What really keeps you coming back?

I had been reading posts from a variety of people in a variety of forums regarding maplestory, and I apologize if perhaps there was already a topic started on this forum regarding this, but I am curious as to the why...

So I will begin by stating mine, and then let's see what everyone else says. Below is what I posted on the other forum...

I'm going to be honest, I have mostly lurked within these forums and others, rarely posting.

However, there is a certain allure to this game. I started during the 1 year anniversary, played for a few years, then quit in 2008 after the great guild hack. Last September, I came back. Not because of any addiction, nor because of obsession, but because I still, after all these years have friends I have made in maple, that still play. Many of them I have on facebook, I know who they are. I came back because there are many things about the game I still enjoy. Guilds, messing around for no apparent reason killing worthless mobs that provide no benefit whatsoever to my character advancement. It is a game that can be as easy as you want it, or as hard. Yes it has problems, many times more so than any other MMO in existence. I have come to ignore those facts, and for as long as maple exists, I shall continue to play.

It says something about a game community that even after being completely absent for 3 years, when I first came back, many of my original buddies still had me in there list, still remembered my real name. That is a felling you can't duplicate on any other game I have played...I know I have tried.

And before anyone does say anything, I started playing this game well beyond my twenties, and this game has even become a family fun event. My wife, and all my kids play as well...so does my brother.

There may be times i leave for one reason or another, but the community I know will always welcome me and for that I shall always return.

Because it's a unique experience with a unique aesthetic.

I've seen plenty of MMOs where the graphics are super-realistic and full of particle effects and stuff. You know, generic crap companies do to try-and-fail to compete with World of Warcraft.

Maple, on the other hand, is 2D, and its entire premise is that it's a 2D MMORPG with cute graphics and super-deformed characters. You can look at a screenshot of MapleStory and say "that's MapleStory" even if you just took a quick glance at it. Also, the way combat works is completely different than all the other MMOs I've seen and/or played.

That's why I keep coming back to Maple.

Because I was addicted by the leveling process and stuff.

I'm proud to say I'm not addicted anymore, though I'm suspicious I'm addicted to League of Legends.

Paladin buffs, and maybe if nexon decides to update masteria.
Also I pretty much only play it when my friends aren't on LoL so I try to get a level in.

Well, different reasons throughout time, but I think I can remember distinctively 3

2005-2007: Where there was all the hype over guilds and selling ZHelmet with "social status," of which I never bought into and operated on mules that just wanted to prove that not having guild, money, fame, pow3r one can still operate.

2008-2010: Guilds lost much of their "influence" and things like Scissors, Cygnus Knights made some things of the past obsolete, and my ex-guild went into a war over leeching and legitimacy issues, of which split them up and I rallied with other ex-guild members and trained and had some fun, overall it was proving that you can stay legitimate and play the game for its worth.

2011-present: After potentials came out, and with so many elements changing, friends being lost to their pow3r hungry desires and legitimacy in the grey, nothing is worth it except for the PQs with friends just for the sake of old times and fun or new classes with interesting bits to the (Cannoneer and their BFG or Demon Slayer and their Heel Face Turn).

why i played then:
dragon knights->dark knights

why i play now:
dragon knights->dark knights
math

To be honest, this game sucks. Getting to the end game is too easily done and the end game content is non existent after a certain period of time. The only times I ever came back and the only reason why I continue to keep playing is because of the people I know from the game still play. When they are gone, chances are, I'll be gone too.

Is this really a "Should I" thread?

OT: The social interaction and the penchant for menial repetitive tasks that take my mind off of real life.

To be honest, this game sucks. Getting to the end game is too easily done and the end game content is non existent after a certain period of time. The only times I ever came back and the only reason why I continue to keep playing is because of the people I know from the game still play. When they are gone, chances are, I'll be gone too.

If they all have the same mindset as you, you'll be playing this game forever .

I'm about 98% sure that's their business model.

Despite having 'no endgame content' I keep finding new things to accomplish ingame.

Plus every couple months they come out with new ways to upgrade.

I've played for a long time, and mostly it's "childhood" memories and something i can still have fun on today. I was never about damage or high level. I just had fun. I've made atleast one of every class and I enjoy the new ones even if they are considered "OP" I know mine wont be, and its just for fun, and then they get nerfed.

Is this really a "Should I" thread?

To be honest, after i submitted the post, i thought the same thing, but i came through the facts, opinions, etc link in line with the general forum so thought this fit opinion.

Glad to see that there are so many different reason everyone keeps playing. In regards to the legitimacy issue, never bought into that war, meaning, i stayed legitamate because it was the right thing to do, and stayed pretty much withing the group I am still with because we all felt the same.

The game itself is mechanically sound and enjoyable.

The issues I have are with Nexon, not Maplestory.

Honestly, I have no fucking idea. I'm not sure what appeals to me about this game. It's probably the fact that I've played it over the past almost 7 years now and I have no clue how to get into other games and stick with them like I've stuck with MapleStory. Plus, my computers are so terrible, they can barely even run a simple 2D game like MapleStory, so I have next to zero chance at playing any other game that may be entertaining in the least bit.

I come back because of the radiant personalities we have here on Southperry and because of the stellar community in GMS.

As a casual gamer maplestory is the best game I have ever played. I came from generals zero hour like in 2005(2 years of zhero) and I appreciated maplestory because it wasn't as time demanding. If you played any CC game online, each game you play you're dedicating half an hour on. Maple was always a simple and fun game to me, that I could leave anytime I wanted too.

It offers everything I want in a game, it's vibrant in color, area's with different themes, and a feeling of accomplishment. As it grew up though, it's just become a bastard child. You have to dedicated 3-5grand just to be competitive anymore, and that's just being legitimate...

Every about 3 months I play a private server, a low rate one, just to get that feeling again. I end up quitting always, but I will always enjoy playing the game as it originally started. I will never, ever return to GMS. It is unrecoverable, and demands too much in order to have fun with it. I feel like any player that plays GMS just feels the need to punish themselves or something, the game offers nothing more than dissapointment, risk and failure.

I never left, I really just want to see how the game ends.

I haven't hardcore played in like 2 month due to college. I play and keep up with the game just cause it's a part of my childhood and I don't like losing those pieces (which is why I play pokemon still, but that's also because it's awesome in its own right). And it's something I can do in my spare time. I like to see how much free stuff I can get to make my characters really cool.

I'm suspicious I'm addicted to going afk.

[COLOR="#FF0000"]I never knew!

Maple itself was fun, back in the day. The game feels nice, but now I only go back once in a while to see how ridiculous its gotten.[/COLOR]