What has it cost you? The Pixel fixation.

[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.

[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. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[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]

Originally Posted by Swish [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

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."