Some of the best gaming experiences I've had, come from Vent... I feel like I know more than a person's character when I become good friends with them across vent. Their character doesn't really exist, they are just avatars in a video game that I won't be playing in a few months anyways. I have friends to this day that I haven't gamed with in years, yet we communicate on a daily/weekly basis, and I consider some of them to be extremely close friends.
Would I ever have formed that sort of relationship without Vent? I highly doubt it. In most new games, especially a game like WoW, people do not play only one character, most have multiple, like 3+ easily... So you care much less about the player's character and a lot more about the actual person who plays those characters.
I've been in guilds in certain games in the past that, I'd log onto Vent before I'd even launch the game. If particular people weren't in Vent, I had no interest in playing. For me, a good gaming experience or memory doesn't come from the game, it comes from the people you play that game with.
A good example for me is LOTRO, that game is pretty much trash. It has fun aspects, but compared to other MMOs, it's... just lacking. I knew the game was garbage during beta when I first started playing it, but I have more good memories from that game than every other MMO that I've played combined, and it's because of all of the people who I played with. It was FUN to get on and play with them and do the same boring stuff with them.
I love Vent, and I can't imagine playing any game without Vent, at least not a game in which I play with others on a regular basis.
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