So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye...

Every time I think of the movie, "The Sound of Music," I think of the stage performance by the von Trapp family at the end of the film as they are making their escape.

The EQ guild that I was once an active member, shut its doors on August 19th.

This event has closed the book on my EQ life. I had toyed with the thought of returning, but realistically, I would not. The game just takes too much effort. The *game* is not as real-life friendly as World of Warcraft, where one can log in for a few minutes and complete an objective alone or with the help of one other person. Yes, it's easy to get lost and play for hours, but that is a matter of choice.

People starting MMOs with WoW will probably never know to the same degree what it feels like to have 50+ people move as one, as a successful high-end raiding guild in EQ; especially in a guild where RL came first, so we weren't playing with the same people every encounter. I would imagine someone in the military saying the same thing about gamers! :)

(image from "The Sound of Music" taken from yahoo.com)

Some have remained in the guild to carry on the flame that once roared, while some have left for other games together, others have left to move into other raiding guilds in hopes of continuing that excitement or to returned to their old haunts.

I mentioned to someone earlier today, I doubt Verant had any idea the degree that a game they created would change the lives of so many people, where lasting relationships formed beyond the pixels.

- Cassaendra