On December 30th they will be shutting down all Asheron’s Call 2 servers forever. I heard that they were going to be doing this months ago, but I really never gave it a second thought. I mean why should I? I haven’t played the game since early 2003. And when I did, I spent more time cursing than I did playing. Not to mention there are a half dozen better mmorpg’s on the market today. So then why, I ask myself, did I have this feeling of sadness come over me today when I read this article on wired.com entitled Not with a Bang but a Whisper.
I was sitting at my desk like the good little employee that I am when my diggtray alerted me of a new story on digg.com. Usually I ignore these alerts since there is a new story on digg every 10 freak’n seconds. But this one caught my eye. It was called The End of an MMO and the excerpt was as follows:
What happens when a massively multiplayer game is approaching it’s final days? Asheron’s Call 2 is doing just that, and Clive Thompson is taking a look into the desolate, anarchic final days of the game which will be turned off forever on Dec. 30
For those of you that don’t live in the fascinating world that I live in (e.g. normal people), mmorpg stands for massively multiplayer online role playing game. And these games really are all that. They are gigantic virtual worlds where thousands of players interact simultaneously. To help maintain these massive worlds and keep them running 24/7, mmorpg’s usually require a monthly subcription. Subcriptions usually range from $10.00 to $15.00 a month. Asheron’s Call 2 is one of these said games.
Now, I’ve always prefered playing first-person-shooters (f.p.s) and still do for that matter. But around 2002 I started really getting curious about mmorpg’s . You see, in a f.p.s. you usually play on servers that host 8 to 64 players at a time depending on the game. You can usually walk from one side of a map to the other in a couple of minutes. Now imagine playing on a server with one to three thousand players at the same time and with worlds so big and complex that it would take you hours or more to reach the other side. Not to mention the world is always there. Even when you aren’t playing, thousands of others are. It’s a world that never stops. I couldn’t even fathom it at the time. They must be exaggerating. It must look like crap or run like crap or just be boring as hell.
Then the day came when I had my chance to see what the big deal is. Before Asheron’s Call 2 was officially released they had an open beta for people to try. Essentially the point of an open beta is to work out any bugs in the game before the full release. And it was free. So I signed up, downloaded the client, and installed the game.
I was a little apprehensive at first. I’ve never played anything remotely like this. I’ve also heard how irritated some veteran players can get with noobs entering their territory. But I put that thought aside and logged in. The first thing I had to do was create a character. First you pick a name. From there you work on the characters attributes, appearance, race, class, skills, etc… I may be confusing some small details here with other mmorpg’s, but they’re all basically the same. Once I was done creating my character, who I believe was a ranger, I entered the world. They start you out in a series of caves. In the caves you run through a string of training exercises and tutorials. I remember it being pretty neat but nothing I hadn’t seen before in other games. I was essentially by myself in an enclosed area running around doing quests. But it was still fun, and very nice looking. The graphics were beautiful and very detailed. Once the training was finished, maybe an hour later, I was able to enter the world of Dereth.
I was absolutely blown away. I had never seen anything like this. I was on top of a large hill looking down over a valley. There were mountains on either side of me. I started making my way down the hill. When I reached the bottom I saw other players doing various things, most likely just getting used to the environment themselves. When I looked up I saw stars sprawled across the sky with a large moon off in the horizon. I kept walking, still reveling in the enormity of this place. In the distance I saw menacing looking creatures ducking in and out of the trees. The ambient music was soothing and yet very eerie. In fact the whole experience was eerie. The first couple of days were very quiet and one couldn’t help but to feel alone. The beta was still relatively new and the thousands of players that would soon occupy this land were not yet there. It felt like one of those movies where everyone in the world was gone except you. It was like walking down the streets of New York City in perfect silence completely devoid of life.
Over the next couple of months I explored the world of Dereth. I saw rolling hills and green fields that seemed to span miles. I saw great cities with hundreds of people bustling around in the streets, selling there goods, playing music, or just chatting with their fellow citizens. I saw beautiful coastlines that stretched as far as the eye can see. I went on dozens of adventures with friends I met in-game and some I new from my real life. I watched my character grow from a fragile apprentice to a seasoned warrior. It was one of the greatest gaming experiences I ever had. If you’ve never played a game like this before then you are probably thinking I am a lunatic. But that’s okay. I felt the exact same way you did at one time.
Over time I started drifting away from the game. The game ceased to be fun for me and felt more like work than pleasure. After about 5 months of playing AC2 I finally logged off for good. At the time there was no sense of remorse. I just moved on to the next game. Almost relieved that it was over. But the world would continue with out me.
I’ve since played other mmorpg’s and dozens of first-person-shooters. Great ones too. I’ve played hundreds and hundreds of games throughout my life. But there are only a select few games that give me such an overwhelming sense of nostalgia the way Asheron’s Call 2 does. It was one of those few game games that piqued my emotions.
In the article by Wired, Clive Thompson writes:
“Anybody out there?” I type, but I already know it’s pointless. There’s nobody anywhere near me. For almost an hour, I’ve been wandering around a desolate plain: Gray clouds scud slowly over rough quartz mountains, while a few birds wheel in the air near mushroom-shaped trees. I never see another living soul. It feels like the end of the world.
We have come full circle. When I first set foot on Dereth it was beautiful and desolate. And now, at the end, it is desolate again. But in between these two times, thousands of people occupied this virtual land. Friendships were made. Countless hours of adventuring were had. You could come home from a long day at work, sit down at your computer and escape from reality for a time. You could be alone in your house and yet surrounded by hundreds of strangers, all there to have a good time and to meet good people.
It was quite a time. And I will especially miss those first few weeks I spent in AC2. As of December 30th, all Asheron’s Call 2 servers will be shut down forever. No one will ever set foot on Osteth, Omishan, or Linvak Massif again. All characters will be permanently deleted.
The point of this entry was for me to just reminisce about that world I had almost forgotten about. And to say one last goodbye to Dereth and to all the people who made it such a great experience. Goodluck to you all, and thank you for the great times.
Filed under: Zen Geekery
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