In 2003 after some rocky points IRL, I was looking for a new MMORPG. Space sims caught my eye, they seemed a natural multiplayer extension of the old Elite series I loved so much. I passed on EVE Online because I was leery of an MMO just recently launched. Earth & Beyond had been around longer and had avatars, it seemed the better choice.

Here's my timeline since then:

• August 2003 - Joined Earth & Beyond. Had a lot of fun, brought a score of friends along too, mostly our old group of Quake LAN buddies.
• February 2004 - Met Michelle. We um, dated. Well, not really, we met and had a lot of kinky sex.
• May 2004 - EA announced plans to shut down Earth & Beyond. Most players quit shortly afterwards, including myself.
• May 2004 - Convinced Michelle to join me playing City of Heroes. My pitch: With us living an hour apart, we could spend quality time chatting and killing baddies-- rather than just chatting on MSN. My ploy worked. She was cautious about the Superhero / Sci-Fi cheesy theme, but the character creation system won her over. We continued to have a lot of great sex whenever physically together.
• May 2004 - Michelle visited me while I was stuck in the Hospital with gall stones during an HEU worker's strike, it brought us closer.
• July 2004 - Narrowly escaped a harrowing house fire, which left my home inhabitable for months, during which I couch surfed at the generosity of friends. I played a lot of City of Heroes at this time, joining Michelle, Nelg, Lurch and Nezgar often online.
• December 2004 - Our group of avid gamers migrated again, this time to World of Warcraft. Michelle was very busy in school so the majority of our free time was spent together in-game while we were physically in different places.
• December 2007 - After a long run in WoW, our gaming group decided to take a break from MMORPGs until Age of Conan comes out, temporarily returning to our FPS roots.
• April 2008 - Michelle moved in with me, now we're a happy couple that shares a gaming obsession.
• May 2008 - Age of Conan arrived, our guild migrated again.
• July 2008 - Age of Conan has me frustrated, I broke my rule about playing launch games and it's lacking significant features and content. I'm trying EVE Online on the side, which is ironic since I passed on it 5 years ago to give it time to grow after its launch.

The key point here was in the collapse of Earth & Beyond. If I'd chosen EVE Online instead, I suspect its deep economic and unique PvP experiences could have grabbed me by the balls and never let go. It's likely I would have skipped past City of Heroes, possibly World of Warcraft and Age of Conan as well.

Michelle wouldn't have joined a space sim in 2004, we didn't know each other well and she's not a Sci-Fi fan (you should have seen the faces she made at Auto Assault). Flying around in a bunch of ships probably wouldn't have appealed (or floating in ships, she hated Pirates of the Burning Sea). With MMORPGs in general she was cautious, but City of Heroes' character creation was the hook. Now she enjoys these games as much as I do.

Michelle and I were initially lovers, but we've come together as a couple through these games. That may sound nerdy or cheesy, but I'm a geek through and through.

If I'd become a hardcore EVE player, Michelle and I would have spent a lot less time together sharing gameplay online. I probably wouldn't be living together with her now and who knows if we'd have even stayed together. Damn EVE Online.

4.5 years as a gaming geek couple. Woot! =D