TenTonHammer.com - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

Questions by Cody “Micajah” Bye, Managing Editor
Answers by Oliver “massi”, creator of ContactRealm

For many individuals, online gaming is a release from the stresses of the real world. It’s a way to escape the trappings of the real world, but so many within these virtual worlds find real friendship with players from all over the various real world continents. But what about those gamers that are new to a game and want to find a friend? Or the people just looking to find a partner that actually shares their favorite hobby? That’s where ContactRealm comes in, an online dating/community service that helps bring like minded gamers together in love or friendship. To find out more about this site, Ten Ton Hammer’s Cody “Micajah” Bye asked Oliver “massi” (the creator of ContactRealm) a number of questions that Ten Ton Hammer readers might be interested in. Enjoy!

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ContactRealm is for adult gamers, like those that play Age of Conan.

Ten Ton Hammer: To start, could you give our readers a brief description of what ContactRealm is all about? What kind of services do you provide MMOG players with?

Oliver: ContactRealm started out as a dating site, but we had so many individuals register that are not single and do not want to date, yet they do want to have some place to meet and exchange ideas. So we quickly changed the site to focus on community and dating. When I mention the site to my online friends and I add the bit about “adult gaming”, the initial reaction is “Porn?” *laughs* I can assure this site is absolutely free of it. We - the adult gamers - need at least one place to gather with the possibility of dating.

Ten Ton Hammer: How did you initially come up with the idea of ContactRealm? Why did you feel it was necessary to create this service for players?

Oliver: I reside in Sweden where there are lots of people (especially in Scandinavia) that in the wintertime don’t see a single person due to their remote locations. Internet is a very important part of our communication. In my guild, there were many single guys, gals, mother and fathers that work hard but really don’t feel like running the typical bar rat dating race on the weekends.

It took me about a year and a half of pondering before I got busy creating the site with Ola and Eric. It is said that Europe is at least 10 yrs behind in the development and standard with US, and a lifetime away from Japan or Korean standards. what seems normal there we still have to fight for. To put it mildly, in Europe adult gamers are considered less than a sub- culture. Its like a rerun of the 80’s. Everybody watched Dallas, but no one admitted to watching it, but yet somehow there was a worldwide uprising when Bobby got shot.

Ten Ton Hammer: What kind of age groups do you focus on? How do you control the age of individuals who register? Is there any sort of age verification process?

Oliver: We focus only on the adult gaming community. No system is foolproof, but we are working on a solution of verification, that will certainly make it much harder for any minor to pretend to be an adult.

Ten Ton Hammer: Will players be forced to pay for this service at any time? How do you make money?

Oliver: We do not make money on this site, it’s a service offered from gamers to gamers.

Everything that the member has will stay for free, but we have had some requests from some members to make a larger photo album or to be highlighted in a larger guestbook. With that in mind, we where thinking that all the original things will stay free, one can date without buying a epic or legendary membership. It’s just the extra things that are for the members that want to supersize.

Another idea might be to sell banner space at some point.

Even these players from Requiem need some love every now and then.

Ten Ton Hammer: On your website you have a collection of different artwork from the more mature games in the MMOG genre – games like Age of Conan and Entropia Universe. Are players of other online games welcome as well? Should World of Warcraft players come check out your website?

Oliver: Being a single dad, my nights typically go like this: I feed my baby, bring her to bed, read her a good night story and then I power on the PC, and move into AoC, Entropia and WoW where I have my own sweet guild. *waves to the Moongladers*

Naturally we include all online games, and our database has about 50 listed. When I started this site, I thought I knew all the games that were being played. I was wrong, and I am glad that we have so many Mods at ContactRealm covering so many different games. All gamers are welcome, but most gamers play more than one game anyway and are always willing to try the next new one. With that in mind, we will not restrict ourselves to only one or two games.

Ten Ton Hammer: What should people expect when they join your website? What’s the best part of the ContactRealm experience?

Oliver: It might come as quite a shocker, but we lose online friends all the time who are never to be heard of again, lost in the twisted nether of the ‘net. This is one great way to stay in contact, while others just want to talk about paper D&D in the forums. If you are an adult but still cherish that kid inside you, then ContactRealm is the perfect way of treasuring these fantasies.

Ten Ton Hammer: Looking at your list of members, it seems like a vast majority of them are from European countries. Can players from other countries, like North America, join your members list as well? Or is it strictly for Europeans?

Oliver: Currently, this site is created for any one that can read English. If we continue to grow, we will have to think about translations into Spanish and French at some point.

Ten Ton Hammer: What sort of experience do the developers of ContactRealm have with MMOGs? Are you all avid gamers? What’s your favorite game?

Oliver: Touché! You got me there: my mate is a consoler, the second is consoler who recently moved on to WoW, and I play a couple WoW characters. I really must invest more time into my characters in Entropia and Age of Conan. All three games rank equally at my top MMOG spot.

Ten Ton Hammer: If you could change one thing about the current state of MMOGs, what would it be?

Oliver: I think the press punch = action button is a bit too simple for the more advanced player. A better more fool proof way to show age would be nice, and if one will believe the statistics, there is a lot more adults than kids playing games, so lets have more adult servers shall we?

Ten Ton Hammer: Is there anything else you’d like to tell Ten Ton Hammer readers?

Oliver: Obviously I am also an avid reader, so what would I tell myself? For one to keep gaming, and whatever happens in life no one can take your imagination and your fantasy. That makes all of you beautiful.