Loners

My current escapades land me in the world of Aion. The new up and coming Massively Multiplayer Online game published by NCSoft. Through some troubles of my own I managed to gain access to a free server on the Chinese Aion client that I can play on. Recently very excited for this game I have been looking up and consuming everything within my grasp about Aion. This is not a review for the Aion MMO. This is a small detailing on how I am feeling in playing an MMO completely alone.

One doesn't realize when you play an mmo how many of your options are based on the people around you. The grouping instances, trading, working together for quests, even companionship is all based on communication. This communication, I'm left without in the Chinese Aion game.

Starting out, normal MMO players realize that for the first few levels you are, essentially; alone. This isn't an issue for the first 5-10 levels or so. Maybe a little grouping experience here and there, and a single friend is sometimes made in early levels. I started playing Aion knowing that I was going to be exiled from the rest of the players with my English name Kalimedef acting like a smelly friend for all the Chinese players to avoid. I managed to get a few random groups which my class essentially granted me. Playing a Cleric, which is essentially the healer, I grant myself automatic group invites upon sight of my class. So I guess that's my perfume.

Overall, the worst part of being alone in this mmo is my hopeless romantic esque attempts at reaching out to the people within the game. Offering friendly waves only to be blatantly ignored. I even whisper other players with english names to have them speaking Russian back at me. I continued my efforts in trying to find a guild, I'm sure there are other English speaking players somewhere in the world of Aion. One would assume the guild name "Soul" would mean english players. Turns out they all speak Chinese still.

All of this makes me think about the players that act as the "lonewolves" in mmo's. The players, even set with a game made for interaction with people, exile themselves away from the community. Avoiding the other characters, wearing blinders as to keep focused, and seem to have never typed a word into the chatbox; these people I cannot understand. With my lonely experience in Aion I just can't grasp how one could enjoy acting as a single unit in a world made for interaction.

I suppose the people that are self-exiled don't mind this because it is their goal to be alone. Whereas my exile is forced.

Ah well. I'm not stopping now, I'll find someone.