What has it cost you? The Pixel fixation.

[Sixpence]

I imagine we're all here for our love of Norrath in One guise or another.
My heartbeat still speeds up when I hear the loading music.

I stumbled across a copy of Everquest while out shopping in London with an old girlfriend back in early 2000. Our regular tabletop gaming group had split up, moved away etc so this seemed like the ideal way to keep in touch & still get together in a Fantasy realm. The rest, as they say, is history...

I stumbled about for awhile as many of us do, finding 'my class' as it were, shortly followed by finding my guild, One I stayed with throughout my Live years.

I was working for B.T (British Telecom as an engineer) back then, they have a great system where you can go sick for 6 months with full pay & somehow I managed to blag it & get signed off with 'stress'.
Looking back I'm not 100% convinced that my priorities were the full ticket back then, (no shit) and so I stayed up most nights as my guild was on EST (Being a Brit, this would have been an issue to a 'normal' person).
The girlfriend soon became an Ex & I barely noticed. I moved in with another guildmate who had his own place & lived on a diet of Marlboro & Cake for months....

I came through it, but realise that not everyone does. Addictive Personality & all that.
I'm happy to say that I'm now happily married & still working for B.T, always got twitchy at the thought of EQ & am playing as & when I can now, with this thing called willpower.


*Apologies if this thread has been done to death previously, I did a search but came up with Nada.

[Pint]

my dignity and probably my health

[Lev_Mer]

only big gains here daily

[Ohno]

I think it hurts a lot of people's social development and skills because EQ has a might makes right style of play . Red99 has surprised me with just how horrible the people are there. Racism is pretty damn rampant and very few have any tact on the winning or losing side.

Basically barring petitions and general stupidity... once 1 side has numbers and gets an advantage it's pretty damn hard to lose it. This corrupts people with poor social/life skills pretty damn quickly.

[Clark]

Red99 has surprised me with just how horrible the people are there.

[Cecily]

*Apologies if this thread has been done to death previously, I did a search but came up with Nada.

Good topic. I think it's something we avoid talking about. In complete seriousness, I think Rogean and Nilbog would be doing a huge service to mankind to pull the plug on this server. EQ addiction won't ruin everyone's life, but it most definitely ruins plenty of them. Weep for their souls come Velious.

[Tickle-me-tiggle]

even the ones claiming they are 'anti that' are pretty bad, was in <Fresh> for all of 24 hours and was legit yelled at in vent about being a spy, like its the cold war.

p.s. wasnt a spy

edit: I lost a baseball scholarship to a major SEC school 2 years into it, basically let my health go down the drain and got hurt in scrims. Now I just do my night job and go home to my kids and wife. Prolly woulda been a millionaire.

[iruinedyourday]

I almost failed out of college, i righted the ship but regret it cus I woulda had a crown of rile in 2001 if I didn't, now I just have student debt and p99.

[Zapatos]

Sad stuff and things. Too much to write about.

Just remember to follow the 20/20/20 rule. throw in push-ups and crunches too.

Don't play a bard.

[Nuggie]

On the contrary, I used it as a crutch to get me through some bad times. Eq helped me in a large way.

[Ohno]

even the ones claiming they are 'anti that' are pretty bad, was in <Fresh> for all of 24 hours and was legit yelled at in vent about being a spy, like its the cold war.

p.s. wasnt a spy

edit: I lost a baseball scholarship to a major SEC school 2 years into it, basically let my health go down the drain and got hurt in scrims. Now I just do my night job and go home to my kids and wife. Prolly woulda been a millionaire.


That's the part that worries me about red to the point of giving up.

People with no tact and fairly jerk-ish.... then the people who want to make the server better.... are just as bad.

Like officers being completely passive aggressive talking about booting people even over minor offenses and picking fights with people in GC.

You're sitting there like "These are the good guys"?

[iruinedyourday]

ohno calm down this isnt s a red thread, its things that screwed our lives up.

Unless red screwed u up so bad u cant stop posting about it. :(

[fiveeauxfour]

i live vicariously through my pixel lady

[Swish]

That's the part that worries me about red to the point of giving up.

People with no tact and fairly jerk-ish.... then the people who want to make the server better.... are just as bad.

Like officers being completely passive aggressive talking about booting people even over minor offenses and picking fights with people in GC.

You're sitting there like "These are the good guys"?

That you Tiggles?

