Why EA killed my favourite developer (and I don’t mean BioWare) – Reader’s Feature

Dark Age Of Camelot is still going but Mythic is not (EA) A reader laments the decline of Dark Age Of Camelot and explains why the closure of Mythic Entertainment wasn’t necessarily EA’s fault. It was interesting to read GC’s article about games companies which EA have closed over the years. The recent closure of BioWare is a real shame, as they have made some fantastic games in the past but sadly nothing comparable recently. The closure that piqued my interest though was Mythic Entertainment. I played Dark Age Of Camelot extensively in the early 2000s, after a friend managed to persuade me to play by sending me the YouTube video below and nagging me to get the game. This was my first MMO and although the video looks very low resolution by today’s standards, the actual game had several graphical updates throughout its lifespan, putting it graphically on a par with the majority of games at the time. For me, the game was the perfect balance of PvE and PvP, with options to play solo, small group or even up to 100+ players for certain encounters. I went through the full range playing this, starting solo on the Prydwen server as an infiltrator (assassin), before starting to play more group-based classes and getting heavily into the PvE side of things by leading the top-end raids in my realm. It was not uncommon for a raid of 60+ to wipe on some of the harder bosses and then our guild would go back as a group of eight and very slowly and carefully continue further into the dungeon, beyond what a huge group could control. Want GTA 6 news? Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for the latest GTA 6 news, reviews of new games you should play and exclusive analysis of the biggest stories of the week. By the end of my time playing it I was in the top PvP guild in the realm (Public Enemies) and we regularly ran a fixed group of eight players each evening. You would spend your time looking for other groups of eight from other realms to fight against in a ‘fair fight’ but would happily find groups of 20 to 30 randoms running together to take on; if anything, these were the easier fights! I’ve not played a game since, that seemed to match the PvP element so well and for me that was the highlight of the four or five years I spent playing Dark Age Of Camelot. Sadly, it died a death when World Of Warcraft was released in 2004, with lots of players moving over immediately upon release. Then more migrated over time, leaving the server populations down and eventually the English servers were merged into one. I think Mythic never really recovered from this, so it was not a real surprise to hear that EA had closed them down. I tried to stick with Dark Age Of Camelot but had to give it up when there were no regular players. I did manage to sell my account on eBay, despite the risk as it was technically against the T&Cs. It turns out an account with a realm rank 11 infiltrator/sorcerer/paladin plus multiple other characters across several servers was apparently still in demand, despite the decline in the game. I did give World Of Warcraft a go, and enjoyed the PvE side of things, less so the PvP, but by that point in my life I did not have the time to commit to playing it to the level I wanted and had to leave it be. It turns out being a student compared to an actual adult with a job and a long-term partner does have a knock-on effect on your gaming life. Even now, the recent news of World Of Warcraft: Forever has got me wanting to play again, but I know it’s just not going to be realistic or sensible to even entertain the idea. By reader Adam W World Of Warcraft killed off many a MMO (EA) The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro. You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk or use our Submit Stuff page and you won’t need to send an email. Arrow MORE: Horror video games will always be scarier than movies - Reader’s Feature Arrow MORE: Why I will always be a Bubsy Bobcat fan – Reader’s Feature Arrow MORE: Motion controls are great and games should use them more - Reader’s Feature GameCentral Get the latest GTA 6 news, reviews of new games you should play and exclusive analysis of the biggest stories of the week.