've run. It's enriched my gaming and my creativity in ways that no other medium has even compared.
That's why I RP. Interaction. The adventure and the connection and the drama and romance and sweat and camaraderie and challenge that only bands of heroes seem to achieve.
