What are your reasons?

[Saellyn]

I love roleplay and I love your average console rpg. I love gaming. I twink skills, I don't do so in an unrealistically, game-breaking, immersion-slashing fashion but I do rarely log in and do nothing skill related. This game is a great mix of roleplay and skills. I play for both. It's fun.

My biggest reason for playing is some of the great writers we have and the wonderful adrenaline rushes you get in certain occasions.

+1

I play for the exact same reasons Majikal does. Although I'd toss in a bit of GDB addiction too. I like chatting on the forums just as much as I like playing.

... I play to give you guys somebody to kill ^^

Actually I play because I got sick of the Tolkien and futuristic MUDs and decided I'd just stick with this one because it's the only good one I could find (and believe me, I looked quite hard.)

[Anaiah]

All of you guys. Even the ones who frustrate me. Maybe even especially the ones who frustrate me.

It's hard for me to take any mud without permadeath as a serious place to roleplay, because death is one of the most pivotal ways to drastically touch many lives with the simplest effort. Not to mention dying over and over makes it no worse than breaking a leg.

Not to mention for all the sekritz, changes, and interesting stories.

[Dakota]

Though, would you not admit that your original statement was a bit abrasive? I felt like it was pretty obvious the message I was attempting to convery.

I didn't find it abrasive, s/he was confused by your wording is all.  Relax bro, s/he wasn't out to pick on you or be a dick.  I found your 'lol get Rosetta Stone' comment to be far more abrasive. (I don't want to derail or start a fight, just pointing out that it's likely perception on your end, rather than him/her attempting to pick a fight.)

This. And she

Another reason for playing Arm though.. and I'll use the other MUD I used to play before Arm as an example..

Is I love Perma-Death.

Save from the drive from staff and players to actually push for great RP, to me it helps motive you to go all out w/ your RP. B/C its the only way you'll be remembered / can make a difference (it seems). Also the GAP between the SUPER POWERFUL and the DAY 00, HOUR 01, Pc's isn't that great compared to the other MUD I've played and other MUDS I know of.

Dragonrealms (15 bucks a month to play which should be a redflag already) has hardly -any- roleplay despite a paid (sort of) staff that is supposed to set up events / festivals / plots, etc. Everything is soooo subpar compared to Arm. The Roleplay is shoddy b/c if you want to get to CLOSE to the top of the mountain in terms of skills / power / etc, you need to SCRIPT (not play.. but script) for about 2 years. And do it everyday and AFK script and simply ignore any RP chances. You'll run into a room with 3 PC's only to find out they're all played by the same player and all scripting so they can -all- train @ the same time. RP will be minimal and a disaster. And the saddest part is, this isn't a rare situation for Dragonrealms. Also while their is Perma-Death there, the only way it can happen is if you -want- it to happen.. It's a mess.

Coming from that to Arm was like night and day. Arm was way harder to learn but everyone has been a huge help to beat the curve on how to play and -everything- about it is leagues better.

Restating my first post, it is simply f*ing fun.

[Thunkkin]

it is simply f*ing fun.

This.

I'm so busy with work right now, that all I can do in game is idle *coughandtwinkafewskillscough*.

And I still log in.

[Riev]

I play Arm because I'm asocial and either clinically depressed, or at least damn close to it.

Arm fills the social interaction I don't get in daily life, and I derive a lot of fun by "MST3King" while playing Arm. That is, making fun of things that are going on, and the people around me.

I also play because, sometimes, someone telling you "Hey that thing you did a year ago? One of the coolest things I've seen someone do." feels great. Kudos are awesome, no matter how you get them, and everyone likes to know they do something well.

[Akoto]

Well, at first, I played because there were a great many similarities to a certain D&D setting. I also enjoyed the role-play, as well as the many character concepts available. Sanvean was kind enough to allow me a Vivaduan as an early character, and I fell in love with magick and the game as a while. Enforced role-play is huge, as is permanent death, depressing though it sometimes may be.

As the years went on, I acquired a physical disability and have since become mostly bedridden. As a result, Arm is more than a game for me at this point. It's a positive in my life, which is important when one lives mostly in serious pain. The opportunity to escape and have some freedom (if in fantasy) is a cherished thing. It's also nice in that I feel as though I can still contribute to something, if only through interesting characters and stories.

