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The Thrill of the Game

KresslackKresslack Florida, United States
in North of Thera
I haven't played Achaea(or any MUD for that matter) in a few months. I have Mudlet on my taskbar and I look at it and consider logging in every so often, but I don't. I think I burnt myself out on it. I also think I've, in a way, desensitized myself to a lot of the fun and thrill that is part of it. It's a great world, with a lot of great things, but for some reason it hasn't been fun for a while now anymore for me. I don't think it's anything to do with the game itself, just myself. Maybe I'm stretched too thin with all I've got going on. I want to play Achaea, interact and RP with a good number of people there, but when I do log in I feel....lazy, and struggle to find motivation to pursue new goals. That's why I left Ashtan and went to Mhaldor, I thought it would be an exciting and necessary change, as I'd achieved, for the most part, all the things I wanted to in Ashtan over a long period. 

I found that didn't really do the trick, so I took a break. I'm considering coming back, but I don't know if I'm ready. Remember when you first started playing MUDs, when you first thought, "This was awesome"? It's not like that anymore for me, for any MUD it seems. They all seem so routine, as if there's no thrill. Obviously that's not the case in a game where the entire world and environment is controlled by the community, and shaped by the actions that happen therewithin. So I turned the observation inward, and determined that the issue wasn't with the game, but with myself, and how I perceived the game perhaps. 

When I first got started on MUDs, it was amazing. The nearly unlimited potential, the multitude of choices and paths to take. However, over time, the thrill wears off. The intricate workings and concepts of the game world dull and are just there it seems. When Zulah came back, he asked if he could reclaim the PoM, to which I agreed after finalizing that part of that happening involved ensuring certain things were provided to ensure it progressed and was able to continue. So after he agreed, I handed the reigns back over and took my break from Achaea. I did more or less the same thing with leaving Ashtan and the Ashtan Navy, but more bluntly. 

Anyone who knows me knows that sailing in Achaea and the adventures therein were the biggest thrill for me, and it's what I enjoyed doing the most. When that started to lose its thrill and stop being fun, so did the rest of it. I saw an opportunity for an out, and I took it. I apologize to Ashtan for my rash decision to just walk away and not look back, leaving the Navy outside of capable hands, even though such hands seem to have found it now. It was improper, but I just needed to get away. I also apologize to Mhaldor, those within who showed sincere interest in helping me and working towards pushing and challenging me, only for me to disappear. 

Simply put, I lost the thrill of the game, and thought taking a break would be for the best. Take some time off, and maybe the thrill returns when I come back and everything has changed enough to make it new and exciting again. I miss that. So many times I would log in and end up just standing around for long periods of time, alt tabbed doing something else;  a lot of people did I imagine, maybe still do. I didn't like that. If I was in Achaea, I wanted to be Playing Achaea. 

I'm not sure how to deal with it, with how it's changed for me and how I came to grow....I guess, bored with it. It's by no means a boring game, nor are the players boring. Sometimes I guess it could get a little stifled with pettiness, but what game doesn't? So, after a break, I'm going to try to come back, get back to my training, get back to sailing and actually -doing things- in Achaea instead of twiddling my thumbs and trying to think of things to do. There are plenty of things to do, just need to get out there and do them.

I write this partly because I feel the need to explain why I just up and left like I did, and party for anyone else who might be experiencing the same thing. The saying, "too much of a good thing" has some merit, when you come to get tired of something you once enjoyed so much. It's an odd feeling, but maybe you just have to try new things. In any case, Achaea is a great game, and I look forward to returning soon and enjoying it again. Just a matter of when I'm ready I suppose.

Thanks for tuning in.


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Comments

  • StrataStrata United States of Derp
    I think everyone has that same thrill at first - then they fall into a routine and eventually they wake up one day and say to themselves, "This is boring as shit."
    My advice to you would be to set a completely new and different set of goals - preferably something you don't think you will enjoy at all. Then just get to work and see if it grows on you or not.
    If you go back into the same old routine, your "thrill" will be very short lived and you'll be in that same chair again, falling asleep.
  • JonnersJonners
    Taraus said:
    It's really not an uncommon phenomenon, losing the thrill, the excitement, the enjoyment. I've been playing for some ten-odd years now, and have gone through exactly this, and more than once. And just going away for awhile has always been the solution. Sometimes, changing things up in game (factions, alliances, character goals) works to remedy, but more often than not, it isn't the character's immediate surroundings that have gotten old, but rather, the game in and of itself. I've always chalked it up to something like over-saturation. You play for awhile, and you play -a lot-, and then suddenly, it gets stale. And taking an extended hiatus (year or more) has always worked for me - I never bothered with any big dramatic "goodbye" posts or anything, because I knew there was a high likelihood I'd wander back in - and I always have. So test drive it for a night, play for a little while and see if it's fun. If you enjoy it, then welcome back; if not, then qq and find something you DO enjoy, Achaea's not ready for you yet.

