Catarin of Lusternia

I was on a rough mountain path. Completely lost. Completely confused. Completely exhilarated. My goal was a village nestled deep within the tall peaks that encircled the Lusternian Basin of Life. Apparently said village had revolted and my city wished to influence it to our way of thinking. As I was new to this, I had precious little idea of what precisely that entailed; however, I was completely enamored with my new home and thus quite biddable.

The very idea of it was so compelling as to be nigh irresistible. On the surface there was simply the city of Light; a golden beacon of hope in a world that desperately needed some. Yet it did not take long to look beneath the surface and discover the seething desperation, despair, and determination that fueled this haven of fallen angels and murderous saints. The city of New Celest was a dream come true for one who had spent so much time working in and working against a clichéd and canned idea of "good".

And who could deny the appeal of the enemy city? Not evil but Tainted. Ill. An illness caused by my city in a time long past that served as a constant reminder of an uncleansed sin and a silent warning of the dangers of hubris. A tragic city but a city that must be fought. A tragedy in and of itself. The fallen city and those they failed locked in eternal enmity. Or so I had been told. I had not personally witnessed much fighting as of yet. It had not been long since I had started this adventure but there was a constant, niggling concern deep within my chest.

What if this was all form with no substance? Yes the histories were fascinating and the potential for depth without question. But would it live up to its promise? That remained to be seen. In the mean time I was struggling to find my way through these mountains so I might see what there was to see in this fractious village. That is when my fears were proved groundless.

I looked away for an instant to consult my map and when I raised my head again, he was there. An Ur'Guard. A sworn enemy of my Paladin guild and much stronger than I. There was a brief moment to consider what I should do before all choice was taken away with his first blow. I was a veteran of these worlds, yet I had no concept of how to deal with what was, as far as I could determine, a cuisinart. He sliced, he diced, and before I could even say "Could you pass me my intestines?", I was dead and he was gone.

Now, this could have prompted many emotions: Incredulity that he would kill someone so obviously new or perhaps frustration over dying when I was so close to my goal. Anger at a game that allowed such casual brutality would not have been out of place. Yet all it inspired was excitement. There was some meat to backup the storyline. The players had embraced the tension and implied conflict and made it into something tangible and real. There were no words. No traditional taunts leading up to the fight. No apologies after. It simply was. All the reason needed for it was built into the world and no further communication was needed. That simple and brutal attack spoke far more clearly, telling me exactly what I had gotten myself into. There was no malice on the part of the player. He was not simply playing a role to be turned on and off at a whim but he embodied it. I decided there and then that this was a game I could wholly embrace and immerse myself in.

The years since have not proven me wrong. There is an intensity of conflict in Lusternia that is indeed exhausting but is never dull. People often speak of role-playing games and what constitutes good role-play and what does not. However, while the role-play in Lusternia does not disappoint, it is not what makes it such a compelling game to play. It is simply the level of immersion.

The world you play in is so rich with so much of a storyline that it is almost impossible not to immerse yourself in it. The histories are wonderful but they are also alive and make their presence known in almost every activity you can perform. You very quickly become attached to the organizations you join as you are banding together with other people for an actual purpose. The quests you do, the denizens you hunt, the politics you play, all feel as if they are connected to a much greater whole. As demonstrated so aptly by the Ur’Guard I first met, you do not simply play a character, you are that character.

I have played IRE games for eight years and muds in general for twelve. I have always been attached to my characters yet I have never been so attached to a game world itself or the concepts it presents for its players to wrestle with. At times it can be exhausting, and a break is necessary. In fact you will find many established players who take regular breaks every so often. Such hiatuses help keep the game fresh as players come back rejuvenated and ready to dive right back into the conflict.

All of the IRE games are special as evidenced by the continued success of the company despite the presence of some very polished graphical MMOs out there. But IRE, and Lusternia especially for me, continues to prove that an intense, quality text game can compete and succeed in an arena dominated by games far superior in technology. It is often said that muds are like books whereas MMOs are the movies. Holding to that metaphor Lusternia is that rare novel you can read again and again and always discover something new.