"It's Just a Game!"

On friday, August 31st, it was announced the MMO City of Heroes would be closing, effective November 30th, with all development ceasing immediately.

I'm sure there are some people who would say to me "too bad, so sad, it's just a game, get over it".  To a degree, I keep berating myself with that, in hopes of making this less depressing.  It doesn't really work very well.  I guess in a way that is because for me, it never was just a game.  The gameplay, honestly, took second place to my friends there.  It tied us all together.  It's been a part of my life since 2005.  In my characters there I have pulled myself through many mental states.  Sometimes they were escapes of whimsey, but more often than not, they reflected my own thoughts - whether I knew it at the time or not.

Honestly, it's not so much the fact that teh game is shutting down that makes me angry.  If it was struggling, and there was a clear case of "writing on teh wall", well, I'd be more understanding.  Upset, but understanding.  But that isn't what happened here.  The game was not struggling.  It really wasn't.  They were announcing new content until <i>a few hours before</i> the closure announcement.  This is not what a dying game does.  A dying game starts showing more and more neglect and again, that isn't what happened here.

Instead, NCSoft pulled the plug, and the worst part is nobody knows WHY.  Paragon probably does, but they probably are not allowed to elaborate, and have asked the community to just accept the closure.  A llot of peopel are going to say that CoH was struggling because NCSoft lost money in the past year so oooobviously they lost it on CoH going free to play.  Know what else went free to play?  Aion.  But it's a newer game and less likely to be cut loose, not to mention develped in house by NCSoft.

Remember how I mentioned friends?  Well that pretty much describes the whole community.  CoX has one of the most dedicated MMO communities I've ever known, and in general avoids the whole "lrn 2 ply n00b" standard.  Serious topics are just as common as the lighthearted, and in many cases we feel just as strongly about anothers successes as our own.  It's just... Well.  The community is one of the best I've ever known, and we aren't just taking this quietly.

I wanted more people to play the game.  I know I proclaimed its virtues every time someone said they were looking for a new mmo.  From the character customization, the vast array of powersets, the story arcs that only got better and better, or teh mission architecht, where players made their own stories, I have yet to find a match for it.  On a personal level, it gave me a chance to explore my own heart and mind through those of my characters.  What would I do if I suddenly awakened with super powers?  what would I do if I was raised that way?  What would I do if all was suddenly ripped away?  How about betrayal?  Friendship?  Trust?  All these things I send my mind down.  I put a lot of my heart into that...

So... Please, don't tell me it's just a game.  For me, it is not.

It never was.