{Some poetic license is in place in this post, but it's as close as I can make it to the reality}
September 3, 2005, Cheltenham, England, approx 12.30pm
I've been married for 3 weeks, and I've just had another haircut. If she manages to keep this up, I'll spend a fortune getting my head trimmed. Might have to just shave it all off. Ah, well.
Huh. I bought an hour of parking up the road, and I've used all of half of it... may as well wander into Game and see if there's anything worth getting on the PC Gaming shelves. Fat chance, really. They only cater to consoles, these days. Still, there might be something worth getting, and I'm a bit flush right now - I got paid last week, after all.
It's been a while since I've been in this store. At least the PC games haven't moved, so let's take a peek... Nah. Nope. Not interested. Huh? City of Heroes? Didn't I take a look at that, oh, a few months back? That's one of those online pay-to-play things, isn't it? Cool pic on the cover. Let's have a read of the blurb... Yada, yada, superhero, yada, yada, hype, yada, yada, monthly fee - well, that's a serious point against it - yada, yada, 30-day subscription included. Hmm. So. I buy this, set up a subscription, play for 30 days - and when was the last time I played a game for more than 30 days? - cancel it, and I haven't lost anything! Awesome. I need a new game to get my teeth into, since I'm getting bored with NWN, now.
I can afford this, and I'm newly financially stable. Let's give it a whirl. Worst-case, I've wasted the purchase price.
Over to the desk, hand over the game and my loyalty card - may as well get money off, if I can - answer the usual about can my computer run it and yes, I understand there's a monthly fee to play, thanks, g'bye.
* * * * * Later, at home, in the spare bedroom/study
"So, did I see you've bought something from Game?"
"Uh, yeah. It's a game I've seen a few times, thought I'd give it a go. It's one of those Massively Multiplayer Online things - there's a monthly fee, but I get a month free with the box, so I can cancel if I want."
"Oh. Okay. You're going to be installing that for a while, then, huh?"
"Uh, yeah. If that's okay?"
"Alright. I'll just do a load of washing."
"Sure. See you in a bit!"
I extract the box from the wrapping and prise it open - why do these things have to be so difficult? - and a wadge of documents flies out into my lap. Wow, there's a lot in this box! Umm... manual. Okay, good place to start... disk 1 of 4... okay, this game isn't small! Right. Disk in. Let's kick it off, read the manual, and see what happens.
* * * * *
Later
Heh. That guy in the red/orange/yellow flamey outfit on the install screen looks like a total idiot. Still, Blaster seems to be the "Archetype" I'm looking for, if I want to recreate that character I made a few years ago. Shadow. Richard Huntington. Or was it Huntingdon? Nah, that's a place in Cambridgeshire. I'll go with Huntington. And his sister, going to have to pull out that box and find her name - she was psychic, wasn't she? And keeping it a secret from her brother. And their arch-nemesis whatever-his-name-was. I hope the powers I can pick will let me do something with "energy".
* * * * *
Later
Disk 4, 95% complete. Awesome. I'm ready to rumble... 97%... 99%... 100%... Why is it that whenever you run something on a computer, it gets to 100% and then takes an absolute age to complete that LAST LITTLE BIT?
Huh? UPDATES?! Yeesh. Dear Lord, I don't know if I have the patience for this - these downloads are almost as big as what I've already installed! Right, this is going to take a while... better go downstairs and keep the wife happy. I'll pop in and see how it's going every twenty minutes or so. I wanna play! Patience. Yeah, I've not bought this game for months, so rushing now is a bit pointless.
* * * * *
Later
Right, server... umm... not French or German, so Union or Defiant. Huh. What's the difference? Probably none at all. Union's the one at the top of the list, so we'll go for that.
