May 2007. World of Warcraft. The moment where my life would be forever altered. For many, WoW was their first exposure to a full virtual world. Maple Story was mines, but it didn't make tromping through Azeroth any less immersive! Before I got into MMOs, single player RPGs with memorable characters and a good long story kept my attention. I remember going as far back to my SNES days playing Illusion of Gaia, reading every single text, getting lost in the story. Same with other titles over the years such as Star Ocean 2, Xenogears, Legend of Dragoon, Final Fantasy 7 to 10, and later games like Skyrim, Dragon Age Series, Mass Effect Series, and even Grand Theft Auto. Of course, game-play matter, but a good story and a immersive world was more important to me.
Now I'm a certified MMOer, those things are still important, but as far as story, I prefer my own. For other gamers, playing MMOs entertains them for various reasons. I can't speak for everyone, but after playing MMORPGs for over 7 years, you get to meet people from different walks of life and they all have different motives to play. Here's my random thoughts!