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Hello, this is your cousin Ken here.

My father sent me the link to your site and I browsed about.

I noticed your write up on Asheron’s Call and was wondering if you actively play? I have been playing AC since beta 0 on and off for the last 3 years. Before Asheron’s Call, my only real experience with online gaming came from the FPS genre, particularly Quake 2.

I thought I’d give you my history with AC.

Since I am a Microsoft Core Group Beta Tester, I got to test out Asheron’s Call. I played it for a while during the beta, but eventually moved on. After a number of months, I decided to give the game another try since it was in Retail, and they had a few monthly updates. At this point, I was playing the game with the same mentality that my generation of (hardcore?) gamers seem to all share, the engrained instinct to beat/finish the games. Since AC is an online game, there is no way to “beat it” in the traditional sense. So, once again I left the world of AC and moved on to other games.

During collage, I met a couple of friends who were gamers as well. As we got to know each other, I realized that the fault was shared among us. We all had the need to finish the games we play. In any case, I gave Asheron’s Call another try, but with the new mentality that the game is for enjoyment, not competition. Wow, what a difference. A couple of my friends joined up and we found a respectable group, which we play with.

This group of people is what keeps me engaged, more so than the game it self. In some ways they are an extended family, but in a virtual world. Whither we’re just sitting around chatting, or doing a quest, it’s the real life people that makes the game fun and keeps me coming back.

The social side of online games is something that is slowly emerging. I believe that it will take shape to become the main attraction for selling the games, as well as keeping the players paying the usual fee each month. My only worry is that companies will use this as their “crack” and get people truly addicted. With the talk of game money being tied to real money on someone’s ****** card, I can only imagine the horrors that it will cause. Also, with the emergence of more adult themed games, we may see a time when people go to a virtual pimp to “cyber”. I hope we’re all better than that.

Ken Ashcroft