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Try to explain EQFollow
18 posts
I may only be 18...but I have done my fair share of playing DnD tho I never really got into the bord game...we just liked to do the talkin way ( not sure what you would call that =)
Flipz
1 post
i am a single mom of 4. i first started playing EQ because 2 people where i worked played it and it was all they talked about. i was one of the people with the "glazed look". finally, after much urging and coercion from my co-workers, i caved and bought the game. i was hooked from the very beginning. here was an enjoyable hobby that didnt cost me a fortune and kept me home with my almost teen children (re: trouble years). they've never understood it and refer to it as "mom's gay game". they laugh because they will ask me something and ten minutes later i'll say "huh?" or give them an answer. since they have gotten older 3 of them have come to sort of understand the fascination and attraction as they all are hooked on console games.
i did get my revenge though. about 2 months ago i got my 17 yr old hooked and he now has a 51 SK. /evil grin.
calleagh
70 druid of cazic-thule
i did get my revenge though. about 2 months ago i got my 17 yr old hooked and he now has a 51 SK. /evil grin.
calleagh
70 druid of cazic-thule
MUAHAHA the addiction spreads
I am a 35 year old male, I only have about 4 coworkers that i see regularly. The best way to describe EQ is to talk about the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. Most people have seen at least one so they get the concept of class/race combo's and the different mobs there are. It also shows the magic aspect of the genre and they can grasp the concept better. Although explaining why it never ends is a whole other conversation.
Expect nothing and you will never be disappointed.
I’m a 35+yr old male who has been playing for 3+yrs. Explaining EQ to non-players is difficult for several reasons. Explaining it to them involves helping them to get around their pre-conceived notions and unsubstantial lies
EQ goes directly against all of these and this makes it difficult for people to comprehend.
The difficult reasons are:
1) People are impatient
Most video game players (or peeps who wish there were) are into First Person Shooter games. These people (and those games) make up the vast majority of the gaming world. Playing these simple games involve turning off your brain, memorizing a shooting pattern and blasting everything in site. I’m not dumping on those games; it is just not my forte. I’ve done it and I find they get boring very quickly. The manufactures hope you do too, as you then go out and spend another $50 for the next FPS.
2) People are leery of commitment
Players want to play a game, turn it off and come back later and do it all over again. Some games allow for saving at a certain level/location so that you can continue on. They don’t want mistakes to haunt them and they certainly don’t want to remember things that they did in the past. Of course signing up for a monthly subscription commitment is uncomfortable to people too.
3) People only want to depend on them self
Most players only play against the computer. The thought of interacting with the other people, both good and bad, is just a ‘hassle’ they don’t want.
4) People think video games are stupid
There are legions of people, mostly women (I’m not taking a cheap shot, I’m stating a fact), who believe that all video games are stupid. This involves their need to spend time with you instead of you spending time in your video game. There is WAY too much psychology/physiology in this for me to cover. I think that if a dating/married couple has a problem they might want to actually COMMUNICATE this with each other, instead of assuming he can read your mind. Ask for what you want nicely and it might actually happen. BTW, asking him to stop playing entirely is not a good idea. Neither is demanding. Any threat you make to him is minimal, Sony is killing the desire to player much faster than you ever could.
5) People think gamers are always heading down a road to obsession
While it is true that some video gamers take their hobby into an unhealthy obsession, nearly all do not. EQ probably has a higher addiction level because it is so rich in content. There is a real world out there and I’m happy to be in it. EQ is a time-filler only. I only ever play after my kids are in bed.
6) People think video games are violent
Where or where to start here…….I’m just going to say that most people use video games as a stress relief and a hobby. It takes a huge leap of insanity to attempt to mimic what is done in a video game with something in real life. If you only have 42 cards in you deck, you have bigger problems than getting addicted to EQ. If this is you, I suggest you apply for a job at Sony’s Game Content department; it sure would explain a lot recently in the direction EQ has gone.