Character creation! Eeeexcellent. Let me see... Blaster, I already knew that... Ooh, Energy Blast! YES! HE SHOOTS, HE SCORES! Pick one of the Primary powers... right. Umm... Secondary Powerset? Bwuh? Umm... Oh, what the heck, Energy Manipulation. That fits the theme. Character build? Male. Average. Make him a smidgeon under 6 feet by that height guide. I seriously hope he's not swirly and green in the game. Costume. Well, it's me, so... black. Black spandex. All over. Covering the face, too... masks, masks... wow, there's a lot of options, here. Umm... none of them are full-face masks! Dagnabbit! Okay, grab the one that covers the most face, make the skin colour black, too, and put on something to cover the eyes and mouth... sunglasses and this funny cloth-thing. Huh. Okay, the all-spandex look is... kinda like a giant black condom. That is NOT cool. Needs to be cool. So... boots... yeah... and a belt... okay... that's good enough.
Right. Next screen... Enter Hero Name. Awesome. Shadow. Unavailable. WHAT?! ARGH! But it's the ENTIRE CONCEPT! Okay, okay, you're not an idiot. You can change this. It's not the end of the world. Hmm. Stick an "E" on the end. It'll technically be pronounced the same - I bet some people say it "Shadowy", though - and that's good enough for me. Enter Tutorial! WOOHOO!
Loading... loading... loading...
And here I am! Look out world, Shadow(e) is here!
Okay, movement controls, standard WASD, hold-right for mouse-look and... WARGH! INVERT AXIS! NOW! Phew.
* * * * *
Later
Wow, this is... actually... awesome. And all I'm doing is running around hitting things a bit! But this city looks so great! And these enemies are interesting, and the stories are cool, and... I'm getting to play this superhero that I made all those years ago while I was horribly depressed and had left home abandoning everything I knew and loved and... don't dwell. This is a different time. You're a different person. The memories are dark, but Shadow(e) isn't. He's a SUPERHERO.
Later
<Enter> "Umm... how do I change from chatting in local to chatting in Team?"
<Random player whose name I've fogotten but was the first person to team with me in the game> "See just above the chat-entry box? There's these little tiny buttons. The... third one along is for team."
<Team> "Cool. Thanks. Wow, that's easy. Right, where are we going?"
<Random Player> "Got a fight with Frostfire. You met him yet?"
<Team> "Uh... no. Don't want to get too far ahead of myself, though. This won't screw up my own missions, will it?"
<Random Player> "Nope. Doesn't change anything for you. You're just helping me."
<Team> "Cool."
* * * * *
7 years later
I have continually subscribed to this game from day one. At times I've paid for multiple accounts. I even paid for a friend's account when he was having money trouble, then took it over when he left for WoW. Yeah, I'm a dirty cheat. My wife has her own account. The only times I've not played have been when I've gone on holiday, otherwise I've logged in pretty much EVERY SINGLE DAY. I've racked up well over 7,000 hours (nearly 300 days) on my main character alone. I've made friends, lost friends, made an enemy or two. I've lived and breathed this game for SEVEN YEARS. I've been involved with roleplay on Union server for most of that time. Shadowe lived up to everything I hoped. His sister, Luminescence, came to be in 2006. And Psychonova, their arch-nemesis, followed shortly thereafter. I never did get Psychonova to 50. He's languishing in the early 40s. I bought EVERYTHING for the game up until the Party Pack. That's when I started cherry-picking. I have several professional sketches of my characters, done by the brilliant Draw The World Together artists at various shows and conventions. And I own some ORIGINAL artwork of Manticore and Sister Psyche that were done for a limited run sketchbook.
This is not "just a game". Not to me. It's a whole experience. And I've loved it. Not every minute, but on the whole, I've loved it. Thank you, all. Developers, Community Staff, QA, and my fellow players. Thank you for letting Shadow(e) exist as more than a thought in my head.
I will be here until the servers die. But Paragon City won't. It's in my heart, my memories, and it's in ME. You all are.
Thank you.
The wisdom of Shadowe: Ghostraptor: The Shadowe is wise ...; FFM: Shadowe is no longer wise. ; Techbot_Alpha: Also, what Shadowe said. It seems he is still somewhat wise ; Bull Throttle: Shadowe was unwise in this instance...; Rock_Powerfist: in this instance Shadowe is wise.; Techbot_Alpha: Shadowe is very wise *nods*; Zortel: *Quotable line about Shadowe being wise goes here.*
Posted
I say the e, but not Shadowy. More like... Shad-owe. Just a little lift at the end.
