::A Geek in Korea::

Advanced Wars by Web is a uniter among my friends. I stumbled upon the site trying to find out a way to play Nintendo DS games without an online component over the Internet. Eventually, I stumbled across the game I had been attempting to play, "Advanced Wars DS" playable in a somewhat diminished form online. It lacked some features of it’s console counterpart, but allowed for a robust strategy game using the same recognizable interface online. The best part was it’s near "Play by Email" like quality. This allowed me, living around the world, to play a game with friends living in the States without having to wake up at awful times, or keeping them up past their "bed times". Since it was always being maintained, and had a healthy following as well as a decent interface, I gave it a try.

I played it to make sure it was quality, then passed my recommendation on through the forums. I have friends with strong opinions about trivial matters, so trying to get them to try new things can be, at times, like trying to melt a glacier with the power of your mind alone. After a few demo games where I tried to show them the basics (and crushed them), I eventually got enough players for a full on team effort. Later, my friends started recruiting players, and now we have full on games that span months. One of the games recently competed by my friends actually was over seven months in length. Talk about dedication! I bowed out after a few months when I had to move my house, but they kept fighting on. I was proud to see my friends take up a passion for something even though we were spread out across the world.

The last time I played Advanced Wars by Web with any seriousness was before I discovered Nexus Wars. Nexus War turned out to be too much for me to handle. I became addicted. By the end I was waking up at odd hours, playing at any time I could. Who would thing that clicking buttons and leveling my characters would have turned into a habit forming game? Eventually it started seriously getting in the way of my life, so I had to make the decision to stop playing it entirely. It wasn’t even all that fun, but sometimes the "Grind" wears your senses down and you forget why you started playing. I’ve been free from my Nexus Wars habit for a few months now. I understand the dangerous addictive lure of the MMORPG genre far too well. I don’t plan on taking up the genre ever again.

Since their last "big game" has finished, my friends asked me to return to the fold. We’re playing on a map created by one of the people my friends introduced to the game who studies game design. We’ve formed up teams for another epic game that just kicked of a few days ago. My friends and I were smack talking back an forth on Instant Messaging clients like rival sports teams. I’m in the middle of the fray, claiming victory for my team as always.

It’s awesome to feel included into something that brings back that feeling of college and friendly competition. Also, getting my friends involved in something together gives us more to talk about as well as keeps our conversations moving forward. I also like giving help to friends learning the game. Some of my friends have gone from novices to something approaching a "gamer". Seeing enthusiasm wear off on someone is good for me. It reminds me why this is my group of friends.