New To Online Games?

Online role-playing games (RPGs) are a natural evolution of the RPG genre. They take the fun of RPGs and combine it the connectivity of the internet. This means that you will create a character and play the role of an adventurer in a fantasy world while online. The result is a game world that you will share with hundreds of other players.

"I'm not a bloodthirsty warrior chick, I just play one on Meridian 59!" - Cassie, Meridian 59 player.

Dealing with all these other people can seem overwhelming at first. Traditional computer RPGs allow you to complete the game at your own pace, but with online RPGs the action doesn't stop when you take a break. Even while you're logged out, people will still be in the lands taking actions and altering the flow of the world. For many players, this is part of the excitement of the online world!

Traditional RPGs often focus on your group of brave heroes saving the world from a terrible enemy, but in an online RPG you only control a single character in the world. This character isn't really working to solve a single story, rather he or she is working to live within the active world around the character. Your character doesn't wander into an abandoned castle like Meridian 59's Castle Victoria to conquer it, rather to fight the monsters in there to improve your skills. You don't join a political faction in order to have it dominate the world forever once you complete a set of quests, you join a political faction to support it and help in the continual fight for dominance over other factions. This does not mean that your actions have no meaning, however! You can run for a political office and offer pardons to murderers who have promised to mend their ways. You can also fight monsters on one side of a struggle and be rewarded for your efforts. You can't "win" an online game but you can become an important member of its society through your actions, make a lot of great friends, and have a powerful character capable of handling most enemies in the world. You can get something in an online RPG you can never get in a traditional computer RPG: the honest admiration and companionship of your fellow citizens.

Likewise, online RPGs are different from other types of online games like first-person shooters (FPSs). Meridian 59 is not just a fantasy version of Quake or DOOM. Although you can kill other players, you are unlikely to succeed without some investment in improving your character. Also, wantonly murdering other characters tends to carry penalties, including being hunted down by justice-minded indivduals! However, don't think that the game will be boring just because you aren't fighting and dying against other players in your first minute online. There are plenty of monsters to hone your skills on before you get into the thick of wars in Meridian 59 Socialization and politics also have a greater emphasis in an online game like Meridian 59. Your best survival tactic is to find good allies when you're not hunting or being hunted by other players.

So, online RPGs offer a depth not normally found in other games. This is what makes a game like Meridian 59 so interesting.

"I like Meridian 59 because it's an intimate community. Everyone knows everyone, so if you're in trouble, there is bound to be someone available who can help you." - Wensleydale, Meridian 59 player.

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Ten things that will convince you that Meridian 59 is the game for you.