At least I don't say 'Rizzle Hizzle da Thizzle' /Sochi
{Some poetic license is in place in this post, but it's as close as I can make it to the reality}
September 3, 2005, Cheltenham, England, approx 12.30pm
I've been married for 3 weeks, and I've just had another haircut. If she manages to keep this up, I'll spend a fortune getting my head trimmed. Might have to just shave it all off. Ah, well.
Huh. I bought an hour of parking up the road, and I've used all of half of it... may as well wander into Game and see if there's anything worth getting on the PC Gaming shelves. Fat chance, really. They only cater to consoles, these days. Still, there might be something worth getting, and I'm a bit flush right now - I got paid last week, after all.
It's been a while since I've been in this store. At least the PC games haven't moved, so let's take a peek... Nah. Nope. Not interested. Huh? City of Heroes? Didn't I take a look at that, oh, a few months back? That's one of those online pay-to-play things, isn't it? Cool pic on the cover. Let's have a read of the blurb... Yada, yada, superhero, yada, yada, hype, yada, yada, monthly fee - well, that's a serious point against it - yada, yada, 30-day subscription included. Hmm. So. I buy this, set up a subscription, play for 30 days - and when was the last time I played a game for more than 30 days? - cancel it, and I haven't lost anything! Awesome. I need a new game to get my teeth into, since I'm getting bored with NWN, now.
I can afford this, and I'm newly financially stable. Let's give it a whirl. Worst-case, I've wasted the purchase price.
Over to the desk, hand over the game and my loyalty card - may as well get money off, if I can - answer the usual about can my computer run it and yes, I understand there's a monthly fee to play, thanks, g'bye.
Later, at home, in the spare bedroom/study
"So, did I see you've bought something from Game?"
"Uh, yeah. It's a game I've seen a few times, thought I'd give it a go. It's one of those Massively Multiplayer Online things - there's a monthly fee, but I get a month free with the box, so I can cancel if I want."
"Oh. Okay. You're going to be installing that for a while, then, huh?"
"Uh, yeah. If that's okay?"
"Alright. I'll just do a load of washing."
"Sure. See you in a bit!"
I extract the box from the wrapping and prise it open - why do these things have to be so difficult? - and a wadge of documents flies out into my lap. Wow, there's a lot in this box! Umm... manual. Okay, good place to start... disk 1 of 4... okay, this game isn't small! Right. Disk in. Let's kick it off, read the manual, and see what happens.
Later
Heh. That guy in the red/orange/yellow flamey outfit on the install screen looks like a total idiot. Still, Blaster seems to be the "Archetype" I'm looking for, if I want to recreate that character I made a few years ago. Shadow. Richard Huntington. Or was it Huntingdon? Nah, that's a place in Cambridgeshire. I'll go with Huntington. And his sister, going to have to pull out that box and find her name - she was psychic, wasn't she? And keeping it a secret from her brother. And their arch-nemesis whatever-his-name-was. I hope the powers I can pick will let me do something with "energy".
Later
Disk 4, 95% complete. Awesome. I'm ready to rumble... 97%... 99%... 100%... Why is it that whenever you run something on a computer, it gets to 100% and then takes an absolute age to complete that LAST LITTLE BIT?
Huh? UPDATES?! Yeesh. Dear Lord, I don't know if I have the patience for this - these downloads are almost as big as what I've already installed! Right, this is going to take a while... better go downstairs and keep the wife happy. I'll pop in and see how it's going every twenty minutes or so. I wanna play! Patience. Yeah, I've not bought this game for months, so rushing now is a bit pointless.
Later
Right, server... umm... not French or German, so Union or Defiant. Huh. What's the difference? Probably none at all. Union's the one at the top of the list, so we'll go for that.
