General

Just going to put this here

This is a thread, that I'm sure you've seen many of, telling you to move on; if you haven't already.

To move on from the past of Maplestory.

From my experiences, I enjoyed my time here. I enjoyed playing a game that let me enter a virtual reality full of people. I could create my own character, customize it to look not like I do, but how I want to, and act any way I like. I could take risks and go on adventures. I could explore, discover, and yes; even learn. Maplestory taught me things that can't really be put into words, but that it molded me into the person I am today.

At the age of 10, I joined maplestory with my sister, whom is 5 years older than me. And yes, at that age I took the game all to seriously. I was getting too attached, and too addicted. My sister, however, never got the connection. Long after she quit I still played. I never really made friends when we both played, but when she quit, I ended up making tons. I got really close to many of my friends, friends I wish I was still in contact with today. They taught me things I'll never forget. I learned how people worked, how money can [i]definitely[/i] improve social status, and how sometimes; it was for the worst. People with money, or well, NX, were lucky to me. I envied anyone with it, and looked up to them. I played for a whole year without buying a cent of it.

At the age of about 11, I got my first taste of it. It was my birthday in early fall, when I got to customize my character and enter their realm. I didn't notice at first, but it made me, well, in my nicest of words, plastic. I put less emotion into the game, and made new friends, ditching my first. These new friends were so [i]cool[/i]. With all their fancy effects and dominant personalities. Eventually, I learned that I was nothing to them, just another friend to add to their list. Just another person to talk to. With this, I became one of them. At this point, if you've read this far, you're probably wondering how this connects to you. Well, as I've seen, we all get sucked into the hole in our wallets called NX. We all become [i]that[/i] person. Some of you might still be. But it wasn't long after I became one of them, that I saw my addiction. I didn't want to sit on my bum all day, but I did anyway. I loved the game. I loved not having to worry what people think of you- you could always start over. Yes, I had that stupid 12 year old love, without even knowing the meaning to the word. I had countless confessions to people I'm sure I hardly knew. I got too into it, too attached. This, made it harder to let go.

At the age of 13, I noticed a trend, all my friends were quitting. In fact, all the people were. With this, new people arrived. People whom I didn't particularly care for. They came for levels, and new jobs. New classes came out, and aliens were invading. I was bored, all my friends had quit, so I thought I might too. I failed, and returned that summer to see how it all was.

BAM! Big Bang happened. Everything changed, I came back wanting to finally reach 70, and got there in 1/3 of the time. 80% of my friends had quit, and I was lonelier than before. Few had remained, and I managed to make some more friends. It wasn't until I returned that I absolutely hated the game. People wanted to level, even more than before, even the hene hoes were a higher level than me! With big bang it all got screwed up for me, and I began to hate not only the game, but the people in it. Even my friends, some whom I had known for over a year, had gone into the cycle. Grind grind grind, level, level, level. I was sick of it. At this point, I quit; slowly but surely.

The point of my sharing this to you is that yes, Maplestory isn't what it used to be. It isn't "Because I can, and it's Free". Maplestory is "Because you're addicted, and it's costly." I like what maplestory did to me, and I wouldn't change a thing from the past. I loved the game. I loved what I did all day. I enjoyed the money I wasted, but that's in the past now; and it's time to find something better to do. My advice to those of you who saw it change throughout it's life is that you should change too. The time you spend on that game, and the money you waste, can be put to a better cause. Move on to another game, another hobby. If you're old enough, move out. Get a job maybe, travel. Do something.

Because in the end, Maplestory is just a game; and every game must end.