“You see me now a veteran, of a thousand psychic wars…” – Blue Oyster Cult

Ok, the first question that immediately comes to mind when you clicked here was “Why the title?” At first I thought it was a cute play on my online identity... but since I chose it, I realized it really goes much deeper.

I’ve been playing computer games since there were home computers. Video games since Pong. Seen more games come and go more than WoW has players. Why am I telling you this? Hell, I don’t know. Right now it’s just making me feel old and tired... but a good game takes away all that. A good game makes you forget your bills, your stresses, your real life issues and to some, everything else completely.

Evercrack - I was introduced to that nickname by the disk-jockey I relieved on the weekend shift. He made his side money by testing games for a few companies... and was telling me about the game he had on the computer he brought into the studio (Weekend overnight shift, you get away with little things like that). It was this crazy game that let you play with all sorts of people at the same time.

“Like playing X-wing v.s. Tie?”

“No.. the company hosts the game, you just dial in.”

Well months and months later, he has the computer in the studio again. It looks more polished, yet he looks less polished. He claims he’s been playing a ton and now has no social life. “But there’s REAL freaks who play the game damn near 24/7. They’re even getting married on the damn thing”.

“Who would do THAT?” I ask surprised.

“I dunno man. They play it at work too, Real freaks.”

As I look at his computer, then back to him as he signs off on the air... I realize he has lost touch with irony. He’s one of THEM.

I became one of them when he hooked me up with a beta to Earth & Beyond. Elf games don’t exactly starch the linguini, space does. I’ve been a sci-fi fan since my Mom dragged me to this weird thing they just started doing called a “Star Trek Convention”.

Man, that was a great game. Our guild moved on to SWG when it launched and I fell in deep... even to the point of crating a talent agency for booking Entertainers. I was hip deep in SWG. I tried a mess of the other games too, just about every one with a beta program or free trial. Nothing hit the mark like Classic SWG... it felt like an online home.

Well, that home was lost over a year ago (I could go on and on about that, and already have). I played WoW and it was a cute game, but didn’t thrill me. Played City of Heroes since beta, City of Villains after that. Love those games, and still play them, but they don’t GRAB me. They don’t make me want to ignore the pain in my abdomen so I can make sure the concert tour for the SWG band I’ve set up goes smoothly. They don’t make me pissed two-days-later-from-a-hospital-bed-sans-appendix that I missed the tour kickoff. They’re just a game.

Nope. I’m a man without an online home. It feels like a dark place.

Don’t get me wrong… my life is pretty damn nice. Sure, I could use more money, but my work, family and overall life is great. Online, I feel like a hobo who occasionally wanders in to the CoH soup kitchen to try to remember what it feels like to have a life again.

But the nice thing is, I’m not alone. There’s thousands of gamers out there who are dying for something more. That’s where RealMMO.Com comes in.

RealMMO.com was created as a place for the MMO gamers to be heard. I’m not talking about the mindless prattle on the game’s message boards that gets ignored, I’m talking about the future of MMO’s. While other staff members will talk about mechanics, or features, or gameplay.. I’ll be the voice who throws a sarcastic comment out there, or a joke that will have that ring of truth. I’m the one who asks the questions tact demands I don’t. I’m the one who reminds the companies to remember that we’re the ones playing the games… don’t SWG us.

I’m one of you. I just have a forum, and I’m not afraid to rattle a few cages.

And normally, I’m much funnier too. Just ask anyone.

So this Dark Place will be a place where I’ll rant, rave, sermonize, satirize and ridicule everything about MMO’s and probably a few other things too.

Welcome. Make yourself at home. It’s not as much of a home, but the EMU teams are working on rebuilding that.

Shayde
12/23/06