Red needs a "new player" guild for sure, I might even make one. Fresh is an example of a guild moving from that era into raiding and inevitably when that happens there's some concerns about spies in the ranks. Red has always had spies in other guilds, and blue is no different... it's just treated differently.

[Cillaz]

I spent 44 straight hours (falling asleep here and there in my computer chair still playing) sat camping Rasta of guk for my monk epic back in 2000ish after splitting from my girlfriend of 5 years. I was so upset and angry over the split I said i wasn't gonna sleep til he popped.
He never did : and the guy i handed the camp over to told me he popped after 2 spawn cycles for him.
I quit my monk in rage, (deleted him - he was 56) and started a bst on a new server not long after.
IIRC i think you can just kill some npc and get the robe of whistling fist as a drop and miss Rasta part altogether, but didnt know that at the time.
So i lost something, but also it was a good way to keep me busy during a hard time in my life.
Dont know why i posted that story in this section, but i guess some people can relate. Its a story ive never told before actually as i dont know anyone IRL who would understand it lol.

[iruinedyourday]

That you Tiggles?

Red needs a "new player" guild for sure, I might even make one. Fresh is an example of a guild moving from that era into raiding and inevitably when that happens there's some concerns about spies in the ranks. Red has always had spies in other guilds, and blue is no different... it's just treated differently.

I've been logging my 1-60 so ill post my whole run, wont really be a guide but should some good tips if someone wants to get started there. Its been pretty action packed so I think it should be fun

[Clark]

i live vicariously through my pixel lady

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/laynXVsBulg/hqdefault.jpg

This is a Brazilian ass shaker right here.



Can I say that...?

Right on.

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/JgmVxknYbpM/hqdefault.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laynXVsBulg

[Clark]

I almost failed out of college, i righted the ship but regret it cus I woulda had a crown of rile in 2001 if I didn't, now I just have student debt and p99.

14 years later and you still have college debt? :(

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/MY0kkI7GnVs/hqdefault.jpg

[Itap]

Got an "F" in trig during my senior year of high school, my mom quickly canceled our 2nd phone line. Didn't play much after that until I went away to college.

[holsteinrx7]

i can only get it up for fat melee lewts. tank lewts to be exact.

[Bolix]

Played late and affected my job. Posted too much during work hours on boards.

Boss eventually said to me "what have you been doing for the last 6 months". I realised that saying "we just hit elementals,wtf dude!" would probably not be the right answer :)

[myriverse]

However much the retails were for the games through Gates of Discord (times two for the wife).
And the subscription fee from September 1999 through about June 2004.

Don't have any sob stories about EQ.

[Monty405]

For myself it pretty much only affected my high school grades, but high school is easy enough that I still passed everything anyways.

[11bangbang]

had i not been playing P99 i wouldnt have gotten a DUI. no shit, its all because i was in vent, and im never in vent if im not on eq. a friend in vent says hey you should come visit. so i said fuck it when it gets bright out ill pack a bag, jump on my motorcycle and visit for the weekend. i got to his house late at night cause it was a few hundred miles away. the next day we went to a bar and got pulled over leaving the bar. a mixture of eq and bad decision making. also had i not been introduced to EQ around 12 years old when it first came out i wouldnt have been playing P99, which in turn i wouldnt have been in vent and playing P99. fuck you dad for showing me this game.

[Barkingturtle]

By the time 1999 rolled around, I was already dealing with my unchecked alcoholism and substance abuse. Frankly, Everquest might have kept me from going to prison.

So, I guess it cost me some street cred, mostly. Had to pay for my own tattoos, too, so I think it's fair to factor that in.

[Catashe]

I almost failed out of college, i righted the ship but regret it cus I woulda had a crown of rile in 2001 if I didn't, now I just have student debt and p99.

Priceless

[Man0warr]

Live EQ/early WoW definitely impacted me getting into a good college, but it all worked out.

[Visual]

took me straight to the top like eddie murphy in trading places

[11bangbang]

took me straight to the top like eddie murphy in trading places

one thing for sure is the countless amount of time ive spent in EC tunnel, im definitely the master of craigslist...so ive got that going for me.

[Sixpence]

This is great & thanks for replying folks.
I had a pal who was working 'Night security'. Whereas in reality all he did was play EQ all night. He managed to last a Year before they realised he did little else & gave him the boot.

I honestly think that the Social aspect of it helped me become the person I am today & I mean that in a good way.

