An Afterword: What City of Heroes Meant to Me
By
Friggin_Taser,
Posted on: 2012-09-06 21:07 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
So I guess this means you are quitting yet again, right?
Current Badge Hunter: Plot Device (Rad/Thermal/Dark) - 1,268 Xbox Live: Friggin Taser
King of Electricity, Lead Inmate running the Carl and Sons asylum, the "Man" behind the Establishment, Given Honor in Hat Form By Paragon City (Favorite Forum Poster 2006!), Master of Ceremonies of the Fair Use Law podcast
For every beginning, there must be an end. For all things that exist, nonexistence awaits. All things that live, die. This is something that we will all have to face in life. For some, it comes sooner, as we lose our childhood pets and learn the lesson the hard way. For some, it comes later and we haven't yet developed the coping skills to deal with the loss.
You could say that the end of an online video game is no big deal. Compared to the deaths of hundreds of children a day in Africa due to malnutrition, compared to the epic raging of mad dictators that suppress their people, compared to even the life-changing events that affect people's lives in the "real world". You could say that, compared to all of those things, this is a joke, nothing worth noting whatsoever.
You would be wrong.
Just like in any city, there are people that come and go constantly. People that stick around for only a short time, and old timers that can tell you what it was like "back in the good old days", and everyone in between. I was one of those old timers, depending on your definition. I was never in Beta, but I was there from day one of launch, I believe. Though I haven't played in over two years, I still remember what it was like. I remember first running around Atlas Park, and seeing how HUGE the game world was. Little did I realize at the time, that this was just one ZONE. Do yourself a favor before the game shuts down in November, take a walk around Atlas Park. No travel powers, no speed bonuses, just got at normal speed like any newbie that couldn't figure out what Sprint was. You will see the zone and the game world in a different light. It might even bring back memories, for those of us experienced and jaded. Like, when you stand next to one of the business doors, for just a moment, you can hear people inside. Like the detail on all of the windows, doors, and even in the litter on the streets. Like the intricate posters that still hang on the theater walls just as they did from the start.
We have a lot to thank the developers of this game for, past and present. Don't you think for a minute that the current staff were the only ones that care about the game. I can guarantee you that there are still former and current Cryptic developers out there that remember fondly the details that they put into that initial launch.
We have a lot to thank the other players of this game for as well. For shared memories and shared experiences. I remember when I was first starting out, and some player, who's name is lost in time, taught me how to "window hop" in King's Row before I ever got to fly, just so that I could get to the top of the buildings and hunt for Circle of Thorns for that one mission that it was IMPOSSIBLE to find them for. I remember much much later, when I finally made the big time, and my main character Philotic Knight got to 50, heading over to Monster Island in Peregrine with a few other like-minded individuals, and bringing giant monsters all the way to Castle! Sure, call me a troll for that, report me, but you have to admit, you had just as much fun fighting all those giant monsters in a place they weren't supposed to be as anyone else did. Those memories will last a lifetime.
But even beyond these memories, beyond the world inside the game client, the City continued. The City continued on the forums, where I spent more time than I even spent in-game, enjoying the company of others. My history with this game's forum community predates my first marriage (and lasted longer than it too, I might add!). This was where the City could be seen beyond the pick up groups, beyond the hustle and bustle of grinding to the next level, tailoring your suit, or min/maxing your character's stats out. The forum community was and is a fantastic group of people, who, while we may not always get along, always shared that one thing in common. We loved our City. We loved talking about our City. We loved debating aspects of our City and finding ways to make our City better, brighter, bolder!
No, my friends, City of Heroes was NOT just a game. City of Heroes, like anything that causes people to collect around it, became a COMMUNITY. As it exists right now, digitally, technically, it's all code, ones and zeroes. But everyone here knows that it's more than that. What Cryptic, NC Soft, and Paragon Studios crafted together was an entire world, where people could congregate, share, develop, and grow together. Where even though our individual actions never really changed the storyline of the game itself, our interactions with each other changed the lives of countless other people.
It was a place where a lately diagnosed autistic could learn what it means to really UNDERSTAND the way other people think, and to try to learn to live with them, work with them, communicate with them. And for that, I thank you all.
While I hope that Paragon Studios, NC Soft, the Titan Network, and whoever else involved might be able to come to an arrangement to continue this game, I GUARANTEE you that Paragon City will never be lost. (By the way, you can help in the cause to save the game here, if you haven't heard already)
Because each one of us carries a piece of Paragon City within us, and each of us carries a piece of every other person who we've ever met in our City with us too. I carry a piece of you with me, wherever I go, and I hope that you carry a piece of me with you. Even if you've never heard from me before now, at least you have this letter. You have this one interaction, which the City gave to us. Just now.
For all of my ramblings and incoherent diatribes, I need you to remember that when Pandora's Box was opened, and all the evils beset to trouble mankind entered this world, there was one thing left for all of us to share: hope.
That is what Paragon City, the City of Heroes, gave to all of us, a hope for a brighter future, a dream brought to digital fruition. It was real. It IS real. And it will continue to be real, long after the servers have gone dark.
Fellow City of Heroes forumites await you, if you join us over on the Unleashed Forums. We are eagerly awaiting your visit. Contrary to popular belief, the site was NOT an "ego project" for me, it was my attempt at giving something, anything back to the community that gave me so many memories. Because, if you look at it honestly, if we didn't care at all about this game, we wouldn't be here talking about it.
And that should be proof enough for anyone that it's worth a damn.