Another Goodbye ....

Eight years.

Eight years. More than one hundred characters. . Approximately 70 50s. More than half a dozen stories ... one or two of novella length.

And I'm not ready for the game to go.

Eight years ago, I was coming off the most self destructive relationship I had ever been in. To say that I was depressed is to say that Nemesis has a plot or two.

I badly needed a distraction.

A friend had told me about this game, but I hadn't really planned on trying it. (Pay a MONTHLY fee to play a game? Were they KIDDING?) But I had told some friends of mine I was in a Role Play by Email Game with and they said they wanted to try it.

And I did.

In May of 2004 Blue Battler made his first appearance in Paragon City, and he never left.

Through relationship woes, health scares, family issues, and job stress, I always had a home in Paragon City. A few hours of Going, Finding, Killing (er, ARRESTING) Skullz, and I was often able to turn a lousy day into at least a bearable one.

I met awesome people here and got to know other people I already knew better. And when I had thought that I would never write again, a certain King of broken brass and scattered thoughts whispered to me that he had a story to tell ...

The day we found out that City was going, I was as stunned and saddened as everyone else. I couldn't concentrate on my job. All I could do was read the countless posts, trying to understand why ...

I am not ready for the game to go.

There will never be another City of Heroes. Never another game that just feels so right to me.

But ... I will play other games. I have found much to enjoy in Champions Online. I have taken a fresh look at DC Online, and even WOW. And there may yet be something that comes out in the next year or two that proves to be a blast as well.

And I will try to take what made City of Heroes special to me with me. We have all read comments from so many people on how special our community is, how helpful it is. Those of us who are moving onto other games have a responsibility to carry on the best part of what made City great to the other games that we play.

Be a helpful player. Be fair. Be kind. Be the kind of player that makes other communities say, "Man, that game must have been something ..."

Eight years.

Eight years, and I'm still not ready.

A lot of people feel that way. I'm not ready to let go either but have fallen in love with a new game.

That's how I see it as well. I turn this around in my heart as best I can. Not letting go means carrying the torch of creativity, cheerful culture and CoH fighting spirit to every new world we are being split off to.

If ever the MMO world needed heroes, now is the time.

GL

Kudos for being one of the COH fan writers whose quality I always aspired to reach. May you be as inspired in whatever other fandom you find yourself in after this.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

/em applause

Well said.

We're all not ready, but we are all still here for you.

We'll be here till the end.

I echo just about everything you have said, but especially what I've excerpted to quote below (bold and italics emphasis mine). The in-game community was heroic and generous (with rare exceptions). Thank you, players, for making my time in City of Heroes what it was.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueBattler There will never be another City of Heroes. Never another game that just feels so right to me. But ... I will play other games. I have found much to enjoy in Champions Online. I have taken a fresh look at DC Online, and even WOW. And there may yet be something that comes out in the next year or two that proves to be a blast as well. And I will try to take what made City of Heroes special to me with me. We have all read comments from so many people on how special our community is, how helpful it is. Those of us who are moving onto other games have a responsibility to carry on the best part of what made City great to the other games that we play. Be a helpful player. Be fair. Be kind. Be the kind of player that makes other communities say, "Man, that game must have been something ..." Eight years, and I'm still not ready.