like a level 45 slaughtering you while your little level 18 self is quietly going about gathering Lumesia. Moments that just make you want to find a dev and toss him off the nearest high rise; all games have them, no one denies this -- not even Aion players (although they usually don't feel the need to discuss them with those who don't play). So why is it we stay in games that, at times, make us want to rip our hair out by the fistfuls? With such a plethora of games catering to a wide variety of play styles, how do we stay faithful to a particular one over the long haul, even when we know it isn't perfect? No, it isn't because we are all secretly masochistic. Or because we detest our barber/hairdresser. Looking around me in games both past and present, watching those who could be considered die-hards stay in (and enjoy) games long after the masses have fled, I found themes that mirrored some of my own reasons -- because, alternately, there are the moments that make it worth it. Not the art, the features, or the wittiness of the quest dialog. Rather, the ties that bind us: Friendships, epic memories, and just plain stubbornness.

This reason, hands down, keeps me playing an MMO. I happen to be one of those crazies who plays the games specifically for the MM part of the moniker. Whether it be real life friends who dive into the new world with me or companions I have met in cyberspace, I find that my enjoyment of any game increases dramatically when I play alongside others. Whenever enough friends start to drift away, that bind that keeps me interested in a game seriously weakens. After all, who wants to subscribe to MSO (massively single player) empty world? I, like many others, become a part of a community and make attachments in and to the world. The attachment can be to loot and coin, to people, or to role-play stories.