I was so excited!  A game I had long awaited, Final Fantasy XI (eleven) was finally out!  Even though it was years ago, in December of 2003 to be exact, I still remember starting that game.  Final Fantasy XI is an MMORPG, which is essentially an online game with open worlds where thousands of players interact simultaneously. This is the game that changed my life tremendously.

I remember begging my dad until he took me to Best Buy to purchase this wonderful game.  The first few days were incredibly frustrating, however, because it took a full three days to install and update the game before I could begin playing.  The details after that are a bit hazy, but I do remember the first thing I said in the area-wide chat when I logged in. “How do I move?”

Of course, the answer was simple: the game’s movement controls were based off of the num pad, not the directional keys. I remember a very kind person giving me some money to start off with and showing me the basics, although I don’t remember his alias now.

Through the years, I learned a great deal not only about gaming, online gaming in particular, but I also learned about life itself. Dozens, maybe even hundreds of friendships were made and lost throughout my time in Vana’diel (the world of Final Fantasy XI), and a few of those friendships are so strong that they still survive to this day.

Needless to say, such exposure to so many different people of different nationalities, ages, and all walks of life helped me to learn about the world, and to mature at a much faster rate than most. Part of my enhanced maturity may have been in and of myself, but I do believe my experiences with the game did help to accelerate my growth.

Some of the most painful experiences I’ve ever had began and ended in Final Fantasy XI. I lost so many close friends due to so many circumstances, I experienced the pain of betrayal and loneliness, I learned about relationships and how to make them strong and hold them together, and most importantly, I learned how to cope with difficult situations.  Once again, part of this growth process may have been, and probably was, due to my own life, but I am still certain that all I went through with my friends in the world of Vana’diel did enhance my own character and maturity.

Another thing Final Fantasy XI taught me was generosity and kindness. I remember back in my first few weeks, or perhaps months, or playing, I was still a new player, my level only in the teens, but I still hung around right around the exit of the starting city and offered my assistance to as many other new players as I possibly could.  This was my main mode of making friends. Even now, although I’ve moved on to other games, I still base parts of my character’s development in Final Fantasy XI, when I do play, around helping people.  The maximum level in the game is 75; I never reached it. There are people who have all eighteen or so professions at the max level, but I spend so much of my time helping people and with friends that I just didn’t make it quite that far.

If all of this seems like a confused mass, let me summarize it in, hopefully, a form that will be easier to understand. Throughout my years of experience with Final Fantasy XI, I grew, mentally and emotionally. I earned the friendships of many people, and lost quite a few as well. This game and the friends I had in it were my aegis in times of dire need, and my outlet as far as my inclination to help those in need goes.  So much time went to helping people, in fact, that I never even managed to reach the utmost heights of the game – I remained in the middle, or upper-middle levels, and spent time with friends, making friends, and helping people.  I know that some people say and will always say things like, “Well, it’s just a game”, but I don’t believe that. Sure, that may be the case for most games, but when it comes to an online game where social interaction between players is a must, then the “game” becomes so much more.  The “game” suddenly becomes real, along with the people in it. It’s no longer simply beating a game, it’s interacting with an entire world of people, all headed toward a common goal.
This is Final Fantasy XI. This is life. This is where my roots took hold, and what caused me to grow, both as a gamer, and as a person.