*Wow, it's been a while. Winging it, more of a vent but I guess that's what half of the stuff on MMOsite is posted for, anyways.*

Processed meat. Every slice of it goes through a specific, pre-planned, constantly monitered procedure of grinding, preserving, and packaging. It wasn't until recent that I had discovered how much I have in common with sausage when I am playing a modern MMORPG. Thousands of players just like me, being put through the same quests, same gear, same monsters, same "challenges", we're all just minced pig sliding down a conveyor belt., and as per usual, a single game has brought this to my attention: Ether Saga Online.

I started as a Yaoh, in a relatively small town carved from a few trees in which my tutorial phase would take place. It wasn't long before I was sent out to fight monsters, and it was right there, once I saw the monster fields, that I should have known I'd be writing this in the end. The field itself was absolutely swarmed with at least one hundred mobs, probably even more (Well I'm not gunna actually count!). What's worse, I was the only person in the area, which killed my attempt to rationalize it as making sure there's enough to kill for everyone. I mowed through the mobs easily. I was already disappointed in the game.

But I pushed on. I attempted to find what was good, I joined a clan and contributed many resources to it, I crafted items over and over to get them just right, I did multiple dungeon runs with both my clan and pugs, but nothing could keep me in and quit at about level 36 (And if you want to argue with me on, "You didn't play long enough", I have . But this isn't supposed to be a review of Ether Saga Online, rather it was a single trait that inspired me to write this.

The monster fields. Every area outside of town was swarmed with hundreds of monsters, wandering about without reason or purpose. I was given quests to kill fourty of them, sure, but then I get perhaps five quests that assign me to kill that same monster forty times each, and the kill credits didn't count to each one, rather the one quest on the top of the list. That's right, some of the monsters I ended up having to kill at least 200 times.

But in the end, this isn't a problem with ESO, but a problem with MMORPGs in general. I am sent to location x to mindlessly grind for ten hours, then sent to location y to mindlessly grind for ten more hours. This repeats itself for a year then you hit max level (WHAR TEH REAL GAIM IS!!!1). Top games such as WoW are also culprits, in the end I am just performing the same monotonous task, clicking an enemy and watching it die in PvE (What does deserve praise is Blizzard's and many other P2P game company's ability to mix up the PvE here and there, but I digress). No matter what the enemy looks like, no matter what their graphic model or their fighting method, I am performing the same task. Going to the same location everyone else at my level did, doing the same thing they did, for the same NPCs they did. Just going down the meaty conveyor belt like the last person and the person before him and so on.

I know some of this is inevitable. Not everyone's experience can be completely different, but what the majority of MMORPGs are lacking is (For perhaps the millionth time) FREEDOM. Freedom doesn't mean choosing your class or its spec. It doesn't mean going to location z instead of location x to do the same grinding. It means there is a wide open world, players can affect it even if it's a relatively slight change such as erecting a village, we aren't forced to do the same thing as everyone else to progress, our characters exist for different purposes.

It's time to shut down the meat packaging plant, developers, and give us a GAME.

***

Reread the article a few times myself, and decided to finally write a shorter story of what I mean by freedom. I was once playing this text-based online game years ago, and did I have a blast with it, even though it was just a free trial. I had started out in a town, lost because I couldn't quite figure out my map. As I wondered around, I spotted a man talking with this old woman. She chuckled a bit, and handed him a shield. I then encountered this woman myself, hoping that she was giving away freebies of some sort, but she shooed me off. I turned to the man who had been talking to her earlier, and inquired about his shield. I forgot what he said, but we soon became travel mates. He had promised to give me a tour of the town and said he would show me where I could sharpen my fighting skills. He taught me a bit as we walked, and we had entered a small shop to purchase a few provisions.

The visit was cut short by a large gang of monsters, that quickly swept my friend off his feet and took him away! I panicked, and had decided to ask for assistance. I don't remember how, or who the person was (Probably a game master), but what I do remember is that I had rung a special bell I had obtained when I started playing, and was teleported to a magnificent castle. I was asked to wait outside, and eventually the gates had swung open. In the middle of the courtyard sat a powerful man, who beckoned me over and asked what was troubling me. I explained the situation, and desperately begged for answers as to how I could find my friend. He told me the situation could only benefit him, and that in due time I was sure to meet him again. Even though the answer was vague, I thanked him and he teleported me back to town.

Once again I was left there, alone and confused. I wandered about a bit again, until another man had approached me, and suspiciously asked me if he could assist me in any way. I asked him where I could hone my fighting skills or where I could get a weapon, and he promised he would help, and grabbed my arm! He dragged me to an opening to a sewer, and we went down. He let go of my arm, and told me to stay close. I did as I was told, and I followed him. We encountered a few rats which he easily vanquished, along with a tiny bit of assistance from me, earning me my first experience points. However, it seemed we did not come down here to fight rats, as we continued to spelunk the sewers.

We had stopped in a dark room that I cannot accurately describe due to the weak memory of it. It was empty, short him and I. I asked him again what we were doing down here, and he didn't reply. All he did was pull out his sword, and stare at me. I asked him again, but once again he didn't respond and, still fixed on me, fell in to a combat position. I panicked, and ran from the room immediately. I do not remember if he chased me, but I had then gotten lost in the sewers, and hit a dead end. It was there that the sewer rats had overpowered and finished me.

All of this actually happened in that game. The only NPC mentioned in the story was the woman. Though I did not see any of this happen, it was all descriptively written in the text box, the only numbers that appeared were the damage points the rats and I had taken. We were unable to whisper each other, a feature not available in an attempt to keep the game's intended feel, and it worked beautifully. The player did grab my arm and take me to the sewers, regardless of my consent., and I never did find out if he was trying to kill me, but I felt it was safe to assume. After my death, I respawned in town and had stopped playing permanently, deciding that since it was only a free trial, I might as well not get used to it. This happened many years ago, could have been four or five...

Freedom. I felt freedom while playing that game. If only I could remember it's name, I'd probably play it again...