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Is it "just a game"? How was your life changed by UO?

MalagAste

Belaern d'Zhaunil
Alumni
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
Campaign Supporter
They do grow so fast... One day soon you will find yourself standing there in the Infants and Toddlers section of the store and you will realize that your baby is no longer an Infant... and you will move on to the "girls" section to shop... looking back to the Infants wondering where the time went. And then before you know it you will be in the Misses section thinking... OMG my baby is all grown... and soon it's plans for Graduation... College and you wonder "Where did the time go?"... and then you set them free and hope that they can fly.
 

skett

Babbling Loonie
Professional
Supporter
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
They do grow so fast... One day soon you will find yourself standing there in the Infants and Toddlers section of the store and you will realize that your baby is no longer an Infant... and you will move on to the "girls" section to shop... looking back to the Infants wondering where the time went. And then before you know it you will be in the Misses section thinking... OMG my baby is all grown... and soon it's plans for Graduation... College and you wonder "Where did the time go?"... and then you set them free and hope that they can fly.
So true...

I have 5 kids well not all kids now soon to be 12 girl soon to be 14 girl 17.5 boy 19 girl and 22.5 boy
Me and my far better half is looking to adopt a 11 week old boy (co-workers child)
The time goes so very fast one day your cuddling with them, then it seem the next day they are off doing their own thing.

Nothing on this earth will change you move than the love you feel for your children and the experiences of raising them
 

old gypsy

Grand Poobah
Professional
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Campaign Patron
They do grow so fast... One day soon you will find yourself standing there in the Infants and Toddlers section of the store and you will realize that your baby is no longer an Infant... and you will move on to the "girls" section to shop... looking back to the Infants wondering where the time went. And then before you know it you will be in the Misses section thinking... OMG my baby is all grown... and soon it's plans for Graduation... College and you wonder "Where did the time go?"... and then you set them free and hope that they can fly.
I hear you. My "baby" (last of four) is 36 years old now... o.0
 

grimiz

Sage
Stratics Veteran
I started playing UO at 13 when I was already relatively introverted, and it led to my near-complete withdrawal from anything social for the next five formative school years, left me completely unprepared for being hundreds of miles away from home for college, and essentially ruined my ability to relate to normal people and go outside.


Thanks UO!
Similar experience, but pretty much wasted my 4 years in college on UO... might have kept me out of some trouble, but certainly kept me from having a lot more fun as well!
 

Sargon

Seasoned Veteran
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Campaign Supporter
They do grow so fast... One day soon you will find yourself standing there in the Infants and Toddlers section of the store and you will realize that your baby is no longer an Infant... and you will move on to the "girls" section to shop... looking back to the Infants wondering where the time went. And then before you know it you will be in the Misses section thinking... OMG my baby is all grown... and soon it's plans for Graduation... College and you wonder "Where did the time go?"... and then you set them free and hope that they can fly.
My wife just said to me the other day, "It feels like so long ago that he was a baby, it went by so fast!", to which I responded "Which one was it? If it feels like a long time ago then it couldn't have gone by fast." She didn't immediately notice the contradiction, but I couldn't let it slide.

Back to the original question though, I don't think UO changed my life substantially in the big picture. It did threaten to derail my college career though, as I frequently stayed up until 4am my freshman year and then slept until noon while skipping all my morning classes. I was still able to get by that year with decent grades, but that would not have been a sustainable path as I moved into more advanced courses. Thankfully I pulled myself out of it and got my act together after that first year, either through my own willpower or due to the fact that I had a terrible Internet connection during my sophomore year. I prefer to think that I would have been ok even without the internet limitations, but who knows...

Looking back at it now, I am somewhat conflicted on what I would do if I were in the same situation again. I do feel like I missed out on some opportunities to meet new people in that first year of college, and I could have got better grades, but I had so much fun playing UO and I did meet a few people in game that I have stayed in touch with to this day. Everything turned out ok in the end, so I guess I don't have any regrets, but I do sometimes look back and realize how lucky I was to get through that first year as well as I did with so little effort. Ultimately (no pun intended), I guess that experience has made me more aware of how I am spending my time and I am more careful about falling into those traps where gaming habits could negatively impact real life.

@Giggles - Great story and congrats on the new baby! Get your gaming in now while she sleeps and before she becomes mobile, because then it becomes much more difficult! :)
 

Ox_AO

Journeyman
Stratics Veteran
Giggles: Poo Poo machine. Food goes in poo poo comes out. That is what we are.
Congratulations got yourself a brand new poo poo machine
 

CottonEyeJoe104

Slightly Crazed
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Campaign Supporter
I happened to accidently stumble upon this post and I felt I had to share my story.

