Gated Communities - A Guide to Finding The Right Gaming Home - Page 2

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Updated Mon, Oct 19, 2009 by Medawky

Age of Conan

Funcoms first true AAA title, Age of Conan promised gamers a more adult experience than previous offerings had delivered. Despite having its wings partially clipped by overzealous censors and prudish sensibilities the game still delivered a decidedly grown up feel. Set in the lands of Hyboria, AoC furthered the lore of both the books and movies from which it was licensed.

Style : Gory fantasy PvE with PvP optional.

Pros:

Age restrictions gave this community a more seasoned feel.

Excellent grounds for diehard fans of the series and its lore to mingle.

Server mergers give a more robust player base to interact with.

Cons:

Very little interaction at the lower levels for new players.

Community tends to be tight lipped and cliquish on most servers.

Subscription numbers continue to dwindle even with recent improvements to the game.

Summary:
Another victim of the WoW factor, this game was discarded by most players before it was given a fair chance. Recent patches to the game have greatly improved its playability and the remaining players are a dedicated group who are in it for the long haul. If you find yourself enjoying the game play and the world then definitely stick with it, you will find other players to forge great relationships with.

Everquest and Everquest II

The granddaddy of the modern 3D MMOG and its successor have enjoyed a combined 14 years of gaming success, spawning many of the players, guilds and communities that inhabit most of the other games out there. Set in the lands of Norrath, this classic PvE franchise offers endless hours of questing and a huge amount of real estate to explore.

Style: Fantasy based PvE with PvP server options.

Pros:

Very established game with stable player base.

Server merges have consolidated communities.

EQ2 is a very easy game to jump into with tons of quest and quick leveling

Cons:

Some communities are extremely closed off to new players, especially in EQ1.

Attrition rates continue to soar as the games become more and more dated.

High learning curve and antiquated questing system are turn offs to many new players in EQ1 and discourage new players .

Summary:
Both games have tremendous upside in terms of available content and tons of information available, but EQ1 is dying a slow death and EQ2 was pronounced substandard far too soon. Finding a good community is fairly easy in both games however, you can simply pop on and find the many available in game chat options for new players or check the forums for the right style of players. You may find an unusually high number of developers from other games as well as many people in the gaming industry on EQ2 as it retains a large amount of popularity in that realm.

One of the common themes you will notice here is that most of the pros are also in some way the cons, as communities and our appreciation of them and interaction with them are largely tempered by perspective. What makes a community great to one player will doom it to another. And while it is true that you can never really go home again, there are plenty of great folks out there waiting for you to join them.

This list is obviously far from complete and that is where you come in, share with us what makes the community for your game shine or what it lacks that you would like to see develop. So tell me about your game, your community, your server and what makes it the place where you spend your virtual hours and I will check it out and maybe you will see it as spotlighted realm on our site.