7) People think EQ is electronic Dungeons and Dragons
I heard this one last year and I nearly crapped my pants I was laughing so hard. The ‘intelligent individual’ who made this comment could not even tell me what characters or play style was in D&D, other than the fact that there were dragons in it and some people got killed playing it. This is ignorance, pure and simple.
All you really can do is stick to the facts. Tell them EQ is:
• Cheap - $50 startup and only $15/mth on average
• Does not require another computer
• Requires a high speed internet connection
• Can be played for 15mins to 6+hrs per session
• Can be played in combat with no direct contact (PG rated Combat)
• Can be played non-combat, like Cleric (this is not a cheap shot to Clerics)
• You can play REALLY exciting characters, like a Ranger
• Can involve at least 6 different trade skills
• Can learn languages
• Can be any Races, species and even male of female
• Can travel to 100s of different lands
• Can do 1000s of different quests
• Can be the video game that never ends.
• You can play the same characters for years. There is no finish line.
Once you have showed them this, invite them over for a demonstration. Pre-warn them if your entire room is devoted to EQ and you’ve covered every wall and every square inch of floor space with quests, trade skill recipes and zone maps.
They have a choice to be a casual player or something much more devoted. They can even flip back and forth. It gives you something to talk about at lunch breaks at work. Get your whole office involved. I was listening to work buddies for 3mths before I asked for a demonstration. It is fun. Don’t fear it.
Tell them what you did last night. Tell them about the Raid where the Monk puller who’s FD failed (and instead of dieing with the 4-mob train) proceeded to run directly to the Clerics for a CH. This resulted in their deaths and of course when the Clerics died, a complete wipe was shortly behind, followed by a 90min CR deep in the heart of the PoH. Tell them about getting Mezzed by MOBs and then you end up killing your entire group. Tell them about the time you were summoned to a MOB and then were quaded for 325s as he also put on 3 DoTs for good measure. Tell him about the time you spent 30mins in PoK getting uber buffed only to fight the first MOB in the raid who stripped off your best 4 (Virtue, ext KEI, Haste, and Fo7). Tell him about the 6 zone CR run you did completely naked, when no one was on to help you.
Just don’t tell them about the Congressional level of politics that exist in your guild officers because they think their important or uber or cool or infallible.
Hope this helps. If you are on Luclin (Veeshan), look me up.
EQ goes directly against all of these and this makes it difficult for people to comprehend.
The difficult reasons are:
1) People are impatient
Most video game players (or peeps who wish there were) are into First Person Shooter games. These people (and those games) make up the vast majority of the gaming world. Playing these simple games involve turning off your brain, memorizing a shooting pattern and blasting everything in site. I’m not dumping on those games; it is just not my forte. I’ve done it and I find they get boring very quickly. The manufactures hope you do too, as you then go out and spend another $50 for the next FPS.
2) People are leery of commitment
Players want to play a game, turn it off and come back later and do it all over again. Some games allow for saving at a certain level/location so that you can continue on. They don’t want mistakes to haunt them and they certainly don’t want to remember things that they did in the past. Of course signing up for a monthly subscription commitment is uncomfortable to people too.
3) People only want to depend on them self
Most players only play against the computer. The thought of interacting with the other people, both good and bad, is just a ‘hassle’ they don’t want.
4) People think video games are stupid
There are legions of people, mostly women (I’m not taking a cheap shot, I’m stating a fact), who believe that all video games are stupid. This involves their need to spend time with you instead of you spending time in your video game. There is WAY too much psychology/physiology in this for me to cover. I think that if a dating/married couple has a problem they might want to actually COMMUNICATE this with each other, instead of assuming he can read your mind. Ask for what you want nicely and it might actually happen. BTW, asking him to stop playing entirely is not a good idea. Neither is demanding. Any threat you make to him is minimal, Sony is killing the desire to player much faster than you ever could.
5) People think gamers are always heading down a road to obsession
While it is true that some video gamers take their hobby into an unhealthy obsession, nearly all do not. EQ probably has a higher addiction level because it is so rich in content. There is a real world out there and I’m happy to be in it. EQ is a time-filler only. I only ever play after my kids are in bed.