    ~
    You close your eyes momentarily and extend the range of your vision, seeking out the presence of Drugs. 
    Though too far away to accurately perceive details, you see that Drugs is in Mhaldor.
  • AktillumAktillum Philippines
    I've gone through various phases with my Achaea addiction. Been playing for 13 years so there's periods, sometimes months at a time, where I don't log on. I got heavily into LoL for a few months and pretty much wiped out Mudlet and my whole system. Came back to all my stuff decayed and a vague memory of how to fight. Bla bla bla, pointless anecdotal story, now I'm having some fun re-making my system and just goofing off in the CIJ. Log on, chit-chat with friends, act silly on HT, etc. For me, the fun lately has been in treating Achaea like a game, where I log on for short little bursts to go on a graffiti spree or wander around aimlessly and find myself in areas with quests I haven't done.

  • PenwizePenwize
    Aktillum said:
     go on a graffiti spree
    Is it you that's been putting terrible OOC-reference graffiti all over Delos? :|
  • AktillumAktillum Philippines
    edited October 2013
    @Penwize No that's a clan of low-level Jesters who only learned up to Graffiti for that sole purpose. I only graffiti things like "Penwize: The smartest quill you'll know". But no, seriously, there's more than a few people who graffiti Delos and none of mine make OOC references :P

  • TarkanianTarkanian
    Aktillum said:
    treat(ing) Achaea like a game
    there's the easiest cure to the aforementioned boredom.
  • SkyeSkye The Duchess Bellatere
    I quit everything! Except @Neraeos. Cause <3 Nerry,


  • SylvanceSylvance
    Whenever I get bored I roll an alt. I've been pleasantly surprised by Achaea's 'replayability'.
    Tvistor: If that was a troll, it was masterful.
    I take my hat off to you.
  • RinzaiRinzai
    edited October 2013
    Skye said:
    I quit everything! Except @Neraeos. Cause <3 Nerry,
    As much really really tempting this is, I think if I were to follow suit it would just lead to my dormancy.

    But that is mostly because I spend time looking for something fun to do, sometimes find it, sometimes strike out.
  • EldEld
    Ruth said:
    Maybe it's because I'm a workaholic or something, but starting new alts/hopping on alts when things seem dull on Ruth really helps me at times. There's much I have already accomplished on Ruth, and the idea of starting as a relatively unknown character who still has requirements to do and to prove herself continue to excite me. And when I finally grow tired of the drudge work, I go back to Ruth and get really motivated over what she has on her plate to handle.
    I find the same thing, but then I really feel bad when I get an alt to HR3 and Logosian and then suddenly disappear.
  • HayteHayte
    Sidenote: Don't listen to "Come On Eileen" when writing things.
  • KresslackKresslack Florida, United States
    That's almost better than the haiku that @Cahin wrote me. 


  • QwindorQwindor Fort Riley
    There are times that I kinda want to go dormant again myself but the mapping and such keeps me entrained for a little bit plus I'm pretty much the only one who updates it even if I have to leave for a week or two thanks to army things. Still I try to change it up to have some fun.

    image
  • SilasSilas
    The thrill of the game for me is interacting with @Aldair. We have a lot of players in Targ who make the game fun - I'd say the majority, actually - but having Aldair back makes everything so much better.

  • AnedhelAnedhel
    Aldair so lovely :O
  • AsmodronAsmodron
    Sylvance said:
    Whenever I get bored I roll an alt. I've been pleasantly surprised by Achaea's 'replayability'.
    blech how can you stand restarting? I despise  the concept of making an alt. I go mad in the first few minutes without all my trans abilities and utilities, as well as special bought items.

    The concept of an alt might be more interesting if the experience itself was different, but frankly it is the SAME SHIT...

    Same bashing areas, same cities, same quests (quests in achaea..right..), and same everything. Probably the only different thing would be a new name.
  • KresslackKresslack Florida, United States
    I've not considered the alt route, and don't really want to, because I do want to keep playing Kresslack. There's a lot of time and effort put into that, and I feel like rolling an alt would see that set aside for a much longer period, maybe forever. Idk.


