Reminiscences of an MMORPG burnout victim

Reminiscing about Ultima Online in the comment-field in a different post made me all nostalgic, like. And I came to realize that no MMORPG (or MMO, if you prefer) I have played since has struck a chord with me to the same extent as it did. Not just because it was my first MMORPG – I recognize that very little compares favorably to one’s “first”, but also because UO awoke in me a desire for virtual worlds. Take note that I used the word “worlds” there and not “games”. I like games. I’ve played games all my life, and will continue to do so for as long as I am able to. Virtual worlds, however – that’s the stuff dreams are made of! Also, the Matrix.

Let’s take it from the beginning

Attending the Court of Truth on Atlantic

On the 31st of December 1997 I started playing Ultima Online. It sounded like a dream come true at the time; to be able to run around in the Ultima-universe alongside other real people living out our alternative lives, dispatching hordes of monsters, living the stories, even baking bread? Hallelujah!

A cousin of mine got the game as a Christmas gift, after I had been drooling over the game for months and he had barely heard of it! O, what cruel fate! Luckily for me, though, his computer did not meet the minimum required system specifications (Pentium 133MHz, 16MB RAM, 4X CD-ROM Drive!) to run the game, so the game ended up being installed on my beast of a P200 MMX instead *rubs hands gleefully together sometime in the distant past*

A couple of months later I got my own copy of the game and from then on there was no looking back (until now).

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Stop the press!

Holy crap, BatmanGuybrush! This is awesome news:

One of the best kept secrets in game development history has been revealed. Telltale Games and LucasArts have put out a joint press-release announcing two brand spanking new Monkey Island-projects. The first one is an episode-based, five-part series by Telltale – Tales of Monkey Island – and the first episode is due out as early as July 7th!! Even better:  Ron Gilbert is/has been involved on this project (snipped quote from Telltale forums: “some design and story brainstorming, consulting, etc.”).

The second project we’ve (the public) known about for awhile already, though more details are available now. It’s a re-make of the original MI-game for both X-Box360 and PC, titled The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition. It’ll be out later this summer, and features full voice-over with the original voice-actors from MI3. We’ll also be able to switch between classic & new style in-game at the press of a button. Awesome stuff.

Put on your eyepatches, polish those wooden legs and prepare for a fantastic summer!

Edit: Just realized this almost reads as an advertisement/”press release” in itself. I’m just excited, that’s all. =P

Edit 2: Ron Gilbert has some stuff to say about all of this, plus he’s got some interesting observations and anecdotes (and screenshots) about the original Monkey Island game. Check it out.