[DevGrousis]

I quit soccer my Freshman year of highschool because I would have rather come home to play EQ than stay after for practice. Shortly there after I was released from the Olympic Development Program, and then was out of the game all together. Moved to KC, and my dad didnt have a computer that could run EQ. So I tried out for my new highschools soccer team, and got back into the sport. Now its my job, and I couldn't imagine doing anything else for a living.

BUT, there were also positive things that EQ did for me. It did give a 7th grader an unbelievable vocabulary, and taught me how to type well, in a time when most people still weren't proficient at it. It also gave me a familiarity with computers that turned into a second passion of mine: App development, and web design.

[DevGrousis]

I almost failed out of college, i righted the ship but regret it cus I woulda had a crown of rile in 2001 if I didn't, now I just have student debt and p99.

i can only get it up for fat melee lewts. tank lewts to be exact.


These are hilarious

[Itap]

Thanks for reminding me, EQ gave me the ability to type like 60 wpm

[Dillian]

I think it hurts a lot of people's social development and skills because EQ has a might makes right style of play . Red99 has surprised me with just how horrible the people are there. Racism is pretty damn rampant and very few have any tact on the winning or losing side.

Basically barring petitions and general stupidity... once 1 side has numbers and gets an advantage it's pretty damn hard to lose it. This corrupts people with poor social/life skills pretty damn quickly.

wut?

[webrunner5]

I use it more as a Hobby since I have retired, but I must admit I have played a lot more than I should have before I did. It DOES effect your family like it or not, young or old.

Like everything in life there is good things and bad things about everything, but this game is DAMN ADDICTIVE no doubt. :(

[Sadre Spinegnawer]

Federal Prisoner #G2933378014
parole date: 2019


Most fed. pens can run the modified titanium client on their library computers np, because it is so old the filters they use these days don't screen for it.

p99 was a godsend for so many of us -- mucho props and respect as always to Fed. Prisoners #G3091117620 and #G2871003553 who run this entire server behind a false wall in their cell.

But eq was why we were here in the first place. Camp disputes get out of hand, and the next thing you know, you've driven halfway across the country and your best case scenario is you get natural life.

Shout out to all my homies in the big raid guilds, tho. Little do the casuals know the "batphone" is just someone yelling "Yo! Earthquake!" across the day room.

[Sixpence]

I played Hockey back then, in Goal (It's not that popular in England), only Rec team but my form took a huge dip & I was about as effective as a colander.
I can appreciate the impact it has on any sports.

[Erydan Ouragan]

So i basically quit my job and wasn't looking for work. No food either, so after a while i lost a good amount of weight and i was already the skinny type, so when my step-mom saw me, she started to cry, i was looking like a famished vampire or something.

I was either playing EQ or sleeping, it didn't take long before getting thrown out of my appartment, so i moved to a friend's house and quit the game. Got my job back and shortly after, WoW came out and started playing that. World of Warcraft never got that insane, magnetic pulling effect it had on me, so i was able to "control" it, even though i spent most of my free time on it, playing with my friend.

A couple years went by, then i decided it was time to do something with my life, so i went back to school, kept playing WoW, got a job in my field, and here i am.

It hasn't cost me anything, at least i don't think so. It taught me valuable things and i have some pretty amazing memories. Looking back, i feel EQ was more than just an addiction, it was a way to cope with the feeling of not being ready to be a responsible adult who holds a job and pays his rent.

I'm glad i got addicted to EQ instead of anything else. Sitting in front of the computer in the safety of your home being addicted to a game is better than being on the streets, being addicted to whatever substance and sucking old gay men's dicks to fund your addiction.

[Sixpence]

It taught me valuable things and I have some pretty amazing memories. Looking back, I feel EQ was more than just an addiction, it was a way to cope with the feeling of not being ready to be a responsible adult who holds a job and pays his rent.
^^ That. So true.

[maestrom]

Barely graduated high school and failed out of college (due to other reasons as well). Lost a year and a half to working only part time and failing classes at community college due to raiding and camping. Ended up joining the military in order to right the ship.

Doing really really well now. Graduated from college, doing grad school now and got an awesome job lined up.

I'm not sure it was Everquest that really did me in though. If it wasn't EQ, it would have been something else. It was a failure on my part to do some self-exploration and figure out what I wanted out of life. Everquest and its somewhat predictable reward schedule for the time required just filled the gaps. It contributed to setting me back ~6 years relative to my peers though.

Oops.