6) People think video games are violent
Where or where to start here…….I’m just going to say that most people use video games as a stress relief and a hobby. It takes a huge leap of insanity to attempt to mimic what is done in a video game with something in real life. If you only have 42 cards in you deck, you have bigger problems than getting addicted to EQ. If this is you, I suggest you apply for a job at Sony’s Game Content department; it sure would explain a lot recently in the direction EQ has gone.
7) People think EQ is electronic Dungeons and Dragons
I heard this one last year and I nearly crapped my pants I was laughing so hard. The ‘intelligent individual’ who made this comment could not even tell me what characters or play style was in D&D, other than the fact that there were dragons in it and some people got killed playing it. This is ignorance, pure and simple.
All you really can do is stick to the facts. Tell them EQ is:
• Cheap - $50 startup and only $15/mth on average
• Does not require another computer
• Requires a high speed internet connection
• Can be played for 15mins to 6+hrs per session
• Can be played in combat with no direct contact (PG rated Combat)
• Can be played non-combat, like Cleric (this is not a cheap shot to Clerics)
• You can play REALLY exciting characters, like a Ranger
• Can involve at least 6 different trade skills
• Can learn languages
• Can be any Races, species and even male of female
• Can travel to 100s of different lands
• Can do 1000s of different quests
• Can be the video game that never ends.
• You can play the same characters for years. There is no finish line.
Once you have showed them this, invite them over for a demonstration. Pre-warn them if your entire room is devoted to EQ and you’ve covered every wall and every square inch of floor space with quests, trade skill recipes and zone maps.
They have a choice to be a casual player or something much more devoted. They can even flip back and forth. It gives you something to talk about at lunch breaks at work. Get your whole office involved. I was listening to work buddies for 3mths before I asked for a demonstration. It is fun. Don’t fear it.
Tell them what you did last night. Tell them about the Raid where the Monk puller who’s FD failed (and instead of dieing with the 4-mob train) proceeded to run directly to the Clerics for a CH. This resulted in their deaths and of course when the Clerics died, a complete wipe was shortly behind, followed by a 90min CR deep in the heart of the PoH. Tell them about getting Mezzed by MOBs and then you end up killing your entire group. Tell them about the time you were summoned to a MOB and then were quaded for 325s as he also put on 3 DoTs for good measure. Tell him about the time you spent 30mins in PoK getting uber buffed only to fight the first MOB in the raid who stripped off your best 4 (Virtue, ext KEI, Haste, and Fo7). Tell him about the 6 zone CR run you did completely naked, when no one was on to help you.
Just don’t tell them about the Congressional level of politics that exist in your guild officers because they think their important or uber or cool or infallible.
Hope this helps. If you are on Luclin (Veeshan), look me up.
Lvl 58 Human Ranger
Lvl 25 Half-Elf Druid (Bazaar Mule)
Only on Luclin(Veeshan) Server
"And a Ranger shall be King."
Lvl 25 Half-Elf Druid (Bazaar Mule)
Only on Luclin(Veeshan) Server
"And a Ranger shall be King."
When I am asked about EQ, before even sumarizing and answer, I make a couple of observations.
1) are they breathing through their mouth?
2) when the wind blows do you hear whistling when standing next to them.
3) are the eyes glossy yet open/lights on no one is home.
If any of these three happen, I typically pretend I did not hear the question and respond with another topic. Its just not worth explaining to those that you just know won't get it.
If none of the things are present, then I start out with the old its DnD in 3D! Instead of sitting at a kitchen table at your friends house or your house, you sit at a computer, with no dice or paper. (unless your going through a quest for the first time and taking notes).
When they ask why I play, the answer is simple.
1) I do not drink(well Much)/ok too much. So no going out to bars and watching drunks act like arsholes, while wasting money.
