My first MMO character #2: Joshua Wolens
Joshua Wolens shares his first MMO experience in this personal retrospective about his early days in EverQuest. At just six years old, Wolens was captivated by watching his father play the then-newly released MMO, where his dad commanded a gnome magician. Eager to join the fun, Wolens convinced his father to help him create his own character.
Rather than follow his father’s example, Wolens chose to play as a half-elf—a deliberate choice rooted in childhood experience. He was reluctant to recreate his real-life stature in the game, preferring not to play a short character. For his character’s class, he selected an option he no longer recalls, and settled on the name Karokan, essentially a random collection of syllables.
However, Wolens’ entry into EverQuest was not without trepidation. He felt terrified by the game, though his fear wasn’t primarily about in-game death. Rather, he was deeply anxious about becoming lost in EverQuest’s expansive world. This piece is part of a series exploring players’ foundational MMO memories and their formative gaming experiences from the genre’s early days.