[HallyVee]

Honestly, I came away relatively unscathed. My pot addiction cost me the first six months of my children's lives, but video games have only recently started to seem like a waste of time. Got plenty of great years out of them.

Really, I would have just read more books and done more drugs without gaming.

[Glaani]

17 months ago I had a stroke on the right side of my brain. rendering my left side paralyzed...no more walking and gamingand typing is a huge challenge...however, my therapists believe that my serious gaming habit helped my reflexes + memory recover quicker than a non-gamer...and now when i play, it's a form of therapy: keeping track of multiple things all at once: chat and fights etc.. sorry to be a rl downer with perhaps way tmi, but I had to share the fact that gaming has had a positive influence on my life (met my husband on the torv server in 2003 (married 8 years now!!

[fastboy21]

EQ is a dark master with the power to ruin lives quite easily.

I know I've watched back around 2001 several real life friends lose jobs, fail out of school, lose friends...all so that they could order their lives in a way that allowed them to play EQ every day. I don't think it is all that rare.

EQ personally caused a great deal of stress in my personal relationships.

It is a hobby that few people outside of the gaming world understand, and they subsequently have little patience for those caught up in it. There were times when I felt (in hindsight, I certainly don't envy anyone with real chemical addiction) that it would have been easier to explain to folks that I was an alcoholic or drug addict then to explain that my work performance was suffering from late nights spent raiding in a video game.

[Itap]

17 months ago I had a stroke on the right side of my brain. rendering my left side paralyzed...no more walking and gamingand typing is a huge challenge...however, my therapists believe that my serious gaming habit helped my reflexes + memory recover quicker than a non-gamer...and now when i play, it's a form of therapy: keeping track of multiple things all at once: chat and fights etc.. sorry to be a rl downer with perhaps way tmi, but I had to share the fact that gaming has had a positive influence on my life (met my husband on the torv server in 2003 (married 8 years now!!

Way to be optimistic, pras

[Tickle-me-tiggle]

17 months ago I had a stroke on the right side of my brain. rendering my left side paralyzed...no more walking and gamingand typing is a huge challenge...however, my therapists believe that my serious gaming habit helped my reflexes + memory recover quicker than a non-gamer...and now when i play, it's a form of therapy: keeping track of multiple things all at once: chat and fights etc.. sorry to be a rl downer with perhaps way tmi, but I had to share the fact that gaming has had a positive influence on my life (met my husband on the torv server in 2003 (married 8 years now!!

Very cool and I share a similar backround, met my wife years ago...5 kids now, two well adjusted, well educated & employed adults.

Seems another life time ago when this game launched and I was stuck watching showEQ for hours in sleepers or tov.

I wouldn't trade it for anything, but sometimes you wonder.

[Dac321]

Interesting experiences.

Seems like a lot of people used the game as a crutch, but on the same token used it as an excuse.

I get anxious if I don't play. I've been on an on and off relationship with P99 for the last 2 years, and I can't seem to part ways. I will always be around some form of EQ.

I am addicted to EverQuest's nostalgia, not just because it's a good game, but also because life seemed to be much simpler for me. Life didn't seem to be moving 150MPH in 2000.

[Archie]

Just remember to follow the 20/20/20 rule.

wut?

[myriverse]

20/20/20 rule
wut?
Every 20 minutes, take your eyes off the screen and look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

[Taeoz]

My school performance did suffer a bit, but in the long run the effect has been negligible. EQ really helped me form my current personality though - I've always been an introvert and I still am, but back then I really hated going outside and socializing with people. Back in '99 I was still in middle school, but I felt more mature than my age - so I ended up with a guild that had people mostly in their late 20s and upwards. Tons of couples. So to fit in, I had to act like I was their peer - and since I had free reign to re-imagine myself, I came up with a more outgoing and fun personality.

Once I was done with EQ and had to venture outside to the real world, I realized that the "fake" personality I had created had spilled over. I found I was more confident in social situations, hell, I even surprised myself by flirting with a co-worker and had fun doing it. That really was the moment that caused me to look back and wonder what had changed and recognizing that my interactions in EQ during '99-'05 really changed the way I behaved and felt when dealing with other people.

The benefits to my English vocabulary and spelling were also tremendous, since I was using it constantly to converse with other people (English is my second language).

[webrunner5]

Something else to add to you younger guys and not so young. I am 68 years old and have been playing this game non stop since early 2000.

