Top Ten: MMOs

I thought I might list some of my top tens. I am going to start with MMOs (Massively Multi-player Online games). I started making several lists on paper (remember what that stuff is?) and MMOs filled up first.

My online gaming started before there was a publicly available Internet. My dad subscribed to a dial-up bbs, Compu-serve I think. I could periodically connect to the bbs and enter 'moves' into a game.

Multi-player games played on one system gave you the enjoyment of social engagement but at the cost of control and view space. While stationed in Germany in the '90s, my friend Ron introduced me to an arcade that brought a new dimension to gaming. It was a 3-D game. 3-D was not the new dimension, however. It was a multi-player game in which each player had their own view of the world through their own goggles. Each player shared the gaming experience with their friends but also had their own content. For example, if you were playing a human you might find scribbles on a wall while your friend, playing an elf, saw legible 'elven' writing.

Modern MMOs provide us with a dazzling array of stories, IP (intellectual properties) and game mechanics. What they all have in common, though, is the ability to experience gaming on a grand social scale.

My top ten list for MMOs lists the games that I feel were important in my discovery of this genre or are games that are timeless and bring me back again and again.

• Ultima Online. This was what I consider my first true MMO. The isometric view was acceptable for it's time. The story line was familiar and fun. I still recall, decades later, some of the people I met there. Most notable was the open mechanics that allowed you to attack or steal from other players. There were few artificial limits on what activities you could engage in. It was frustrating at the time and I left the game for a while. When I came back, ready to engage misfit players, it was a great experience.
• Everquest. While I was stationed in Korea, away from family, a supervisor talked on and on endlessly about killing dragons and casting spells in some game called Everquest. He played it, he said, to stay connected to his wife. They played the game together. After I returned to America, I gave it a try and it was very engaging. The game was so addictive, research has been done on it.
• Everquest II. Following on the footsteps of it's aging but popular Everquest, Sony brought out a larger, more graphically advanced, more immersive evolution of their game. Unfortunately, it was a very empty world. It was fun to play, but without social interaction you are better off with stand-alone games. It is going free-to-play soon and I intend on revisiting the world.
• DAOC, Dark Ages of Camelot. I played this game for years without getting anywhere. I liked it. It has a unique system where there are three different factions, each with it's own races and classes. End game is endless player versus player combat between the different factions. I played for three years and never got a character above level 34. When friends started playing with us, my wife and I both leveled up new characters to the max level in a few weeks. I love the game, but most fondly recall the enjoyment of playing with friends. The end game PvP is not for me.
• EVE Online. A sci-fi game where you play a ship. Until recently, you never left your ship. It is such an amazing game, I cannot do it justice. The company pushes innovation after innovation and is advancing the state of game programming to mind blowing levels.
• Rift. A really odd game with three distinct play mechanics. You have regular player versus environment interactions. You have rift combat, where rifts open up and you battle elemental combatants. You also have faction based player versus player combat. While the different factions have different races, their classes are identical. Having said that, there is so much variety in the development of your class that you have to try to get yours identical to someone else's. What I really love about this game is that it is the most bizarre and alien environment I've seen and fun to explore.
• LOTRO, Lord of the Rings Online. My favorite IP set in the most beautifully detailed world. I love this game. I thought, at first, I might be disappointed in the very few cookie cutter classes. I still wish, from a gaming point of view, that I had more variety in my development, however they are telling a story and there are archetypes in the story to follow. No matter how I may feel about the classes, there is no end to what you can do or achieve and it never gets old. This is my all time favorite MMO.
• DDO, Dungeon and Dragons Online. I started playing Dungeon and Dragons when it first came out. Although I had stopped playing the paper and pencil game before DDO came out, I could not avoid trying a game based on IP that I grew up with. Some elements are disappointing for me, but the easy game play makes for group fun.
• ATITD, A Tale in the Desert. The game takes place in ancient Egypt. Completely strange in that there is no combat. It is a giant crafting game. It is pretty flat and one dimensional in that respect, but what they did with that one dimension! Best crafting mechanics in any game. I wish more games would take a page from this one. I don't play it any more and would be unlikely to return to it, but if you have time, you should check out the crafting system.
• Fallen Earth. Worth a mention. It is a good post-apocalyptic MMO.
• Anarchy Online. Worth a mention. A good alien sci-fi MMO.
• Voyage Century. Worth a mention. Sailing, farming, pirating in the old world.
• Darkfall. Special mention. I was really looking forward to this game. Open mechanics reminiscent of Ultima Online with good graphics. I waited patiently during it's development for what seemed like a dream game. However, when it was released I decided to boycott the game and I have not tried it.

A bit more than ten. Look forward to more top ten lists in the future.