New MMO Project - Rift

The FF playthrough is going well, and I love this series.  But at my heart, I'm an MMO player.  I have been since picking up EverQuest when it released.  Swapped from there to World of Warcraft, and dabbled in different MMOs since then.  This genre strikes a chord with me; it excites me in a way that other genres don't.

So!  The FF playthrough will continue at its current pace, but I'm adding a new weekly post/project to this site.




Eventually I'll reach the FF MMOs - XI and then XIV.  But that's a long way off.  I'll finish VII, the related VII games, VIII, IX, and then X.  In the meanwhile, I want to try an MMO.

And yet I don't know which one.  There are a lot that look fun.  Some I've tried briefly, some more lengthily, but WoW is the only one I've really dived fully into.

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There's another key element to this project, something I've always wanted to try: randomization.

I've played MMOs (and read, and watched movies, and generally imagined) for long enough that there are certain character archetypes I gravitate towards.  Certain classes and character styles and appearances.  It's not even that I actively do tavern roleplay, but I enjoy seeing my characters for their personalities and stories.

Character randomization, using random.org, is the way I plan to fight this, and to create a character outside my standard archetypes.  It's a way to surprise myself.  Rather than using my MMO experience to plan a character and spend my time in game following a pre-set path, I'll get the chance to meet and develop my character a-fresh.

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Step one: randomly pick my MMO.  

Now, I've tried this project before.  Not this fully, and not telling anyone, but I have a tendency to second guess myself and "reroll."  This defeats the purpose of randomization, as I'd reroll until the game/character got closer to my mental archetype.

To ensure this project starts on an honest and high note, I'll commit to a game based on the final digit of the NASDAQ composite at the close of business today.  If that final digit is a:

...0 or 1, then I'll play "Guild Wars 2."
...2 or 3, then I'll play "Rift."
...4 or 5, then I'll play "The Secret World."
...6 or 7, then I'll play "Star Wars: The Old Republic."
...8 or 9, then I'll play "Wildstar."

My follow-up post tonight, with the game and random.org-driven character creation.

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Afternoon update: The composite came out, and it's 4,880.23.  "Rift" it is.  I'll roll my character tonight.