Ryan Molen · @warriorprince_
1st Apr 2013 from TwitLonger
I Think It's Impossible
I haven't been able to play Adventure Quest lately and a lot of things had changed recently. Weapons look cooler, gold comes by easier, and monsters hit harder. That situation then forced me to look around for the updated equipment and rearrange my inventory items. As I scroll down my inventory, I see my various rare items, like the Arc Dagger, Carnax Fighter, Ice Orb Essence, Paxia Award Trophy and many others. Suddendly, it hit me. This very contest also made the blow even harder. Floodgates have opened and memories start flowing-- I have been playing for over eight years now, and AQ just celebrated it's 10th Anniversary. Definitely, AQ is a huge part of my life and I cherish it dearly.
First, I began playing when I barely started elementary school. Some of my classmates told me to start playing this "cool game" and the first-grade me followed. I would never imagine that I would learn a lot from AQ, which is ironic, since overbearing parents argued that games are the enemies of school. However, now that I'm almost in college,I can say otherwise. I got the 5 multiplication table memorized quickly just to compute which level I could raise my stats to a certain point. I quickly mastered how decimals, negative numbers and percentages worked, by the help of the hundreds of challenging, and sometimes frustrating monster encounters.
Aside from the numbers, I was exposed to reading more and a wider scope of vocabulary. At an early age, I learned the words 'maelstrom', 'conflagration', 'siege', 'halberd' and many, many other words that seriously aid me when I write for academic work. AQ also fostered my imagination and my love for fantasy stories. I would recreate quests or wars but with a different ending, or write an entire story altogether.
Next, if something immensely affected you in a positive way during your growing years, it's surely a part of your childhood too. After seeing a beautifully designed monster, I got a piece of paper and crayons and spen time copying it. Or when no clean paper would come in handy, I screenshotted an awesome looking armor (something like the old Dragonslayer and Vampire Slayer artwork) and try to recolor them using Paint. I would go home early from school if I knew there was an approaching war that Friday.
I definitely had a great time recalling those memories. However, things have changed greatly. AQ and I have basically matured at the same time. Now, I barely have free time anymore to go and log in. I could easily let go of AQ for other things, yet there's one reason I keep coming back. Many things have changed about AQ but there's one thing that remained constant for ten years: the weekly updates. Many other online games came and went, but AQ stands undaunted and continues to deliver quality, enjoyable updates every single week, 520 updates and counting.
When I think about it, it seems impossible to accomplish that feat. Yet I believe the driving force behind the game staff and myself to continue playing is the love, the fun, and the dedication. It's impossible to drop something when you've invested so much time into it. It's impossible to forget about something that gave you endless laughter and smiles. It's impossible to disregard something when you've met the best staff members and fellow players in the community.
I don't think you can leave something that genuinely touched your heart. I might not be playing and active in this game, but I cherish every moment I've spent in AQ and I don't regret it.
And lastly, it's impossible two very important words that can be applied from fighting hordes of undead or in real life: Battle On!