Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 9:13 am
I'm talking to Brood over STEAM about Alleg, and I just had this realization of how young I was when I played my first round of Allegiance. 13 is freaking young. It was the beta test, and I got it for free with a copy of PC Gamer. My parents were watching "What Dreams May Come" in the living room, and I downloaded the patches for the beta over our 26.4kbps dial-up (which was very common in 1999).
I remember that my first home sector was named "Night," and I got a huge thrill out of having to jump between these different sectors to respond to the enemy's attacks. I believe that it was my first real foray into online gaming, and quickly became addicted. I didn't immediatly buy it when it went retail -- I think it got released in January 2000 and I waited until March to pick it up -- but only because I was 13 and needed my parents permission (and credit card) to pay the $12 a month to play it (I had to be in the AZ just because it seemed so much more fun).
I remember sitting in my highschool cafeteria thinking that there were games of Allegiance going on at that very moment and that I was missing out. I couldn't wait to get home so I could join up. I was addicted to the leaderboard, wanting to climb the ranks and watch my kills and basekills pile up. For some reason, even w/ the new leaderboard, I've never felt that we quite recaptured that aspect of the game. It was simple and most of you that played back then were 14's before I even got the game (I think the highest I ever made it was rank 8 or 9 before MS shut the AZ down). What we have now isn't simple and just doesn't have that visceral, immediate attraction that the old AZ system had. I miss that =/
Anyway, HIGHSCHOOL, people. I'm 25 now. That was sort of awhile ago, and here I am, posting on the Allegiance message boards. I don't play anymore, and I'll never be a regular Allegiance player again, but it's sort of amazing that this abandoned game has been with me since I was 13. I'm not sure how many of you were around back then (there are so many names that I just know a few who've been here since the very beginning, though I'm sure that there are more), but for me it's been about 4 very distinct "lives" that I've lived since I was 13. Highschool, college, after-college limbo, and now (which I will refer to as "Park Ranger Limbo" for the time being =P). My entire life has happened since I was 13.
Anyway, just wanted to take a walk down memory lane =) I'm in between seasons at my job and have a lot of time to ponder things like this =) Also turning 25 has made me realize that I'm definitely not a kid anymore and it's sort of sad. I doubt any video game will capture my imagination and get me as excited as Alleg did back in 1999, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's just sort of sad, if that makes sense.
Here's hoping that somebody releases a game that rival's Allegiance's multiplayer aspects sometime in the next 12 years =) I doubt they will, but you can always hope...
I remember that my first home sector was named "Night," and I got a huge thrill out of having to jump between these different sectors to respond to the enemy's attacks. I believe that it was my first real foray into online gaming, and quickly became addicted. I didn't immediatly buy it when it went retail -- I think it got released in January 2000 and I waited until March to pick it up -- but only because I was 13 and needed my parents permission (and credit card) to pay the $12 a month to play it (I had to be in the AZ just because it seemed so much more fun).
I remember sitting in my highschool cafeteria thinking that there were games of Allegiance going on at that very moment and that I was missing out. I couldn't wait to get home so I could join up. I was addicted to the leaderboard, wanting to climb the ranks and watch my kills and basekills pile up. For some reason, even w/ the new leaderboard, I've never felt that we quite recaptured that aspect of the game. It was simple and most of you that played back then were 14's before I even got the game (I think the highest I ever made it was rank 8 or 9 before MS shut the AZ down). What we have now isn't simple and just doesn't have that visceral, immediate attraction that the old AZ system had. I miss that =/
Anyway, HIGHSCHOOL, people. I'm 25 now. That was sort of awhile ago, and here I am, posting on the Allegiance message boards. I don't play anymore, and I'll never be a regular Allegiance player again, but it's sort of amazing that this abandoned game has been with me since I was 13. I'm not sure how many of you were around back then (there are so many names that I just know a few who've been here since the very beginning, though I'm sure that there are more), but for me it's been about 4 very distinct "lives" that I've lived since I was 13. Highschool, college, after-college limbo, and now (which I will refer to as "Park Ranger Limbo" for the time being =P). My entire life has happened since I was 13.
Anyway, just wanted to take a walk down memory lane =) I'm in between seasons at my job and have a lot of time to ponder things like this =) Also turning 25 has made me realize that I'm definitely not a kid anymore and it's sort of sad. I doubt any video game will capture my imagination and get me as excited as Alleg did back in 1999, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's just sort of sad, if that makes sense.
Here's hoping that somebody releases a game that rival's Allegiance's multiplayer aspects sometime in the next 12 years =) I doubt they will, but you can always hope...