[Dakota]

As the years went on, I acquired a physical disability and have since become mostly bedridden. As a result, Arm is more than a game for me at this point. It's a positive in my life, which is important when one lives mostly in serious pain. The opportunity to escape and have some freedom (if in fantasy) is a cherished thing. It's also nice in that I feel as though I can still contribute to something, if only through interesting characters and stories.

This is makes me smile. Glad Arm can go beyond simply being fun

[jstorrie]

I can't be awesome in real life because of poverty and ill health and the Man. So I play.

[a strange shadow]

I'm addicted to making up stories. I've read fantasy books since kindergarten after all.

I also like the creative challenge this game presents, and the sociological experiments it provides.

[Recharge]

I play because my friends pressured me into it..now Im hooked!

[Blackisback]

As far as  video games go, it's pretty fun.

[Cindy42]

Thanks, Taven.

This game made me read Dune. I love this game so damn much

I wanted to try a text game with other people, mushed and mudded around a few times and found this gem. I didn't even really know what a MUD was until I searched.

If a game makes a treasured character dying fun, its a damn good game.

[Xagon]

whisper self (stroking his chin as he ponders to himself) What is my reason for playing..?
tell audience (rising from his reverie) I play because of the raw ability to customize.
tell audience (adjusting his seat as the crackling fire within ~fireplace behind himself sets a comfortable theme) You can do just about anything you can think of. In fact, your imagination is the only limit to your ability.
emote frowns as the dirty, disheveled sharp-ear crosses in front of the camera, pulling one eyelid down as he spits a raspberry towards ~audience
emote In comedic fashion, @ sighs, then raises his hand, uttering a few sharp words as a great ball of energy coalesces in his hand and flies towards ~generic.elf
tell audience (As ~elf sizzles in the flame of the fireplace) Ahh, where was I? Oh yes. The storytelling, both in content and delivery, is exceptionally unique, especially when you consider ~generic.wow.clone and ~generic.fps

ooc Mind if I ftb the rest of the conversation?

EDIT: Also, thanks to Mansa for suggesting I read Dune

[Cindy42]

For years before I started playing this game I have always wanted to play pretend with other people, especially something like The Crucible or Hamlet or something, something awesome and serious. Kind of came to the conclusion that no one wanted to play pretend except for me until I found out what this game is about.

[Ampere]

Sometimes my life sucks, but never this much...makes me feel better.

[janeshephard]

Once you learn the ropes, I like the familiarity. I like other players who go out of their way to make the RP fun and involving. It doesn't always happen but when it does it's amazing and it's not something I can engage in anywhere else.

[Archbaron]

I play Arm because I'm asocial and either clinically depressed, or at least damn close to it.

Arm fills the social interaction I don't get in daily life, and I derive a lot of fun by "MST3King" while playing Arm. That is, making fun of things that are going on, and the people around me.

I also play because, sometimes, someone telling you "Hey that thing you did a year ago? One of the coolest things I've seen someone do." feels great. Kudos are awesome, no matter how you get them, and everyone likes to know they do something well.

I can't be awesome in real life because of poverty and ill health and the Man. So I play.

^ those two reasons are big factors.

I also play because I love the secrets this game has. A lot of characters take secrets to the grave, and I love unearthing them and finding out things that no one else knows. It's a morbid fascination that keeps me awake at night. I also like to play because I have a huge interest in magick, and I feel like the Armageddon magick system is extremely realistic and a lot deeper, philosophically, than people realize.

[Ktavialt]

So I got the reverse problem from many of you.  I am so unbelievably awesome in real life, and I cannot escape that.  If I were an Arm character my stats would be absolutely incredible in every category, my sdesc would be "the ridiculously attractive, charming man", and no wait... I would not only be a mindbender but I am so awesome I would somehow be one as a mul, so I'd really be "the ridiculously attractive, charming mul"  I also would be able to control my rage.

Anyways, long story short this is the only place where I can really be a scum sucking, decrepit, homeless, alley wandering lowlife.  That is why I play.

[Rairen]

Anyways, long story short this is the only place where I can really be a scum sucking, decrepit, homeless, alley wandering lowlife.  That is why I play.

I think I love this.

I play because I like making characters, finding out what they think, how they move, and for those random bits of awesomeness that periodically fall from their mouths at just the right moment.  I can't find a plot in paper bag without someone cutting a hole in it first for me, I find combat training as interesting as watching carniverous paint dry, and I've never left civilization without the company of a Jihaen templar or Tor Warlord.   For me, it's about getting inside people's heads and turning the text room descriptions they inhabit into three dimensional, sentimental places.  And I love that Arm lets me do this in such a way that when I roll a Tuluki in Allanak, it actually means something.