2) EQ is the worlds greatest Profalactic. So I am not out attaining some communicable disease, or knocking up some poor unwed mother, and I do not have fatherless children that I will not ever meet running around.
3) I enjoy it, as it helps me relax at the end of the day.
4) Its my addiction, but, fortunately it will never get anyone killed in a head on colision or from second hand smoke.
5) What? you don't understand? You say you collect baskets at$25 to $75 a pop? That gets you status? Makes you mature? You stack them around the house like a decoration and it just makes the place look stupid. Who needs 100 baskets for decoration? Can't touch them as the finger oil discolors them?
Try collecting buckets and leave my EQ alone.
ROFLMAO, you were writing yours as I was writing mine.
I use the 3dDnD reference, because most mouth breathers that breath through their nose, and stuff cotton balls in their ears to stop the whistling are the ones that ask you about EQ, and thats the best they can understand.
Edited, Wed Jun 29 12:34:16 2005 by Pongu
1) are they breathing through their mouth?
2) when the wind blows do you hear whistling when standing next to them.
3) are the eyes glossy yet open/lights on no one is home.
If any of these three happen, I typically pretend I did not hear the question and respond with another topic. Its just not worth explaining to those that you just know won't get it.
If none of the things are present, then I start out with the old its DnD in 3D! Instead of sitting at a kitchen table at your friends house or your house, you sit at a computer, with no dice or paper. (unless your going through a quest for the first time and taking notes).
When they ask why I play, the answer is simple.
1) I do not drink(well Much)/ok too much. So no going out to bars and watching drunks act like arsholes, while wasting money.
2) EQ is the worlds greatest Profalactic. So I am not out attaining some communicable disease, or knocking up some poor unwed mother, and I do not have fatherless children that I will not ever meet running around.
3) I enjoy it, as it helps me relax at the end of the day.
4) Its my addiction, but, fortunately it will never get anyone killed in a head on colision or from second hand smoke.
5) What? you don't understand? You say you collect baskets at$25 to $75 a pop? That gets you status? Makes you mature? You stack them around the house like a decoration and it just makes the place look stupid. Who needs 100 baskets for decoration? Can't touch them as the finger oil discolors them?
Try collecting buckets and leave my EQ alone.
Quote:
Just don’t tell them about the Congressional level of politics that exist in your guild officers because they think their important or uber or cool or infallible.
ROFLMAO, you were writing yours as I was writing mine.
I use the 3dDnD reference, because most mouth breathers that breath through their nose, and stuff cotton balls in their ears to stop the whistling are the ones that ask you about EQ, and thats the best they can understand.
Edited, Wed Jun 29 12:34:16 2005 by Pongu
My Wife. need I say more (by the way both my Kids get it and are tickled that there old man is so cool)hehe
Trablin Goodfight
Defender of the Tunare
63 Pally
31 Monk
33 Cleric (buff mule to be)
24 Shammy
16 druid (buff mule for other toons)
11 Warrior (bazaar mule)
Defender of the Tunare
63 Pally
31 Monk
33 Cleric (buff mule to be)
24 Shammy
16 druid (buff mule for other toons)
11 Warrior (bazaar mule)
31 posts
I have begged my wife to play EQ with me for years now (I have two computers and two EQ accounts) to no avail. In truth, it's almost a constant battle of me being able to aven play the game or not since it may **** her off.
I've tried explaining that alot of other husband/wife people play but she says the game just looks stupid and is a waste of valuable time - *sigh*
Daith
69 Druid
I've tried explaining that alot of other husband/wife people play but she says the game just looks stupid and is a waste of valuable time - *sigh*
Daith
69 Druid
I no longer try to expaing EQ,the exception to this is my sister,she said she couldn't understand why I wanted to play a game nicknamed "Evercrack".I tried showing her the game and that brought a glimmer of recognition into her eyes.I bought her the game recently and she has played it for several months and I believe she understands it a little better,but she still has her favorite online game(SimsOnline). I believe she understands it a little bit better and she is getting somewhat addicted,now if she could ever get a character past level 10(she doesn't want to track down her corpse,the goober)
Well, my previous boss and I played together fairly often and he got me hooked on it. Saw it at his house right after relase date, and I bought it on the drive home. We had lots to talk about at work anyway.
