Asheron Called Me

In early high school, I was known to be slightly or moderately or excessively into a video game known as Asheron's Call. I had answered his call as if he had filled the game's soundtrack with the siren's song.

If I tried to explain the entire game accurately, I would write a book. A synopsis filled with memories of a past love will have to do. It was a massively multiplayer online role playing game. You created yourself as a sorcerer, warrior, archer or a combination of the three. I chose a warrior to start. I got a couple of my real life gamer buddies to play. We roamed a landmass called Dereth, going from town to town, exploring. We hunted all kinds of creatures, from cat goblins(drudges) to giant bugs (olthoi) to mysterious cape ghosts(virindi). We braved forests, deserts, dungeons. As we did so we gained experience points and leveled up we sharpened our skills until we were certified badasses, This was world of warcraft circa 1999, and it was amazing.

We explored the world with nothing but the items in our backpacks: health potions, food, armor, and weapons.

We went to dangerous places, we died, we lost some of our shit, and then we made it to town. We survived. We had fun doing so.

This game is also how i first started developing a love for economics, and while that sounds insane to someone who hasn't played these games, it makes perfect sense to anyone that has.
When I say massively multiplayer, I mean it. There was this one dungeon on the map, nicknamed the Subway because it had a portals to many towns at the bottom, that nearly everyone gathered to sell items and trade in. People would stand there for extended periods of time advertising items they had to trade. It was crowded. It was the place to be.

FT: Fist of the Quiddity, 4 Small Shards.

Translation: This person has a rare hand weapon that looks like it is made of glowing sapphire that he wants to trade for 4 Small Shards, which could be assembled into something called Shadow Armor.

I learned what the hot items in the game were. I learned what materials people had to collect to make the most epic weapons and the best armor. It made sense to me that these things were worth a lot. There was a market dictating prices.

Now, here I am. I love economics with an inordinate amount of passion and am leaving for New Zealand, to wander from town to town, exploring.

And I really cant help but wonder, is it really possible that the video game I spent most of weekend nights in high school playing has driven me to learn all I can about Austrian economics and wander the country where LOTR was filmed with one of my best friends? Have I taken the idea of working on your character quite seriously? If so, time well spent.