[Riev]

Anyways, long story short this is the only place where I can really be a scum sucking, decrepit, homeless, alley wandering lowlife.  That is why I play.

I think I love this.

I play because I like making characters, finding out what they think, how they move, and for those random bits of awesomeness that periodically fall from their mouths at just the right moment.  I can't find a plot in paper bag without someone cutting a hole in it first for me, I find combat training as interesting as watching carniverous paint dry, and I've never left civilization without the company of a Jihaen templar or Tor Warlord.   For me, it's about getting inside people's heads and turning the text room descriptions they inhabit into three dimensional, sentimental places.  And I love that Arm lets me do this in such a way that when I roll a Tuluki in Allanak, it actually means something.

First. I miss you.


Second, the last couple posts are amazing. Being able to play lowlife curs, -and- being that player that gets inside your head. I don't think we have many people like Rairen who, I can attest, have this special ability to make ANYONE'S RP greater by a factor of five just by being around.

[HTX]

The Bartle Test is IMO quite worthless because it's a model quite evidently designed for Hack 'n' Slashes more so than roleplaying intensive (RPI) games.

I've seen a different model which divided RPI players into simulationists, storytellers and explorers (if I recall correctly) and I think that's more accurate. Many RPI enthusiasts would fall into these three broad categories, though I'd add one more category: socialiser - a person who plays for the interaction, or to see their character grow, characterisation, etc. etc.

I myself would have fallen mostly into the simulationist category when I first discovered Arm (what first made me obsessed with the game all those years ago was the idea of a living world to explore... believe it or not, as boring as it sounds... I wanted to play a game where I could just play a normal person going about their daily struggle.) Perhaps I'd also fall a tiny bit into the storyteller category, too, although not wide-sweeping plots mind you; I love any plot rich in conflict and struggle though. Those adrenalin-pounding moments when your character's life is in danger is a plus. Definitely an adrenalin-junkie here. And then, of course, there was the chance to play someone who I wasn't - I loved playing thugs, thieves and cut-throat mercenaries back in the days. Lifestyles I'd never pursue in real life, nor want to, but which fascinated me none-the-less.

Anyway, those were reasons I initially played. To be honest I've been stuck in a rut of burn-out for the past few years - not just with Armageddon, but it seems, with RPIs in general. I guess it's inevitable, that people get over things. I do really miss those wide-eyed newbie days though, when I was so excited about Armageddon that all day my thoughts were on getting home so I could jump onto the computer and immerse myself into a fictional world, but I've given up on re-evoking them. For some strange reason though, I kept getting drawn back into the game, a long time after I first decided I was 'burnt out' on RPIs. In fact, even to this day, when I no longer play I feel myself drawn to these forums, just browsing threads and indulging myself in nostalgia. I remember back in the day when a certain immortal coined the term 'Crackageddon' - that dude wasn't kidding. Even after I've officially decided to take a break from the game till 2.Arm, I feel like this game is an itch I just can't scratch any more.

I don't know why I feel so philosophical and nostalgic tonight. Feel free to ignore my ramblings. I kind of went off-topic there.

[Betelgeuse]

Sheer boredom....and someone asked me to join. 

[Feco]

"To chop motha'-fucka's up with bone swords."

[Cind]

i got curious, anaiah.

[askaran]

The Balance, environment and players. I like the absence of XP and levels. I Love that you have to train your skills individually. The Roleplay is actually existent in contrast to say, an Iron Realms game. I Like how the players actually play their characters, the oppurtunity to roleplay, and that our Twinks are still 10X more the roleplayer than say any average mud player. I like the choices you can make. For example Iron Realms which I admit to playing before I found armageddon. The warrior classes their where all the same, you -had- to fight with two weapons which I think where swords to be effective and you died to stupid shit like Rats and rabbits and sparrows like a 1 hour warrior here would die to a bahamet. I like how if I want my warrior to run around in fur greaves and a loincloth with a heavy stone spoon and go kill things he actually can. It may be looked down upon IC but I like the choice. And even though it's still terrible. The excellent writers and rpers in this game have helped me to improve on my own spelling, grammar and story-telling ability.