allow me to preface this by saying I am now 33 yrs old.. I've grown up with the internet to the degree only few understand. It started when I was in high school hearing other techies talk about a "modem".. and with that i began with 14.4k baud I ventured into what became to be known as the internet
it was a text world back then but the possibilities were endless.. this new frontier had parts of it called BBS'.. these BBS' had.. RolePlaying Games much like the time-management games that now dominate Facebook and iPhone.. that's pretty much what the BBS RPG's were
then came MUD's.. it was the BBS' evolution.. then a completely world changing breakthrough.. Ultima Online.. then Everquest.. and FFXI online.. each one took something from the other and somehow someway, evolved it to the better of the mmo genre. To those who do not know, Everquest and FFXI as amazing as they were at the time.. was hard. Very hard.. Hardcore to the CORE. Then came a game called World of Warcraft .. this mmo further took things from its predecessors and enhanced it to make things.. FUN.
WoW became the top mmo game because it was FUN. It didnt have the insane hardcoreness of EQ until you've reached the endgame and it didn't shackle you to groups like FFXI did and presented the best experience levelling up. Warcraft took the world by storm.. but this is where the story stalled. Other games in the MMO market saw WoW's dominance and tried to replicate it..
keyword: tried. to. replicate. This was a failure of epic proportions.. 7+ years and nothing has come close to WoW except the original Guild Wars which was not even an mmo.. other games copied WoW's formula but this proved foolish because why would you pay money to play a COPY of a game?! Everyone eventually went back to wow
Enter Guild Wars 2.. it truly is the next evolution of the mmo genre and I for one couldn't be happier. Enjoy it everyone.. 7+ years.. it's been so bloody long. YOU DESERVE TO HAVE FUN AGAIN. Yes, you deserve to have fun! When you play and we experience things.. it's junkies experiencing the high for the first time once more and when the high subsides and you are immersed in this amazing world.. I want you to savor it. It's not so often we get an experience that makes our time spent worthwhile.
You will get to experience things that you long since thought dead and buried! Embrace it.. give yourself to it.. you are in the middle of something amazing! Do not deprive yourself of enjoying the moment and having fun again
- Playing in a world where others are playing COOPERATIVELY and not competitively anti-social
- real interactions with people you actually play with
- exploring a fantastic world.. literally going out there and seeing for yourself what lies beyond the bridge in the distance
- actual server COMMUNITIES and people, specially with WvW? you'll be amazed at this thing called Server Pride! something you may or may not have ever experienced before
- local reputations and co-existence and rivalries between guilds
- so much more to list but are genuine moments to be experienced again
BBS -> MUDs -> UO -> EQ -> FFXI -> WoW ... and nothing since
Until now. Every now and then someone comes along with a passion.. a vision. Real talent to make those dreams come true.. what I'm trying to say is enjoy it.. I'll share one of the pictures I love most.. it's not the commercial you've probably already seen.. this was a mural at their headquarters on the wall
truly, here's to the crazy
TL;DR: This is not a game, it's ArenaNET's Love Letter to the entire mmo genre allow yourselves to be enthralled by magic once more.. enjoy it everyone!