Dragon Age: Origins - The longest journey

This is a tale of two friends, Dragon Age: Origins and a journey spanning over half a decade.

On March 5, 2010, two friends met to play Dragon Age: Origins for the first time. They had struck a deal with their significant others to care for their offspring, while they spent the weekend gaming, reliving the marathon sessions from their youth.

The sun was shining, the air was crisp and the birds where singing as they blocked all that out and took their first steps in Ferelden. They watched the Warden to be kill her first darkspawn, complete the Joining and embark upon a grand quest to stop the Blight. But even a full weekend was not enough to complete that journey. Indeed, they only came as far as Redcliffe. Sidequest upon sidequest, random encounters with engaging dialogue and endless fields of elfroot ripe for picking.

In the coming months the two friends would meet and continue their journey. Sometimes alone, and sometimes after family events, when everyone else had fallen asleep, they would sit together in the dark. Hulking over the screen, a faint gloom in their faces, they would whisper tactics, loot corpses and venture further through Ferelden.

As time past and more offspring where spawned, the meetings between the two friends became more sparse. The family events which used to end in adventure now ended with four parents falling asleep in couches, one after the other. Eventually, their journey stopped completely. Warden, companions and Darkspawn alike, halted in their tracks. The Warden became but a whisper in their memory.

The earth passed the sun twice untill, on a joyous annual night of sinful cardplay, the two friends decided to yet again continue their journey through Ferelden. They found the world frozen in place just as they left it, the mute Warden still as eager to slay Darkspawn and Alistair equally annoying. To aid them in their endeavour they would use modern technology and livestream from one friend to the other. Alas, their technology was not modern enough and they had to take a different route. Commented gameplay was recorded and uploaded, links where sent and watched during daily commutes. The solution worked surprisingly well and once again the Warden soared through Ferelden in her quest to end the Blight.

Before long they reached the Final Battle. The two friends decided this last part had to be played together. And so in a single sitting spanning seven hours, they sat again shoulder to shoulder, hulking over the screen in the dark. Whispering tactics and picking up loot they would never have any use for they watched their Warden triumph and finally end the Blight.

Thus ended this particular journey through Ferelden. On April 3, 2015, me and my friend completed Dragon Age: Origins. Five years and four weeks after we first started.

 

Bravissimo!

 

I enjoyed that, thank you.

Brought back memories of my own gaming sessions with my best friend/roommate back in the day. I'd come home from work, he'd have finished his studies for the day, we'd get a good few hours in.

A few years later, we pick up our machines and start another quick game of Command & Conquer, just like in the old days, as if a few years hadn't even passed (after the wives are asleep, of course).

Some people look down on gamers as if we're wasting our time - they just don't understand that two friends playing a game together is no different than going out and playing a tennis match together. The game is simply a way like any other to spend some quality time with a good friend.

So once again, good write-up!