How UO changed and improved my life:


My brother and I were a fan of the Ultima series long before Ultima Online. So when we heard they were making an Online Ultima, we were beyond ecstatic. The internet was still fairly new to us. But we knew it was going to be life changing. Imagine running around a virtual world, doing all the fun Ultima things, with other people!? Group fighting, harvesting, interacting was destined to be great. And it was.

It was one week before my 11th birthday when Ultima Online officially released. My brother had a job so he had a copy of the game. I had to beg and beg to get a week early birthday present. Finally the parents caved and they got me the game.

I was fortunate enough to have three phone lines, since my dad was an executive for a telecommunication company. 1st line was home phone, 2nd was for internet, 3rd was for my dads business line. Well we had multiple PCs, even in that day, and I knew I HAD TO play UO, so I had to make a choice of what line I was going to tie up, since I knew my brother would be using line 2. So I used the business line. I learned rather quickly that, that was the incorrect line to pick - lol.

So with the radio in the backround, the game installing, we are freaking out waiting to log in. And dealing w/ AOL dialup. *mimics dialup sound*. Soon enough I'm faced with the toughest choice of my young life. Character Name: What would I pick? What do I want people to call me? I turn and ask my brother, 'what should my name be'? I just got the sentence out of my mouth and Cotton Eye Joe by the Rednex comes on the radio. We still argue whose idea it was to use that as the name, but I'm pretty sure it was me. Every game I've played since 1997, I have been Cotton Eye Joe. And every person I interact with can hear that song in their head, and it to this day still makes me laugh.

So over the next year I got multiple of my school buddies to try the game. And about 8 of us played together from 98-05. But the story of how I met who is now my best friend is a memory that I will always cherish and laugh about. I remember it so vividly its insane. Me and my friend were sitting together in art class, talking about how we were going to go to shame and farm once we got off from school. Out of nowhere, this big red headed kid, who I've seen slaughtered children's lives in the hallway for making fun of his hair or weight came over to our table. He looks at us, and goes "What are you guys talking about!?" and he seemed pissed. At this time me and my other friend were both little itty bitty guys, and this kid was huge. We were like "ummm... UO man, UO". This ginger lit up like a fat kid at a candy store. He says so excitedly "I PLAY UO! I'm on Great Lakes". The teacher is now aware of the commotion and come over to save us, cause now these nerds are throwing terms she has never heard. So that evening, he made a new character Manifest Destiny on Chessy and gave up on his Great Lakes life, and joined us. 20 years later and we are all still friends, and still laugh about UO. Hell the highschool news paper even wrote about us as the UO Crew. I could post the article, but I don't want to release other peoples real names. But the article is amazing. I was voted the UO Guru lol.

In 2003 my father passed away very unexpectedly. I spent a lot of time on UO that year, and the immediate years that followed. It was during this time that I made life-long friendships with tons of people from UO. 20 or so that I still talk to ALL the time, especially with the help of Facebook. These people saved me from dark places, and I have done the same to them when needed. We have been able to help each other for years with many different scenarios. And it is amazing that as people we were able to come together, form such a strong bond, and keep helping one another when one is down and out for years and years all over an online game. It was OUR therapy. I can easily say it was my therapy.


I could go on and on and on, but sadly I gotta run to help a customer in distress. This game has forever changed my life, and pretty much everyone in my life's life. I very much look forward to this 20th anniversary celebration. There are going to be people I haven't seen in many many years. Fellow UO'rs celebrating the first and only (at this time) MMORPG to reach 20 years of online. Just saying that gives me goosebumps. Twenty Y E A R S . Next year UO can buy a drink, and I'll be there to give it the finest drink of all: A white russian.


Thank you all for still playing UO, thank you Bonnie and crew for keeping things moving -- even if we do disagree at times on where the attention is being focused. I will never quit this game. This game will have to quit me.
 

Digowiz

Adventurer
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I loved your history. UO was and will continue to be for many more years, I hope, my therapy too. My secret escape... I love this game. Thanks for this 20 years.

Sent from my Vodafone Smart ultra 6 using Tapatalk
 
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Eärendil

Legendary Mall Santa
Supporter
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Congratulations on the wee lass spawn.
The idea of giving birth to one of these always terrified the heck out of me. :p

I sadly have no cool story to tell. I have been here only since 2011 and I live way too far away to meet any of the other players. :D
I have exchanged gifts with friends I know from other communities and games though, and met some from a webcomic I used to read back in 2008 when I went to GenCon, but that is it. :p
I am a boring old lady who is not made of wood.
Haha! You did it! Your avatar is sheer and utter awesomeness! ILMAO! Great! You are the lady!
 