  • RipRip
    edited October 2013
    Dear @Kresslack,

      I have been hearing about how Achaea "it's just a game" and it is, and how it becomes dull, which any game or life can become.  

      For 11 years I did not log onto Achaea, for RL reasons, and everyday I missed it.  I missed the COMPANIONSHIP Achaea offers.  I don't log on to do quests and hack mobs to death...even though it's sometimes fun.

      I log on to talk to my friends and bullshit a bit, see what they are up too which is totally FUN!...This used to be a place few knew about or could even find.  It was a haven for like minded individuals.  Lonely computer geeks with bad ass typing skills and a baud modem that the real world just didn't understand.

      Don't get caught up in chasing pre-made carrots on well defined paths in a "game" or in life.  You will burn yourself out quick.  Break the mold of yourself and reach for something more.

      Believe it or not Achaea isn't swelling into the million members mark any time soon.  This place is meant for just a few souls on earth to inhabit and I am proud to be apart of the experience. 

      I personally believe most of us are completely fucked one way or another and somehow a simple text based environment called Achaea cures it.   Why?  Because you have companionship, people to talk to and a sense of purpose few will ever understand.

      Take a break, stand up, and breath some fresh air...Achaea isn't going anywhere nor is a solid game of go fish.

      As for Alts.  I am 100% against them.  You don't learn any life lessons by switching between lives and that folks is what Role-Playing is truly about, LEARNING LESSONS.  You only weaken your ability to actually feel, love, live, enjoy, hurt, hate and pick yourself up again to do it all over.  Sure many make tons of characters and run the pre-laid track but in the end you short change yourself.  Kresslack is a person to me...even if I hardly know you and I am not talking about Kresslack the character but YOU the person behind the strings. 

      Hello my name is Rip and I enjoy all of your friendships.  Some how over the years "Role-playing" has turned into "Disassociation" (I blame alternate characters for this). I AM RIP.  Not a dude playing a character named Rip.  When role-playing was around a table with your close friends you played a game because it was fun to interact in different ways with your friends.  Ways you can't in life.  Even if that game is Monopoly or a simple game of go fish.

      So to call "Achaea" dull and thrill-less, is to say WE are all dull and lack thrill...and that just isn't the case.  People in this place are fulfilling your wildest fantasies!

      We all should give each other a BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE!

      Thank you, everyone, for making this place, this "game" I enjoy so very much what it is, my life saver.  

    Sincerely,


    Rip
      

  • JacenJacen
    I've lost a lot of the thrill of the game.  The only thing that I really enjoy being in Achaea for is small (1-2 man) enemy infiltrations into Hashan. Small enough that me and maybe one other person could handle it.

    Well, I guess I also sort of enjoy the attempt to evolve Hashan. Well, I enjoy the productive aspects of it, which is generally the first 60 seconds of any decent discussion on CT about Hashan's laws and policies, or what they should be, and discussions on how to better be a city of Night, or whether we should try at all. 

    What I hate about the game: Spending 10+ hours doing research and writing a news post only for it to go unacknowledged by all but the three or four people who are already in general agreement with me. Going through the same circular arguments on CT over and over again because some people only want to be the friction that keeps us from moving forward. Accusations that I do not RP and that I do nothing for the city (yes, after many news posts, many attempts to start discussion on CT, many times being the only person who cared enough to chase a raider out of the city, I still get accused of this). I also hate spending a significant chunk (~25%) of my playing time helping novices, teaching combat, helping with scripting, giving away my scripts to novices and non-novices who end up suiciding or quitting the House a few days later. Totally burned out on helping at this point, because when I do its not appreciated by those I help or others in the org.

    The weird thing is, not being Hashani would help a lot of this, but for some reason I just have no desire to play the game in any org other than what I envision Hashan could be. Tried it in Eleusis and it just... wasn't what I wanted to do.


    image
  • SidoniaSidonia
    edited October 2013
    Jacen said:
    I've lost a lot of the thrill of the game.  The only thing that I really enjoy being in Achaea for is small (1-2 man) enemy infiltrations into Hashan. Small enough that me and maybe one other person could handle it.
    Gotta say I have always had fun fighting against you in Hashan. Regarding the rest of your post: I wasted a year or two of my life trying to turn Hashan into what I wanted it to be, but in the end the only thing Hashan is united on is that it wants to be disunited.

    edit: Oops, don't want to turn this thread into another Hashan thread.

    Recover the thrill of the game, join Mhaldor today!
  • AthraxAthrax
    If it weren't the forums, I would have completely forgotten Hashan was a place.
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