I now have Corporal Tunnel Syndrome in each of my hands. And I can almost guarantee most of it has come from playing EQ through the years, Bards and all. I have switched over to both a ergonomic keyboard and mouse. Seems to be helping some.

I would suggest you guys do also before it is too late. I am sure it does help in the long run to have them. The pain in my hands, numbness in my fingers, pain in my bones in my arms at night is a bitch I can tell you. Do your self a favor and save yourself from having what I got, and others have, from playing this game hours on end. :o

[Dillian]

your name david by chance webrunner?

[Dillian]

nvm i think he's older then 68.

[blondeattk]

I spent 5 years on benefits, supporting my EQ habit.

THen on good friday 2005, my 16 year old dog, finally died of a heart attack, and I was free to go travelling in eastern europe on a debt fuelled search for Mrs X.

It was a fun ride, but now all i have are my memories, penelope(a large white teddy bear) p99, and my career in the gov artistry dept.....between me and the void of insanity. [and curvature of the spine]

Eq is a double edged swrd, both a curse and a blessing.

[curtischoy]

I don't think that it has hindered me personally at all, but it did serious damage to one of my RL friends that I used to play live with. (You can blame this on EQ or maybe it would have just happened anyways, who knows)

He started taking pills to keep you awake (i don't think Aderol was a drug yet) so that he could camp stuff late at night and this lead to coke which then lead to meth. He became heavily addicted and got a "girl friend", some chick that he was able to fuck because he could support her meth addiction. She convinced him to move to Florida and about 6 months after that he ran out of money and she didnt need him anymore. So she had some of her friends beat him and rob him of everything except his phone and his car. He sold his phone quickly for meth money and was living in his car. He then sold his car for meth money and was living on the streets. 2 months of living on the streets and he called his brother to wire him money so that he could take a bus home. Not surprisingly, he spent it on meth. He called his brother again for more money to take the bus and his bro told him that if he didn't use the money to come home that he would never speak to him again. Amazingly he took the bus home and went to rehab and was clean for two years. Then he got back into it and I haven't spoken to him since. That was 10 years ago.

[Asher]

Thanks for reminding me, EQ gave me the ability to type like 60 wpm

I second this, although my typing is probably up around 100 wpm.

Playing a bard, twisting and carrying on a conversation was good experience for me.

EQ did eat a lot of my life in my younger years and probably had some impact on grades, but I wouldn't say any more than any other hobby I would have enjoyed equally as well.

Life is good now. I look forward to playing again on the Recycle server. Current P99 is a mess IMO.

Asher

[Sixpence]

There are some real gems coming through on this, it's reassuring to see that positives' also happened from our Pixel fix.

[Omnifiend]

When EQ came out I was a solid introvert that absolutely despised other people. Like wish they were all dead type of hate. I got into EQ, realized I wasn't going anywhere without friends, amazingly enough made actual friends for the first time in my life, people I've actually even met IRL. I was forced to come out of my shell, and learned to be much more of an extrovert. While I wouldn't say I've learned to love my fellow man...I can say that EQ certainly put me on a positive life track, instead of the much more negative serial killing life track I was on at the time.

Oh, I also failed out of college, but that wasn't that serious as I was on a scholarship. Went back, am successful, and having insane amounts of fun and nostalgia overload the second time around. Wouldn't change anything. Except I did spend RL money on in game items once. Wish I could change that. Felt like Ace Ventura after he realized he kissed a man once I was done.

[contemptor]

Thanks for reminding me, EQ gave me the ability to type like 60 wpm
Adding to this notion. I was able to outtype my keyboarding teacher, and I'm fully convinced it was due to my classic EQ (vent/ts/mumble, lol 56k no way) skills.

[Sixpence]

Except I did spend RL money on in game items once. Wish I could change that. Felt like Ace Ventura after he realized he kissed a man once I was done.

Lol Omni, I did the same once back on F.V. I had all this plat & bought a load of crap I really didn't need, then felt guilty about it for months afterwards for not earning it the hard way.

[Rararboker]

The amount of people in this thread who don't understand what introvert or extrovert means is astounding.

I'll help. Shy/socially awkward =/= introvert.


I started playing pretty young, maybe 10 years old? The game definitely helped me learn to type quickly as well as increasing my vocabulary. I remember being the only person in 5th grade who could spell chloroplast before it was taught to us. Also helped me ignore a lot of the negative aspects of my home life as a kid. And now I'm out of those situations and doing pretty well for myself I feel lucky for having found the game when I did. Who knows where I would be now if I had spent more time in that negative environment my parents called a home.

