Barbara had a point...

People... People who need people....

Okay, that's enough of that. I'll not be singing in the blog. Something for which I'm sure you're all profoundly grateful.

Life being what it is, last week was a ridiculously non productive week work or writing wise. (And while that entire sentence reads like poo, it makes sense in my head and we're going with it.) Thus, the all of one entry.

Today is a brand new week, though, so here we go.

I've long held the firm belief that there is one thing that makes or breaks an MMO. The people who play. A lot of people won't agree with me. They'll site gameplay, or fun factor, or whatever other hot buzz word is being bandied about that week.

Whilst all these things are an important factor in the success of a game, I still hold that the community devoted to the game is the most important variable.

Look at EQ2, my game of choice. I think it's the best game on the market and has been since it's launch. I will likely never be swayed from this opinion either. I can admit that the launch was a little rough and that the game needed some serious polish.

However, even as far from the yummy perfectiony goodness that it is today, nothing could have drawn me away from EQ2. The reason for that is simple. The community.

I got involved in the EQ2 community in April of 2004. The official forums hadn't been up for very long at that point and the community was in its infancy. Moorgard was still the only one running the show and we all spent a good deal of time chit chatting and speculating over every tiny tidbit SOE slipped us.

The months leading up to beta and then to launch gelled the forum community into a rather lovely and fun place to make friends and get game information. We figured out what did and didn't work, both in the game and on the forums.

I've made some very good friends from EQ2. But I didn't meet them in game. I met them there, on the forums where the community congregated during work hours when those of us not lucky enough to be able to play from work (yes, there are people who can do that... lucky bastards) would hang out and get our fixes.

Of the games I've played and the communities of which I've been a part, EQ2 has one of the tightest knit and mature bunch of game addicts I've come across. (By now I think I've used the word community a dozen times or so.... I suck.) This is what's kept me around, even through the burn out and the lure of other games.

Nothing else has had the feel that EQ2 holds and a large part of that is the people. For the most part, because to be honest every game has asshats, the people of EQ2 are warm and welcoming. They help newbies get started in the world and share amongst themselves.

I'm not saying that other games don't have solid communities. They do. No MMO out there can make it on gameplay alone. Man is a social animal and we congregate in groups. The trick is finding the group that fits all your kinks and quirks and makes you feel at home.

* brushes off her little "Home, Sweet Home" sign and hangs it up on her door in Neriak *

This is mine and you're all more than welcome to stop in anytime for the grand tour.