Met my wife through EQ, and we play together frequently. Family knows about the game, and they think its a nice hobby if we enjoy it.
We are not social people, so we almost never go out. EQ is our single biggest form of entertainment, but when we talk to people in general they look at us like we are nuts.
People who do not play games think they are a waste of time, and we should be out tinkering on the car or something. People who play games often think RPG is boring, and online games like EQ not twitchy enough, and they seem to constantly want "the next best game". Its hard to talk to them since the game we talked about last week is one they removed from their computer, and they think we missed the point of video games if we can't complete on within a month.
Lol, so we don't bother trying to explain unless the conversation leads that way on its own. When it does that, the other person usually has some interest already.
Met my wife through EQ, and we play together frequently. Family knows about the game, and they think its a nice hobby if we enjoy it.
We are not social people, so we almost never go out. EQ is our single biggest form of entertainment, but when we talk to people in general they look at us like we are nuts.
People who do not play games think they are a waste of time, and we should be out tinkering on the car or something. People who play games often think RPG is boring, and online games like EQ not twitchy enough, and they seem to constantly want "the next best game". Its hard to talk to them since the game we talked about last week is one they removed from their computer, and they think we missed the point of video games if we can't complete on within a month.
Lol, so we don't bother trying to explain unless the conversation leads that way on its own. When it does that, the other person usually has some interest already.
8 posts
I have tried a few times to explain it to my work mates, and boy is it hard. They all play NFSU2 (Need for Speed Underground 2 for those who live solely on EQ) and they are so obsessed with finishing it... They ask 'So whats the objective, what do you have to do etc'. I tried to tell them 'Anything you could want to do, be a good guy and do quests, be a dark elf and kill halflings etc'... And they simply go back to 'but what do you have to do'... they dont get the concept that this has so much freedom... I just gave up!
Feral Lord? Nah just plain FERAL!!!
14 posts
I was recently house hunting in Pheonix and tried to explain the game to my real estate agent--said it was an on line computer game alot like the old DnD game, she kinda had a clue then. When she picked me up the next day she had asked her 17 year old son about it, he informed her that was the game HE played--she understood then, but was shocked that a 52 year old female played the game.
I think the funniest reaction was in Vegas this past Fan Faire when 3 of us were on the monorail and discussing the game, I noticed several people backing away from us when we started discussing strategy on how to kill Quarm.
I think the funniest reaction was in Vegas this past Fan Faire when 3 of us were on the monorail and discussing the game, I noticed several people backing away from us when we started discussing strategy on how to kill Quarm.
10 posts
I love trying to explain EQ to someone who PRETENDS to know what you are talking about. Was talking with a few coworkers one day and got talking about eq... the one guy kenw it and had played it.. but hadn't been back in quite a while... (since luclin expansion.. lol) the other guy says "Hey, I've played Everquest, beat it too" me and the other guy just look at each other and start laughing.. i said "really now... what lvl where you and what class?" he replied.. (and proudly i might add) "LVL 21 Human Thief" .. again with the laughter.. only harder and louder, we just look at him and in stereo say "You haven't played EQ dork" :0) oh man... it was the best laugh I had had in a long time.
Quote:
"You haven't played EQ dork"
Finally someone agrees with me!
People that DON'T play EQ are the dorks...not the other way around like my wife keeps trying to tell me.
I always say speak up for playing EQ, if you want people to stop associating the negative stereo-types associated with the game.
Like anything in life the people playing EQ represent a myriad of faces and personalities from all walks. Except we share a common bond, a love for an immersive game that is a hell of a lot of fun.
Opps spelling
Edited, Wed Jun 29 13:48:07 2005 by RedjedBlue
Like anything in life the people playing EQ represent a myriad of faces and personalities from all walks. Except we share a common bond, a love for an immersive game that is a hell of a lot of fun.
