A Griefers Tale – Volume One

Written by Guest Writer John Dunn (Gamertag: JohnnyTrickshot)

It was only when I was touching on the idea of guest writing my own personal top 5 Gaming moments that I hit a sudden and harrowing realisation. I was a filthy griefer. It’s my debut writing for Bearded Robot, and think I want to start with a clean slate and empty conscience.

Compiling lists in my head of key stand out gaming moments, and I’m finding a cruel pattern primarily of taking enjoyment from others for my own gain!

As a focus, I’d like to take you back to the beginning. Back to a game that I hold dearly in the cold cavity of my chest where a heart should beat…

Legend of Mir 2.

If you’re unfamiliar with this game, it was an isometric 3D MMOROG – developed by the Korean company, WeMade Entertainment. It was my first true foray into MMOs, and had only stumbled upon it by chance watching Game Network (that was a thing!)

It didn’t look great by any means, it was 2001 and even looked dated then. But the mention of playing with hundreds of other people had my instant attention! I cranked up my dial up connection (Who!?) and got it in my life!

Character Creation – bar the choice of male/female, there was no customisation options. Character name? “Gothic” the teenage me thought would sound cool. “Name Taken”. Stubbornly Desperate to keep the cringiest online persona I’d had to date, I settled on “gothic1”. Fantastic. I picked Warrior as my class from the 3 (Wizard and Taoist being the other two)

The game had no clear direction or quest-line if my memory served me correct. Just basic gear/XP quests, which usually involved smashing a chicken or deer to bits and handing the meat over for a reward. Much like real life? The game for me only truly picked up once I left the first area – and went about my own adventure to the neighbouring town “Border Village”.

Until this point, I hadn’t seen that many other players. I’d seen a few helpful faces, and the occasional streaker, but nothing major. Having crossed a rickety bridge (more on that later) and traversed a small forest, I was greeted by a walled off town, flourishing with players and NPCs. There was a genuine hustle and bustle, and it felt alive. At this point I’d smashed so many chickens that I’d acquired enough XP to learn a new skill – so it was off to the bookstore to buy a new shiny skill book!

The doors creaked, the loading began, I heard a yelp, a thud, and I was dead?! Dead before I’d even seen a pixel of the room. As if dying wasn’t bad enough – you was treated to a grey screen as you lay on your back, able to watch the aftermath of your demise. A group of 10 crowded the room, and hurled insults at my corpse. The Mir equivalent of teabagging would ensue, the meat cutting motion that looked like they was prodding your genitals with their weapon. This was my first encounter with a PK’er – Player Killer.

I tried to get into the bookstore 5-6 more times, to no avail. I learnt that you could type whilst dead, so rather than accept their insults, I threw some witty comebacks right back at them. Persistence paid off, like a meaty boomerang I kept going back for more, they fascinated me. Whether out of pity, or whether it was some sort of initiation into this virtual thug life, on the 20th+ attempt, I was invited into their guild of misfits. Awesome!

After introductions, they explained their criminal empire. The books at Border Village were cheaper than the capital city, and sold at a higher price. Simple enough – we stocked up on as many books we could afford/carry at Border, then done “Book runs” to the capital to sell. People stationed at the book store prevented others from buying the books to avoid them selling out before they refreshed. Hence my death(s).

I wasn’t high enough to fight, so I became a book mule. Bar the clothes on my back and weapon in my hand, I had nothing but a bag full books and a pocket full of dishonest money-making dreams.

Screengrab taken from Legend of Mir 2…

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