City of Heroes Therapy

It's been a rough week. The type of week where I feel too anxious, distracted, and otherwise emotional to find much pleasure in the hobbies that normally fill my free time. I find myself wishing I could play City of Heroes for a couple hours just to take my mind off things. 

City of Heroes (COH) is a superhero based "massively-multiplayer online" (MMO) game. Well, it was until the plug was pulled at the end of November 2012 anyway. In COH you created your own superhero. You got to pick your name, choose your powers, and design your costume. You then got to fly, speed, and leap around Paragon City at a heroic pace. You battled crime and beat back bad guys wherever you found them (which was everywhere). You made and developed "contacts" who gave you the scoop on the bad guy's schemes and directed you on missions to thwart them. It was a great game. 

One of the best parts was that you could team up with like-minded heroes, other players anywhere else in the world, and complete missions. This sense of community is what caused me to become addicted to COH for several years. I moved to Vancouver, Canada back in 2006 where I lived for two years. I didn't have any friends or family nearby and had difficulty getting settled. I had been playing City of Heroes for a couple years before I moved and had joined an active "Supergroup" (think the X-Men or Justice League) named The Watchguard. 

I got to know a few of the Watchguard guys well and we chatted on Skype while we played. It was familiar and social and provided some comfort at a time in my life when I felt lonely. The camaraderie helped quite a bit and there's something to be said about succeeding in missions with your friends, even if the accomplishments are virtual ones. We played close to daily for awhile and then weekly for several years. 

In time I moved again, got married, and had kids - which ended the weekly game nights in a hurry. When I came up for air in the parenting deep end I started some more diverse hobbies. City of Heroes had become free to play so we still got the gang back together here and there. I even played alone for an hour here and there. There's just something therapeutic about defeating bad guys with fire or a giant stone mallet that makes me feel better. I really wish that was an option this week. The game has a special place in my heart and memory and I'm sure I will miss it now and then  for many years to come. 

- Nick

@MrVigabool