[Iumuno]

I had recently quit my job, and wasn't looking for one. I had serious mood issues at the time, from a combination of a shitty RL situation, chemical imbalance that made me prone to depresson, and a negative outlook on life. All of this was making me borderline suicidal, and it took me a long time to fix these issues.

Looking back, EQ was a crutch that helped me survive through it by bringing some joy into my life. It's possible that after a while it became detrimental to reintegrating society, but I'm not 100% sure, so severe were my mood issues at the time. Even now, 10+ years after, I think that playing EQ all day was the best time of my life.

[Sixpence]

I think that playing EQ all day was the best time of my life

Iumuno, other than the birth of our Two Sons, I can relate to that.
Some pals & I had One of our (infrequent) gatherings down the pub recently & before long (as it always does) the conversation ended up on EQ.
Laughing our asses off about our trails & tribulations in Norrath, both the good & the bad.
I know it's something of a no brainer but things seemed a lot simpler then (We were all younger, & free of Direct Debit hell).
To be able to come back to that moment in time, here on P.99, is a very welcome gift.
PeterPan FtW

[webrunner5]

My son got me hooked on EQ in early 2000. He just turned 30. We still play together to this day at times. It was, and is a great way for us to still interact in a fun way. :cool:

[August]

As a non-social kid it let me interact with people in a way I hadn't before. I learned to work as a team and my place in a raid (3rd tank, not very glorious). I learned that I didn't have to be the best but to be sufficient.

I left EQ for WoW and ended up starting my own guild after several splits from other guilds and led a raid force of 40 (66 active members) to top 3 spot worldwide for just under 2 years. While doing this I learned what leadership and organization were important to have a successful cohesive unit. I learned what it means to do the right thing despite popularity and politics.

To this day I credit my time in <Primus Exodus> on Veeshan as a catalyst to my professional development. I learned a lot from those people and a lot from the subsequent steps I took in WoW to develop a leadership skill set. Today my position reflects those skills and I can say confidently that I am the youngest person at my company with the level of authority and influence that I command - and I would attribute that to my roots in EQ from when I was a shy, fat, bookworm.

I DID almost lose some scholarships to WoW, but, that's hardly here or there (I recovered and kept my GPA up).

[Vorkon]

I think all of us have probably missed out to some real life opportunities based on having to compete in raids and grind things.

I came through fairly unscathed, though I do know people whose marriages crumbled, others who couldn't function in a professional settings, failed out of college etc...

I've also met some cool people who to this day are friends I've hung out with outside of games, have been there for weddings, important life mile stones like births, etc...

For me, the competition of raiding and seeing some of the less then desirable aspects of people have really tempered me out and made me better dealing with the drama that occasionally associates itself when working in an office environment. People throwing fits about loot have made me somewhat apathetic to people when they don't get their way.

[Swish]

Wasn't there an EQ guide who killed herself over something EQ related?

[Vorkon]

Wasn't there an EQ guide who killed herself over something EQ related?

This shenanigans maybe?

http://www.salon.com/2000/11/21/virtual_suicide/

"A week later, however, it’s beginning to appear that there was, in fact, no suicide — and that there may not even have been a real Sheyla. Since Verant has refused to discuss the situation, Everquest community members have initiated their own investigation of the “suicide,” turning up some perplexing information. Their research has unearthed a hidden drama behind a character that many Everquest players thought they knew well, but apparently didn’t know at all."

[Swish]

This shenanigans maybe?

http://www.salon.com/2000/11/21/virtual_suicide/

"A week later, however, it’s beginning to appear that there was, in fact, no suicide — and that there may not even have been a real Sheyla. Since Verant has refused to discuss the situation, Everquest community members have initiated their own investigation of the “suicide,” turning up some perplexing information. Their research has unearthed a hidden drama behind a character that many Everquest players thought they knew well, but apparently didn’t know at all."

Yeah that's the one - only saw the original article back in the day, never knew it was a hoax... guess it cost "her" and those around her a lot emotionally.

[Ele]

Wasn't there an EQ guide who killed herself over something EQ related?

Don't forget Shawn Woolley.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/addicted-suicide-over-everquest/

[Lev_Mer]

dont forget bestow

[iruinedyourday]

the first rare item drop I ever got on my own was a level 10ish mob in Lavastorm. It was a gypsy that had a +7 cha torch. I held that thing with pride until I was PK'd and someone looted it.

