Online Text RPGs: How I Got Into Them

By Christopher K. Davis

When I was younger, I got into video games and instantly felt drawn in by the role playing genre. I played select titles from the Final Fantasy series, Chrono Trigger, Shadow Hearts, Zelda, and Suikoden, as well as many more. No other type of game could give me as much enjoyment. I vividly remember playing Final Fantasy VII over and over again, beating it multiple times and completing specific side quests. Until one day, when I saw a friend playing a MUD and asked her what that game was. I sat in the chair next to her, and read along while she explained what was happening, and about her character. She always loved elves, but I was more interested in humans and dwarves.

Eventually I grew tired of playing console games, and I remembered back to when I watched my friend play that strange text-based game. Since I loved reading, I got the idea in my head to search for a text-based game of my own to play.

At first I played through a few games that did not hold my attention for very long, but eventually I found - and completely fell in love with - Iron Realms Entertainment's Achaea. From the very beginning of your journey, you can just tell that the world you're in is rich with history; I was impressed just by the newbie tour which is intended to introduce to the basic commands of the text game. The beginning sequence is grabbing; your character witnesses a friend getting cut down by a goblin right in front of you.

The depth and the sheer amount of choices available for your character was flabbergasting at first. I could not get enough of the game, playing hours and hours while trying out various classes and races. My character was in the Paladins, which really introduced me to the philosophy of an important faction in the game, the Light of Good. I was better able to learn about the game-specific conflict by being on one of the two sides most polarizing teams. Completing requirements per my specific rank was also fun and challenging. I learned about various histories, how to defend myself, and even the game economy.

As I played and learned, I introduced Achaea to other friends. Immersing myself into the game world also helped me develop a better understanding of proper role play. It helped me develop a larger vocabulary, type faster, and invest in my character to the point where I really enjoyed just watching his journey. For the amount of time you can put into a game like Achaea, you really can get back so much more in terms of enjoyment and success.

As I gained levels, knowledge, and got to know the world around me, things became simpler over time. Although the learning curve can be steep, I eventually learned the strategy and skills of my class; fighting monsters was fun, but fighting adventurers and feeling the rush of a kill was even more of a high.

Text-based games are the type of gaming experience that have you constantly craving more, and coming back even when you thought you had finished. There is so much to do that playing never gets boring or old unless you let it.

\The best advice I can give is to help and introduce other players to text games, so they can feel the same excitement you felt when you first started.

If you would like to try out some great online text-based games, check out these text-based RPGs.

Christopher K. Davis is a text game enthusiast and currently plays games from http://www.IronRealms.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_K_Davis