Allycat

Visitor
Stratics Veteran
Thank you all for the congrats =) I am just beaming with pride over this little girl!

In the spirit of gaming, her name is "Poop Machine". So in another 15 years or so, watch out for that name lurking local champ spawns near you with mommy Giggles lol.
Yes, sadly my UO game time has been almost non existent already. I try to pop in a couple of times a week to harass my friends, but several spawns throughout the lands have been liberated from my ebil stalking ;). For now I will enjoy the quiet moments of playing the game with a baby in my lap, until that fades with the demands of keeping up with a lunatic mobile two year old =)

Thank you everyone else who has shared a story, I hope to see more :heart:. But cool story or not, we all have a deep love for this game in common, and have at the very least made some awesome friends here. So my vote is no... this is not just a game, this is a family.
Hey don't forget the time you decimated a bunch of people on cats with baby Giggles on your lap....
 

Tia

Sage
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Congratulations on the baby shes beautiful x

I also met my husband thru the game having known him in the game for over 5 years we began to get closer,
he lived in sweden i live in the uk
After a few months of getting close talking on vent and skyping, we decided that we wanted to be together permanently
so he came to the uk to be with me, giving up everything his family friends and home.
We have been together 9 years now, married for 8 he is the best thing to ever happen to me and we are both very happy
Unfortunately we met to late in life to have our own child but he is step dad to my 5 children a wonderful husband and dad
couldn't wish for better
However other people in the game are very cruel and we constantly suffer terribly from trolls trolling us calling us
every bad name possible and grief us both at every opportunity because we met thru the game even till this day
It got so bad it affected my health in RL and i moved shards to get away because no matter how many times i blocked them
they would come up with a new char and start again
I know many people who met thru UO and are married and very happy in life, your be surprised it happens more than you realise :)

Frankie my swedish king :heart: you x
 

MalagAste

Belaern d'Zhaunil
Alumni
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
Campaign Supporter
Congratulations on the baby shes beautiful x

I also met my husband thru the game having known him in the game for over 5 years we began to get closer,
he lived in sweden i live in the uk
After a few months of getting close talking on vent and skyping, we decided that we wanted to be together permanently
so he came to the uk to be with me, giving up everything his family friends and home.
We have been together 9 years now, married for 8 he is the best thing to ever happen to me and we are both very happy
Unfortunately we met to late in life to have our own child but he is step dad to my 5 children a wonderful husband and dad
couldn't wish for better
However other people in the game are very cruel and we constantly suffer terribly from trolls trolling us calling us
every bad name possible and grief us both at every opportunity because we met thru the game even till this day
It got so bad it affected my health in RL and i moved shards to get away because no matter how many times i blocked them
they would come up with a new char and start again
I know many people who met thru UO and are married and very happy in life, your be surprised it happens more than you realise :)

Frankie my swedish king :heart: you x
I think it's beautiful you met in game... congrats! Can't say you don't share interests! Hope you have many more wonderful years together.
 

Tia

Sage
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I think it's beautiful you met in game... congrats! Can't say you don't share interests! Hope you have many more wonderful years together.
Thank you huni that is so kind and lovely to hear, a change from the normal response we get.. bless you x
 

Giggles

Wielder of Ebil Cookies
Moderator
Professional
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Social Media Liaison
UNLEASHED
Campaign Supporter
Thanks to everyone who has engaged here with their own stories :heart:. I'm such a sucker for stories like these lol. I just love hearing about how something as simple as making the choice of playing an online game, can significantly alter your rl. Its just mind blowing to me.

I figured I might as well add a little game appropriate photo update. I'm still in the (show everyone I meet photos of my new baby) phase lol! You know... "Hey! Whats your name? Cool, look at these picture of my minion!"

 

Tia

Sage
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Thanks to everyone who has engaged here with their own stories :heart:. I'm such a sucker for stories like these lol. I just love hearing about how something as simple as making the choice of playing an online game, can significantly alter your rl. Its just mind blowing to me.

I figured I might as well add a little game appropriate photo update. I'm still in the (show everyone I meet photos of my new baby) phase lol! You know... "Hey! Whats your name? Cool, look at these picture of my minion!"

Adorable, love the vest lol :heart:
 
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