The Soapbox: Debunking the first kiss theory

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Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, EverQuest II, Culture, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion

Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column.

So I owe this week's Soapbox to one of my gaming buddies who recently opined that a lot of older genre fans wear rose-colored glasses. We're a sentimental, eternally ornery, and change-resistant bunch, he said, and we're all searching in vain for that one game that recaptures the magic of our first MMO rodeo.

Ordinarily I'd take offense to those labels, but upon further reflection, my pal had a point (though it may not be the one he intended). This "first kiss theory" -- as I'm calling the bundle of nostalgia-related charges often leveled against old-school MMO fans -- is fairly common on massively multiplayer forums. This was the first time I'd heard the theory espoused by someone I knew personally, though, and as a result I spent a fair bit of time mulling it over.

Join me after the cut to see why it ultimately doesn't hold water and why, if older MMOers are indeed nostalgic, there are quantifiable reasons for it that has little to do with half-remembered glory days.Continue reading The Soapbox: Debunking the first kiss theory

The Soapbox: Debunking the first kiss theory originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 May 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.




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