Opps spelling
Edited, Wed Jun 29 13:48:07 2005 by RedjedBlue
1 post
I"m a 19 year old female who trys to lead a double life: Full-time EQ player and social friend of those who are local. My best friend calls me and ask what I am up to, and I say "EQ"... the imediate reaction is "AGAIN?!" and "You should stop playing that dumb game." I've tried to explain how fun and interesting it is compared to sitting in front of the TV and waiting for something interesting to happen. My best friend comes over unannounced a lot and when I am raiding more commonly, I tell her to sit down, watch TV, talk on the phone, and I'll be done in a couple hours. She now waits, before she would argue with me, but she grew to understand... Presistance works! I still get eyes rolled at me, but she does it when she thinks I'm not looking... lol. I try my hardest to get my friends to play, but they will only play Solitaire.
--- Level 70 Ranger - Drinal (Tarrew Marr) ---
3 posts
My wife got me into this game a year and a half ago. I was 1 of those people with the blank look as a matter of a fact i hated the game. This game lead to burnt and late dinners, cut into our lets get busy time ect I HATED EQ. so for Christmas my wife made me play it as a present to her a year and a half later i have a couple 70 toons with almost 200 aa's
34 posts
Ha! I am glad to see that many people mentioned the "glazed"look they get when explaining EQ to friends and co-workers. I am a 54 year old woman who handles the accounting and payroll for a citrus harvesting and caretaking company. One day I said to my boss's wife. "A little known fact about me is that I play in an RPG. I am a female Shaman, which is a character that casts enhancing spells on fellow players and detrimental spells on mobs." She was familiar with Dungeons and Dragons from the days when her children were home. So she was not that surprised..but those that were close by asked several questions and one comment was "ya gotta watch out for those bookkeeper types... they are in disguise and carry on secret lives". The longer I play this game..the harder it is to explain!!
2 posts
No, your not the only one.....peeps think I'm crazy. So I just keep quite. Took me a year to hook my girlfriend. Now she's worse that me ...lol...At least I know its just a game
***Dawken*** 75 season's Stormcaller
7 posts
Everquest is a game of increasing numbers.
To non-EQ people, the best analogy I can come up with is someone working on an old car.
Every week, when you pass by their house, they're still working on that same old car. If it's not a new carburator, it's the rims, if not the rims, new spark plugs, it never ends.
Everquest is just like that. Your car, is your char. You're constantly tweaking it up, adding horsepower (more attack!), or a paint-job (look at my new dyes!), a new stereo (my UI rules!), or countless of other little things.
You never actually finish working on your car/char, because finishing it is not the point. As we learn from Pilgrim's Progress, it's not the destination that counts, it's the journey.
If you ever run out of things you like to do, there's always a new expansion/exposition around the corner that will bring more gadgets, gizmos, bells and whistles to keep you entertained.
'Stuce
To non-EQ people, the best analogy I can come up with is someone working on an old car.
Every week, when you pass by their house, they're still working on that same old car. If it's not a new carburator, it's the rims, if not the rims, new spark plugs, it never ends.
Everquest is just like that. Your car, is your char. You're constantly tweaking it up, adding horsepower (more attack!), or a paint-job (look at my new dyes!), a new stereo (my UI rules!), or countless of other little things.
You never actually finish working on your car/char, because finishing it is not the point. As we learn from Pilgrim's Progress, it's not the destination that counts, it's the journey.
If you ever run out of things you like to do, there's always a new expansion/exposition around the corner that will bring more gadgets, gizmos, bells and whistles to keep you entertained.
'Stuce
7 posts
Had a friend come over and saw the game up and he said he was thinking about starting to play a mmmorg and asked me what EQ was like. It took me over an hour to try and explain it to him while showing him how to play. After it was over he looked at me and said "So this is nothing like Unreal?" I hit him and told him to never start playing.
