The top comment in that article nails it: ============= Kajisan says: Ultima Online (Renaissance) was my very first MMO that came as an extra with Ultima Ascen

The top comment in that article nails it: ============= Kajisan says: Ultima Online (Renaissance) was my very first MMO that came as an extra with Ultima Ascencion. I played over 3 years, being a Gamemaster for another year. UO is the only game that defines Roleplay. You don't need to grind or leveling up. It was the stories the players created on their own, sometimes with the help of the gamemasters having a global adventure event on certain Saturdays. Everybody played the role he wanted to play. Want to be a magician? Sure.. it took several weeks on our Server to become one..and once you was one of them..you was literally a damn f* Gandalf. You was able to stand in front of 10 enemy players and they can't kill you..because it was not possible "roleplay" wise. The 10 players respected this, and you had to respect other things. It's something very rare and for me its a bite to the heart that World of Warcraft more or less killed this interaction between players..made them marionettes who gave their wisdom to the current generation of players, roleplaying less than a cow on the field. Shroud of the Avatar is an attempt to bring back these old goods, but like movies like Dune..or 2001, i think its too slow and hardcore for the actual generation of gamers. Example? We had a raid on an enemy bastion, and sat a whole night in front of a fireplace - waiting for the right moment. We talked about distant lands..how one of us hunted a Dragon last week, sang songs. You just can't do this in modern MMO's. It's possible..but it needs the right people for it, understanding the base principles of roleplay. I did not had these knowings when i started with UO..and found people who took me aside. I learned a lot about roleplay, about other people and about myself - acting with other people. Today, i am game developer aside people who worked on UO, and they're good people. It's all about imagination, UO just gave the Pen and the Paper an alternate more colorful form.