My first MMO character #2: Joshua Wolens

A triple image showing a character from Old School Runescape, World of Warcraft, and Toontown. — (Image credit: Jagex, Blizzard, Disney)

My first MMO character was...

Karokan, Half-elf Something

Born: 1999

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Game: EverQuest

Karokan's is a simple tale. When I was six years old, I saw my dad having a good time in a then-new release called EverQuest. Obviously, I wanted in on that, and badgered pops into helping me make a character.

My dad played a gnome magician, but I was revulsed by the idea of being as short in the game as I then was in real life. Also, magicianry sounded complicated. I settled on a half-elf whose class I no longer remember, and came up with a basically random series of syllables to serve as a name.

And then! I went nowhere. I was terrified. I wasn't so much scared of dying (though I was a bit scared of dying) but of getting lost. EverQuest felt impossibly vast, and I knew for sure that the second I stepped out of Freeport I'd never be able to find my way back. So I spent Karokan's life just outside the city gates, fighting orcs and rats, and never venturing further. It was a simple life, but a happy one.

(Read the full article here)

One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he's been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War.

With contributions from

Harvey Randall Staff Writer