9 posts
Confession time. I was one of those people who believed EQ to be "just another computer game". My wife played and constantly tried to interest me in it, subtly, but I wasn't biting. My mistake. She spent hours on the computer, leveling her character, talking with online friends, doing quests, even started working on her epic. I was one of those "you spend more time playing EQ than being with me" people. I'm ashamed to say that. It put a huge dent in our marriage at the time. Then, I finally said "if you can't beat them, join them". God, what a whole new world I found! I'll admit, at first I joined in just so that I wouldn't feel left out. I was jealous of all the people she talked to online and spent time with, so I figured that I would just insert myself into her world the only way I knew how. And boy, am I glad I did.
I started out with a half-elf warrior because I didn't want to jump in with both feet. Run up, auto attack, wait for it to die. Pretty simple. That got boring to me quickly. Within a couple of sessions, I was ready to step up and do something more meaningful. Yes, I was a D&D player in my youth and into adulthood (I'm 42 now), so the concept was familiar to me. Being a former Dungeon Master, I learned right away to research my role, so my wife directed me to Alla. I started a paladin next and tried my hand at that. I loved it. After 9 months of playing (sort of a newbie), I find myself playing more than my wife does, LOL.
As for explaining it to others, I tried to explain it to my 23 year old son and a longtime friend of mine, both D&D players. I had to tell them right up front, "what you learned in D&D, forget it, it's not relevent here". Yes, there are races to play, yes there are classes to choose from, yes you get experience from killing monsters, but the scope of EQ far exceeds with D&D ever offered. You can do quests, tradeskills, epics, raids, learn to swim and fish, build up alcohol tolerance (I'm not a RL drinker, so this is fun for me), do LDoN's, hang out with friends, group or play solo (or in my case, duo almost exclusively with my wife), gain levels and get new spells and abilities, and just in general, have fun.
Trying to explain all of that to them was painful at times, considering the level of content EQ has in it, I'm sure I didn't do it justice. I'm sure if I could "show" them the game, they would have a better understanding of it and be more inclined to try it, but they live 2000 miles away and I haven't had the opportunity.
We have two children in the home, both pre-teen, and they have watched us play for almost a year now. Their interest in the game was sparked early on, but we were waiting for the right time to add another account (and the money). They recently created new characters and we've been running around with them, helping them learn the mechanics of the game. So far, I'm impressed with their level of understanding (though the attention span issue is a problem at times...i.e. "I want to go somewhere else...I want to kill those things you and Mom were fighting the other night") We still have to explain things to them, but not nearly as much as before.
In conclusion, the only real way to "understand" EQ is to actually see it and the only way to actually "enjoy" EQ is to play it. No amount of talking is going to encompass the depth of the game detail and possibilities. When others ask me on the phone what I'm doing, when I'm standing in front of a Hynid Fleshripper, hoping my slow will land before he gets me down to 80%, is to reply "just playing a game". To me, it saves a long winded explanation that will never land. Some people are highly resistant to "magical" explanations.
I started out with a half-elf warrior because I didn't want to jump in with both feet. Run up, auto attack, wait for it to die. Pretty simple. That got boring to me quickly. Within a couple of sessions, I was ready to step up and do something more meaningful. Yes, I was a D&D player in my youth and into adulthood (I'm 42 now), so the concept was familiar to me. Being a former Dungeon Master, I learned right away to research my role, so my wife directed me to Alla. I started a paladin next and tried my hand at that. I loved it. After 9 months of playing (sort of a newbie), I find myself playing more than my wife does, LOL.
As for explaining it to others, I tried to explain it to my 23 year old son and a longtime friend of mine, both D&D players. I had to tell them right up front, "what you learned in D&D, forget it, it's not relevent here". Yes, there are races to play, yes there are classes to choose from, yes you get experience from killing monsters, but the scope of EQ far exceeds with D&D ever offered. You can do quests, tradeskills, epics, raids, learn to swim and fish, build up alcohol tolerance (I'm not a RL drinker, so this is fun for me), do LDoN's, hang out with friends, group or play solo (or in my case, duo almost exclusively with my wife), gain levels and get new spells and abilities, and just in general, have fun.