Character creation! Eeeexcellent. Let me see... Blaster, I already knew that... Ooh, Energy Blast! YES! HE SHOOTS, HE SCORES! Pick one of the Primary powers... right. Umm... Secondary Powerset? Bwuh? Umm... Oh, what the heck, Energy Manipulation. That fits the theme. Character build? Male. Average. Make him a smidgeon under 6 feet by that height guide. I seriously hope he's not swirly and green in the game. Costume. Well, it's me, so... black. Black spandex. All over. Covering the face, too... masks, masks... wow, there's a lot of options, here. Umm... none of them are full-face masks! Dagnabbit! Okay, grab the one that covers the most face, make the skin colour black, too, and put on something to cover the eyes and mouth... sunglasses and this funny cloth-thing. Huh. Okay, the all-spandex look is... kinda like a giant black condom. That is NOT cool. Needs to be cool. So... boots... yeah... and a belt... okay... that's good enough.
Right. Next screen... Enter Hero Name. Awesome. Shadow. Unavailable. WHAT?! ARGH! But it's the ENTIRE CONCEPT! Okay, okay, you're not an idiot. You can change this. It's not the end of the world. Hmm. Stick an "E" on the end. It'll technically be pronounced the same - I bet some people say it "Shadowy", though - and that's good enough for me. Enter Tutorial! WOOHOO!
Loading... loading... loading...
And here I am! Look out world, Shadow(e) is here!
Okay, movement controls, standard WASD, hold-right for mouse-look and... WARGH! INVERT AXIS! NOW! Phew.
Later
Wow, this is... actually... awesome. And all I'm doing is running around hitting things a bit! But this city looks so great! And these enemies are interesting, and the stories are cool, and... I'm getting to play this superhero that I made all those years ago while I was horribly depressed and had left home abandoning everything I knew and loved and... don't dwell. This is a different time. You're a different person. The memories are dark, but Shadow(e) isn't. He's a SUPERHERO.
Later
<Enter> "Umm... how do I change from chatting in local to chatting in Team?"
<Random player whose name I've fogotten but was the first person to team with me in the game> "See just above the chat-entry box? There's these little tiny buttons. The... third one along is for team."
<Team> "Cool. Thanks. Wow, that's easy. Right, where are we going?"
<Random Player> "Got a fight with Frostfire. You met him yet?"
<Team> "Uh... no. Don't want to get too far ahead of myself, though. This won't screw up my own missions, will it?"
<Random Player> "Nope. Doesn't change anything for you. You're just helping me."
<Team> "Cool."
7 years later
I have continually subscribed to this game from day one. At times I've paid for multiple accounts. I even paid for a friend's account when he was having money trouble, then took it over when he left for WoW. Yeah, I'm a dirty cheat. My wife has her own account. The only times I've not played have been when I've gone on holiday, otherwise I've logged in pretty much EVERY SINGLE DAY. I've racked up well over 7,000 hours (nearly 300 days) on my main character alone. I've made friends, lost friends, made an enemy or two. I've lived and breathed this game for SEVEN YEARS. I've been involved with roleplay on Union server for most of that time. Shadowe lived up to everything I hoped. His sister, Luminescence, came to be in 2006. And Psychonova, their arch-nemesis, followed shortly thereafter. I never did get Psychonova to 50. He's languishing in the early 40s. I bought EVERYTHING for the game up until the Party Pack. That's when I started cherry-picking. I have several professional sketches of my characters, done by the brilliant Draw The World Together artists at various shows and conventions. And I own some ORIGINAL artwork of Manticore and Sister Psyche that were done for a limited run sketchbook.
This is not "just a game". Not to me. It's a whole experience. And I've loved it. Not every minute, but on the whole, I've loved it. Thank you, all. Developers, Community Staff, QA, and my fellow players. Thank you for letting Shadow(e) exist as more than a thought in my head.
I will be here until the servers die. But Paragon City won't. It's in my heart, my memories, and it's in ME. You all are.
Thank you.
The wisdom of Shadowe: Ghostraptor: The Shadowe is wise ...; FFM: Shadowe is no longer wise.