That's SOE Funny!

'You know, it's funny…' or where is the humour in MMOGs?

by:  Tony
"RadarX"
Jones



Anytime you gather people together in an online game, whether it's
to camp that coveted three hour rare spawn that never pops, or to find
one of the precious few reasons to say "pwn," it is inevitable that you
will find humour.   Any MMO veteran worth their salt can relay a
plethora of amazing and often strange tales.  Either that they
have been a part of, or just "heard about." As time passes and the
stories are told and retold, they grow with the telling into the
elaborate "legends" of the gaming world that we oh so lovingly
reminisce about to any and all who will listen.   Old timers can
often be found arguing about "just how many dragons were killed that
day.

Everquest 2 is no different. If you were to sit down with enough
of its players, you could write a book about the amusing events that
have made their way into the lore and legends that make up the world of
Norrath.   These stories vary from the oddly funny, to the
disturbing, to the unusual, to the outright hilarious.  But as
diverse as the events are, they can almost always be found clustering
about in certain situations.

For instance, we've all been grouped with the perpetually
lost. That one poor soul who is so directionally challenged that
they could
get lost in a paper sack.   You could give them a GPS system and
fire signal flares to guide them, and they will still never find
you.  Oh, they'll get close… To the other end of the zone.  
I've found that this is often the same person who is afflicted with the
exploring bug.  The one who runs through the nearest closed door
saying "Oh! What's in here?"   They will kill your group faster
than an Epic x4 mob.

Or maybe, like I often have, you've played with someone whose system
barely meets the minimum requirements.  One whose TRS-80 with its
1 megabyte graphics card, will cause them to freeze the moment battle
ensues, guaranteeing that they will never be standing in a safe spot.
  This is also the person who will have to constantly reboot their
machine causing unnecessary downtime.  (In my case,this inevitably
leads to mischief.)   I lovingly refer to such individuals as " style="font-weight: bold;">Lag Man. "

Which leads us to the mischief maker. I have been guilty of
this role in a group many times.  For some reason, there are those
who believe that chasing the polar bears in Everfrost screaming "Where
is
my Coke?!" is inappropriate.  Along with the giggles, this usually
brings sighs from my group along with the extra mob (I wonder if they’d
like fries with that next time).  They like to call them my little
"Uh-Ohs."

The people you are with participate and share in all the
humour. But, while people are a big part of the fun, there is also a
lot of
amusement to be found in the world around you.   This could be
anything from a minor bug to an intentionally placed Easter Egg.

Have you ever ridden a Griffon? Lovely, convenient creatures,
especially when you're a dwarf with short stubby legs, like yours
truly. There you are, soaring gracefully through the air,
admiring the gorgeous landscape below you.  Here comes your
destination, you're almost at the end of your journey.   But
what's this? The Griffon has left you in mid-air a good 5 feet
from the tower and the safety of the landing platform. As you
plummet to your death, you can't help but laugh. I've always
wondered what people do to make the Griffons so angry. I've yet
to come up with an answer, but I'm thinking they're the same people for
whom the safety rails were recently installed.

Easter Eggs can be found in many of the NPC names. It’s hard
to walk through  North Qeynos without giggling at the duck named
Sergeant Quackers. Perhaps you’ve also seen Miner McHammer hard
at work in Graystone Yard.  There is no better end to a hard
day of adventuring like a cold drink served up by Bartender Kathey
Brewsher. After you enjoy that drink you can wander to Qeynos
Harbor and hear the stories of Captain Salty.

Grouping and the game itself provide ample opportunities for fun and
humour. But there is nothing that can top the creativity of the
average player. Boredom, the desire to laugh, or simply the
irresistible urge for mischief, any of these things can birth some type
of prank or wacky antic.

There's a certain defiler in my guild who on occasion takes the
notion to chase terrified newbies around the docks in Nektulos Forest
in his
mutant rat form.  He has also been known to giggle insanely
relating these stories.

I know of one individual with a little too much free time, who one
day used the in-game mail system to have a little bit of fun with one
of
his guildmates (I heard about this…Honestly, I had nothing to do with
this). He began filling his friend's inbox with emails
titled "Meet Halfling Singles," "Increase the Length of your Sword,"
and "Refinance your Inn Room rates now!" The most amusing
one I heard about was a particularly elaborate spin on the email scam
we all get from time to time. Apparently someone in Zek
claimed to be the grandson of the deceased Holly Windstalker and was in
care of five hundred platinum pieces but needed assistance getting it
away from the Qeynos bank. It sounded a little fishy to me,
especially since they wanted a few gold pieces upfront to get the
paperwork started.

Personally, my favorite form of entertainment is to see which of my
guildmates is talented enough to say “Gigglegibber Goblin” five times
fast in TeamSpeak.  If you haven’t tried it, I’d highly recommend
it, but make sure you aren’t drinking anything. Where can you
find the humour in MMO's? In this dwarf’s humble opinion the
best source of humour in game comes from the time spent with friends
and guildmates and the amusing things they do to make each other
laugh. The next time you see a naked dwarf in Qeynos, claiming to
have lost too many poker hands, be sure to take a moment to appreciate
the laughter he is bringing.


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our EverQuest II Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

Comments