74-year-old grandfather enjoying the last days of Asheron’s Call after 18 years of playing

An unnamed 74-year-old grandfather emerged on the Internet this week, and he is stealing the hearts of gamers. He has been playing the groundbreaking MMORPG Asheron’s Call for the last eighteen years, but he must soon end his extended campaign.

Why? Because the game will be shuttered at the end of this month.

Asheron’s Call was released in 1999 but a company called Turbine, and it quickly became a fan-favorite on the MMORPG front. It brought real 3D graphics into an online fantasy world, and along with its contemporaries like Everquest, it laid the groundwork for what would become big money ventures like World of Warcraft, EVE Online, and Final Fantasy XIV Online.

Turbine never expected the game to last this long, and it promised to hold out as long as it could to keep servers open for enthusiasts who still play it. However, the time has come to say goodbye, and this gentleman, along with a good many other players, are getting ready to part with their characters and the fantasy world they’ve shared for the last two decades. Turbine announced on Dec. 20, 2016 that the servers would close at the end of January.

The granddaughter who posted the video is asking gamers to recommend new games for her grandfather to move onto, and naturally, I enthusiastically support Final Fantasy XIV Online.

However, the grandfather says “Everything looks like crap compared to this game.” Ouch, indeed. I get where you’re coming from, too.