I was a 19 year old boy, I sat on my front porch and cried... Then i looked up and thought to myself, 'wtf is wrong with you, you're crying over a video game?'

So I guess you could say EQ cost me my dignity.

[Farzo]

My wake up call was playing @ 1am in my undies on the ground next to my bed and having my gf wake up roll over and watch me for a bit then state " wtf is wrong with you, its 1 am..." that's when my eq time started to wane.


Luv eq but

[Oooruk]

I think it has benefited me way more than it cost me.

I started playing EQ at 11, then moved to DAoC at 12 and WoW at 15. When I played, everyone I played with and was friends with was college age or older so I had to act a lot more mature than I was at the time. I remember being terrified of people finding out how young I was.

The benefits (for me at least) include:

-Typing speed and ability - so glad I learned this at a young age

-Learning how to use computers. Again, so glad I learned how to do this at a young age. My friend and I tried to program a D2 MF bot at 14, it never ended up working but was a great experience.

-Leadership and conflict resolution skills. This might sound funny but for DAoC and WoW I was part of a core group that dominated each server. This meant running raids, running PvP groups, working on strats, sifting through data to min/max etc. As well as dealing with all the bullshit that comes up between people in these enivornments.

-The value of hardwork. IE if you want to be the best, be prepared to dedicate 60+ hours a week. This came in handy during university and work.

I mean, I basically did no school work from the ages of 11 to 17 but school is easy enough for me that all I had to do was show up and I could pass. My hockey performance dropped dramatically, but I would never have made it pro anyway, so no big loss.

Fast forwarded to the last 3 years... I graduate uni in 2012 at 22 with honors near the top of my class, got a job working on the other side of the world (moved from Canada to Australia) and am making almost 6 figures a year. Basically i have the world at my finger tips and play this when i have the time. Life is good.

Oooruk - 51 shaman, blue
Aten - 43 enchanter, red

[Farzo]

Pras - welcome to Australia, even if ur Canadian.

[Oooruk]

West Australia, near Fremantle.

Been here almost 3 years now.

Truth be told though, I haven't been on p1999 since feb. My gaming time is taken up with nostalrius

[EndofLine]

On the contrary, I used it as a crutch to get me through some bad times. Eq helped me in a large way.

Yeh, I'm not going to say there weren't some sacrifices made to keep up with the game back then, but I definitely have to say the pros outweighed the cons. Without getting into it there was an enormous transition in my life going on back then, and Everquest and the friends in it gave me an escape until I was in a position to remove myself from the situation.

14 year marriage, 2 kids later. I still feel as though in some very strange way I owe a lot to Everquest for taking me out of my home life and into Norrath for a couple of years.

[GreldorEQ]

I can assure you, time spent playing EQ as a teenager was detrimental to my education and my work ethic. A problem I certainly still struggle with today. I can reasonably say, however, that it strengthened my social skills (which were perhaps already strong) in addition to my problem solving skills(something most video games in moderation can provide).

Currently, I play well under the radar. My work situation allows me certain liberties that somehow translate to playtime opportunities in my twisted priority list. If anyone found out how much time I wasted, or that I was doing this at all, there would be some pretty serious work/family consequences.

Despite identifying my addictive personality, it is hard to understand why I continue, knowing the very serious possibilities that could come to be. There is a world of better things to do than play this game for those of us who are physically able. Playing this game is much easier than most of those things.

[murcielago200]

As far as I can tell I only have slightly irritated wife from it. I also made it through nursing school because of EQ. I needed to study for like 12 hours a day for a week before state boards and it's easy to study while doing a 6 min camp and not fall asleep while reading my books since I get a mini break every 6 min.
My wife stays on and off irritated at me because of this game so I'm currently on break. She had to make a bet with me that I couldn't go 60 days without eq and so I said she couldn't go 60 days without TV. My house is really boring now... And we had to decide to do this when Velious is about to come out... Im hoping she cracks before then so I can play without losing the bet.

[Gotze]

As far as I can tell I only have slightly irritated wife from it. I also made it through nursing school because of EQ. I needed to study for like 12 hours a day for a week before state boards and it's easy to study while doing a 6 min camp and not fall asleep while reading my books since I get a mini break every 6 min.
My wife stays on and off irritated at me because of this game so I'm currently on break. She had to make a bet with me that I couldn't go 60 days without eq and so I said she couldn't go 60 days without TV. My house is really boring now... And we had to decide to do this when Velious is about to come out... Im hoping she cracks before then so I can play without losing the bet.

