In the case of Tabula Rasa players, they don't have much of a choice about starting a new game, but when asked if they would keep in touch with the pals they met while playing TR, many of them were indifferent. Maybe it's just the fact that Tabula Rasa hasn't had long enough to get its players truly hooked like WoW and Final Fantasy have, or maybe it's as simple as this; we're all different, some of us get attached to things quickly, others never do.

But is community really that indifferent, or is it the rigamarole of starting all over again?

Hart, perhaps, is a little burned out. “I'm not sure,” he responds, candidly. “Not only is the idea of starting over from level one discouraging, but I can't imagine logging in and not having my shell there with their capslocked greetings. I'd probably go back to playing games that fit more easily into my lifestyle and try to get some mates to come along.”

Kristian “Krispy” Brown, webmaster for the huge Lord of the Rings online fansite The Madhouse Tavern has a different take.

“I would try to do something to help stop the ending of the game,” he says. “If that meant helping support community run servers – well, as a web developer with dedicated servers of my own, I would be able to help contribute to them. But my life doesn't begin and end with LotRO – I'm already gearing up to help beta the new space MMO, Jumpgate Evolution.”

Of course, this is only half of the story. While they all have their unique points, WoW, LotRO, FFXI, and many others are all – somewhat scathingly – known as DIKU MMOs.

The precursor to the modern MMO was the MUD, or Multi-User Dungeon; text-based online games. MUDs still run today, and as with everything free, there's a lot of variety. One of the most popular types of MUD was called DIKU, and while there were variants in setting, and different classes and options depending on what the admins had coded in, they were fundamentally somewhat similar to a lot of those MMOs. Play one today, and you'll see a lot of similarities.

So what of the people who play different MMOs, that don't fit into the DIKU label? Again: the community is key.

The best one to look at, I figured, would be A Tale in the Desert. This MMO revolves around economy, teamwork, and society; it's telling that the game features absolutely no combat whatsoever. There is very little similar in the market, and the emphasis on society – with systems like mentoring for new players, and a need for people skilled in different disciplines, as well as attempts to create a “living” civilization – made it perfect. What would these players do in the event of a shutdown?

Most of the players I spoke to believed that, if ATitD was in trouble, the playerbase would be willing to pay more per month in order to keep it open. Even the ex-players I spoke to stated that they'd be willing to pay for a few months if it meant the game would stay open. Andrew Tepper, designer of ATitD and co-founder of the company that runs it, participates in the game as the “Pharaoh” of the game world, and is a part of the community on the whole because of it. The best way to sum up the overwhelming community feel of ATitD and the sheer importance of other people is to relate one story that I was told when I started poking around.

One player of the game was Otter, who had been playing since before Tale 1 – the first real iteration of the game – was released. She had a big hand in the building of the world and the decorating, and was a large part of the community. However, she began to suffer health problems, and before long needed the assistance of a service dog. The problem? They cost $15,000 USD.

So what happened? The community came together. Tepper coded in a pet, an otter, which could be bought for $50 USD in real money. The proceeds from this pet went straight to Otter, the person. How well did this work? $5,700 USD was raised by the end of 2008. Not a bad accomplishment by any measure.

Some like to play online with friends, others prefer to level alone and just group up occasionally. Some people will be put off playing MMOs if their game is shut down, some will dive straight into another one. We're all unique, it's what makes us human.

The loss of character and identity is a  major blow, certainly. The loss of something that's brought you joy and friendships is another. But if those friendships outlast it, then it doesn't matter quite so much whether the death of your MMO is a crushing loss, or a nice break from a lot of responsbility.

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