Sixteen years ago, the MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game) World of Warcraft WoW-ed (pun intended) the world with its gorgeous graphics, breathtaking landscapes, and engaging storytelling. My dad was immediately drawn to it. He’s always been a gamer, and much of my childhood was filled with watching my dad play different games (Everquest, Diablo II, Anarchy Online, etc.).
I was infatuated with the story lines and different quests throughout the games. Mom would tell me stories of times she would see Dad holding me in the crook of his arm and playing a computer game with the other. My parents knew I was going to be a gamer when we were on a trip to Kansas to visit family, and the whole way there I hummed the Everquest theme. They thought it was the cutest thing ever until it lasted over EIGHT hours.
In 2007, my dad created a guild called Clan Darkfire in hopes that someday his children would join and play along with him. He waited and watched as his children drifted in and out of the game. Sometimes, we would go years without playing only to come back and play for a little bit, and then we would move on to another game.
In 2020, Dad is proud to announce that the guild has over ten players that are active within including my brother, sister, mother, husband, one of my best friends, my sister’s boyfriend, and me. Tonight, we played seven hours together, running in and out of dungeons and completing quests. There was lots of laughter and screaming throughout those seven hours. I felt our bond as a family (and guild) grow stronger.
Even right now, we’re still playing by ourselves, but talking with the others. It’s a wonderful feeling to be close together even though we’re an hour apart. Families who game together stay together, and I never want it to change.
B.R. Fairchild 