Trying to explain all of that to them was painful at times, considering the level of content EQ has in it, I'm sure I didn't do it justice. I'm sure if I could "show" them the game, they would have a better understanding of it and be more inclined to try it, but they live 2000 miles away and I haven't had the opportunity.
We have two children in the home, both pre-teen, and they have watched us play for almost a year now. Their interest in the game was sparked early on, but we were waiting for the right time to add another account (and the money). They recently created new characters and we've been running around with them, helping them learn the mechanics of the game. So far, I'm impressed with their level of understanding (though the attention span issue is a problem at times...i.e. "I want to go somewhere else...I want to kill those things you and Mom were fighting the other night") We still have to explain things to them, but not nearly as much as before.
In conclusion, the only real way to "understand" EQ is to actually see it and the only way to actually "enjoy" EQ is to play it. No amount of talking is going to encompass the depth of the game detail and possibilities. When others ask me on the phone what I'm doing, when I'm standing in front of a Hynid Fleshripper, hoping my slow will land before he gets me down to 80%, is to reply "just playing a game". To me, it saves a long winded explanation that will never land. Some people are highly resistant to "magical" explanations.
After MUCH coercion, my hubby FINALLY convinced me to try EQ. I'd been avoiding it like the plague because I knew I'd get hooked on it and my life would basically be over. But he had snuck out and purchased it one night after being convinced by my boss' son (and come to find out my boss! VP of a medical unversity! har har!) that the game was so cool.
I finally bought the game, and we played and played and had a great time.
A year later, now who's complaining that I play too much? My hubby. So much so, he locks the router on me so I will keep my end of the bargain NOT to play on weeknights! LOL! Too bad he doesn't play anymore. There's a switch, eh?
Edited, Wed Jun 29 15:03:36 2005 by ladymills
I finally bought the game, and we played and played and had a great time.
A year later, now who's complaining that I play too much? My hubby. So much so, he locks the router on me so I will keep my end of the bargain NOT to play on weeknights! LOL! Too bad he doesn't play anymore. There's a switch, eh?
Edited, Wed Jun 29 15:03:36 2005 by ladymills
Euzena Pureblade, Paladin of Tunare
http://www.magelo.com/eq_view_profile.html?num=1051295
http://www.magelo.com/eq_view_profile.html?num=1051295
YupYup!
I'm a 36 year old Accountant and I get that dazed and confused response from most people. Even worse is the "Oh, it's like dungeons & dragons? I used to play that when I was 16." response.
*chuckles*
Ah well, take my advice:
Don't load up your laptop with the game and try to show them. That just makes it worse! (In so so many ways...)
I've often wondered what people in restaurants think of my husband and I when we're off rambling "Yeah, so first I killed all the snow bunnies I could find. Then I wondered what would happen if I sent a charmed bunny against a rhino...."
-= Ashwith Fairfever
I'm a 36 year old Accountant and I get that dazed and confused response from most people. Even worse is the "Oh, it's like dungeons & dragons? I used to play that when I was 16." response.
*chuckles*
Ah well, take my advice:
Don't load up your laptop with the game and try to show them. That just makes it worse! (In so so many ways...)
I've often wondered what people in restaurants think of my husband and I when we're off rambling "Yeah, so first I killed all the snow bunnies I could find. Then I wondered what would happen if I sent a charmed bunny against a rhino...."
-= Ashwith Fairfever
4 posts
I hesitate to say this after comments like what "older generations" think and "we are children of the 80's" but I'm a 50+ college instructor and I've been gaming for years (EQ for the last 2 years). My colleagues who are gamers (not EQ) understand completely; to the rest, I usually tell the story of the unemployed, EQ-playing economics prof who wrote an article about virtual items worth real money and finessed that article into a tenured job at a great university. Towards the end of a quarter, I just point out that, in EQ, you get to kill things that annoy you 
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