Out of curiosity has she in return quit a hobby that she enjoys?

[murcielago200]

Ya that's the no tv. (her hobby)

[Kevris]

It's not always a "cost," sometimes it pays you.

I believe raiding in Everquest gave me the ability to key 120 or more WPM on an unlabeled keyboard.

I made love to an attractive woman back in 2001 (or 2002?) due to Everquest.

I got started in I.T. due to Everquest and over the last 11 years have gone from dispatcher to engineer to I.S. Manager making 90k/yr. In a few more years I'll be looking at CIO or Director of IT type jobs and I really do have Everquest to thank for that.

Everquest has been good to me; thanks Norrath! =)

[lecompte]

I learned how to type....

[Grimjaw]

the first rare item drop I ever got on my own was a level 10ish mob in Lavastorm. It was a gypsy that had a +7 cha torch. I held that thing with pride until I was PK'd and someone looted it.

I was a 19 year old boy, I sat on my front porch and cried... Then i looked up and thought to myself, 'wtf is wrong with you, you're crying over a video game?'

So I guess you could say EQ cost me my dignity.

no servers allowed you to loot weapons from other people (primary secondary ranged ammo were protected)... So, did you really hold it?

[webrunner5]

My wife stays on and off irritated at me because of this game so I'm currently on break. She had to make a bet with me that I couldn't go 60 days without eq and so I said she couldn't go 60 days without TV. My house is really boring now... And we had to decide to do this when Velious is about to come out... Im hoping she cracks before then so I can play without losing the bet.

Now THAT IS Hard Mode lol. Wow. :eek:

[Itap]

Think of all the young doctors EQ produced

[Paleman]

before EQ i never did my homework, I drank alcohol and rode dirtbikes with friends and was fat and had manboobs. I didnt have a girlfriend. I nearly failed every class in JR high. I was depressed, for numerous reasons which are private.

Then I found EQ because of a friend. Ended up getting into music, started jogging every day before I played EQ so I lost a lot of weight. I did my homework as I soloed on my druid so I got decent grades. I also got a girlfriend because of music and not being a moob king.

I also sold plat to IGE back in the day while I was in highschool and college, so I made some good money on the game and bought my first car with it, as well as concert tickets and so on.

[Larkverdin]

For myself it pretty much only affected my high school grades, but high school is easy enough that I still passed everything anyways.

This. I think I was young enough that EQ didn't have hardly any negative effects. I honestly only have good things to say about what EQ did for me. Hence why I'm here.

[NizmerThafen]

Looking back I only somewhat regret spending so much time on EQ, however can't definitively come up with a better alternative to how I should have spent my time. Essentially the only thing EQ "cost" me was a tremendous amount of time.

My grades in Highschool were above average and I was taking college courses at the same time. Years later I finished my masters degree in a STEM field. I wouldn't say EQ really cost me a whole lot in my life so far. If I saw it was becoming a problem by interfering with my higher priorities I dialed it back or stopped temporarily.

A few years back I introduced EQ to my fiance after I learned of her inner-nerd. We do not let EQ interfere with our lives / priorities. We are now happily married and duo together when we have the time.

Over all EQ hasn't greatly contributed nor harmed my life in any particular way, so I'm rather neutral on my EQ "cost" verdict.

[Swish]

Think of all the young doctors EQ produced

[DetroitVelvetSmooth]

Pls someone link the young doctor ss's please it never gets old.

[Swish]

Pls someone link the young doctor ss's please it never gets old.

Took me a while to find it, reuploaded it just in case Photobucket goes under someday and we lose it :P

http://i.imgur.com/8BofRUU.jpg

Tag: i am a young doctor

[Troxx]

In my case EQ almost stopped me from being a young doctor. Still not sure how I made it through my last year of HS, college, med school, and residency with my EQ addiction being what it was.

These days I'm lucky if I can find a few hours here and there.

[Crabbles]

HA! I'd never seen that young doctor SS before. That's hilarious haha

[Thaeryn]

I played back in 2000-2002. My time with EQ gave me more than I could ever put into words.

To this day, so many things in my daily life trigger memories.

The people I met, the adventures I had... they have such a big part of me still.

And though I'm not able to play, for it would cause far too much trouble in my home, I am grateful that I can at least watch from afar.

I hope all my old friends know that I pray for them daily.