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The first specific version that I remember playing was 1.28, but I believe I registered for my first account in either late 1999 or early 2000. I purchased my first subscription in September of 2001, which led to me joining Dustari as the Mayor's Assistant, and I concentrated on that server and the events that came with it (Ashes of Dustari and so on) before we moved over to Kingdoms. As I remember it, Aftershock was unanimously elected to take over as Dustari's King, and his asking me to become Prince was impetus enough for me to purchase another subscription in September of 2002. When he stood down after a few months -- and originally I was to follow him -- I took over and became the worst king in Dustari's history, bar none.
There's a lot I would have done differently, like respecting the people who I had spent so much time with before ascending to the throne, or not overreacting and deleting the entire kingdom's roster when it became apparent that some pruning was needed. My maturity and introspection simply weren't yet up to the task. But that's neither here nor there, and the only lasting consequence was a tarnished reputation and a feeling of ... incompetence? Embarassment? Both, I'd say. I stayed on as a Commodore, had further arguments, and left the server when my subscription ran out. I did continue to play Era for a period, but even that became stale sometime in 2004, and I haven't bothered to look in since then. Though clearly Kingdoms is a shadow of its former self, it is satisfying for me to know that remnants of the social institutions that defined my gaming interests for well over a year still exist, even if only superficialities like names and titles are familiar to me. If my feeling of nostalgia were to linger, I would even consider purchasing a subscription (Gelats or whatever the proper term is), but my foremost interest was role-playing and meeting people, not accumulating levels or items. With such a low player-count, I imagine that must be the only reason to play.
Even though I have not been an active participant in five years, I still feel an intangible connection to the game because of the time and effort I put into it while I was playing. In hindsight, I was not here for a long time and never tried to become a part of the larger social community, but I had the privilege to meet some terrific people and received an incredible amount of enjoyment from this otherwise simple game. I think that's all any of us can ask for. When it is shut down, I imagine I will feel a tinge of disappointment, the realization that an insignificant chapter of my life has been closed forever. Even today, I can still come back if I want; when that opportunity no longer exists, what will be left except for a handful of memories and my imagination to fill in what I've forgotten? |
06-23-2009, 06:40 AM
then when they had the server list I was a member of the flames on the server Coasta De Agua (my home server at the time)
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