I mentioned before that Jazz Jackrabbit 2 was my first experience with an online community. That being said, I was without a keyboard. My interactions were limited to kicking people around. While I never became part of a community in Warcraft II, it was the first access I had to a keyboard in an online game.
I had a hot and fresh new name: Luke_99. After seeing Star Wars for the first time that year, 1999, it seemed fitting. I was nine years old, so obviously my parents told me not to reveal my age online. Instead of remain silent, I lied that I was 15.
This continued in a five-year lie across Warcraft II, Starcraft, Diablo and Phantasy Star Online. I was “15” to most people, but occasionally I would say otherwise. This became a problem when I became part of a community that had longer relationships than just a single game session. Two friends of mine found they had conflicting information and confronted me.
In the end, it didn’t really matter. It’s not like being 15 makes you a mature adult either. At one point, my dad told me it would have be better just to say my actual age so people could tone down their language. Knowing what I know now about people online, I highly doubt that would have happened.
(Header Image Source: MobyGames)
