I’ve been keeping a gratitude journal for the first time in my life this month, and it turns out that it’s freaking hard. Why? Because it’s humbling beyond belief. The list of things I need to be grateful for is endless. Even if I limit it to just Massively OP, I could go on thanking the writers all day. Instead of doing that again, this year I want to thank the spouses and roommates and SOs and other familial enablers of our writers, without whom this site probably would not exist. The reality is that in many cases, their love, support, financial maneuvering, and childcare behind the scenes allows us to keep writing. So thank you, to all of them – Paul, Joy, and Elaine especially – for helping us live this weird dream.
Now let’s turn it to the genre itself. What are you grateful for in the MMORPG genre?
Andrew Ross (@dengarsw): I’m thankful for mixed reality games that ask us to go outside and use personal skills to overcome design issues. I’m thankful for small community events that grant cosmetics and population boosts. I’m thankful for inclusive character casts that naturally fit into gameworlds. Mostly, though, I’m thankful for my fellow players and the MOP staff who’ve shown me kindness and patience over the past year as I bumbled through re-entry into American life. Really guys, I’m truly incapable of expressing how much you’ve all meant to me, but will do my best to pay it forward in your collective honor.
Brianna Royce (@nbrianna, blog): I’m grateful for the readers who support the site, with money or clicks or both; for the few stalwart developers who aren’t treating the MMORPG genre like something to be bled until dead; for old games that defy all the odds and the emu-runners who value history over their own safety; for my son, who reminds me games are supposed to be fun; and for our lawyer.
Not kidding about the lawyer thing.
Eliot Lefebvre (@Eliot_Lefebvre, blog): Oh, come on, I just wrote about this for Perfect Ten! There’s a whole list of things I’m thankful for right there! Nothing is ever good enough.
But for lesser things and personal ones? I’m thankful that I already finished capping everything out in Final Fantasy XIV, I’m thankful for already clearing out several account-wide achievements I wanted in World of Warcraft, I’m thankful that Final Fantasy XI is now eminently playable and enjoyable even with its decreased player counts. I’m thankful that the genre still surprises me and comes out with stuff that I think is cool, and I’m most of all thankful for the fact that, well, I’m still having fun. Can’t be too upset about that.
I am also thankful for eggnog. Gosh, I love eggnog.
Justin Olivetti (@Sypster, blog): One of the first things that pops to mind is the passion and dedication of MMORPG developers. We all know it’s not an easy profession — or that lucrative of one, at that. They get a lot of grief from players for every perceived wrong, and sometimes I really think we don’t encourage and prop them up enough. So thank you, developers, for making these amazing games and doing your absolute best to share with us your talents and visions. I’ve been enjoying MMOs for almost two decades now and it’s all thanks to you.
I’m also thankful for the friends that I’ve met in game and online through MMOs, the awesome staff here at MOP, the sheer variety of games that I have to pick from every day, a family that supports instead of mocks my hobby, and the surprising nature of news that energizes my constant coverage of the genre.
MJ Guthrie (@MJ_Guthrie, blog): I am generally a thankful person, so to keep from drowning you in a mega list when you are eager to go grab that second helping of pie, I will focus on two of the things I am most thankful for in MMOs. One, the amazing relationships that I have been blessed with! I have met some of the closest people in my life through different games, and I have met up with many of them. My life would be so much worse without these people; I am grateful every day that I know them. Two, the outlet of creativity these games afford. Writing, design, decorating, art, acting, music — I have seen and participated in so many mediums. They all have stretched and enriched my soul. I really think the spirit withers and dies without creativity.
OK one more! I will give third place to the fact that MMOs are allowing me to live a dream: making a living from writing. I may not make enough to eat out a lot or do fancy things, but I do get to travel and meet wonderful people. I admit, I also love the look on people’s faces when I get to tell them I make a living playing video games. Come on, it does not get much cooler than that!
Your turn!
