Gastro
Notorious Pirate
The long-awaited story of my (POTCO) life has finally begun! Now, take a seat and enjoy the first chapter's n00bery and the story of my attraction to the game.
Chapter 1: The Commercial That Changed It All
I was only 10 at the time. I had no idea I was about to find my most played MMORPG of all time. I had been lying on the couch with remote controller in hand, trying to get to Cartoon Network from the news channel. All of a sudden, one channel away, I paused for a second. I was watching a man look at a skeletal figure with a telescope. Suddenly, the skeletal figure got up close to the man, who, to my delight, was revealed as Jack Sparrow! I had been listening to the commercial's advertising for a long time, but what really sold me was the promise of a true Pirates of the Caribbean adventure, as I had been a long-time fan of the films.
I quickly ran to my mom's room and tugged on her arm. "Mom, mom, can I use your e-mail address to sign up for a game?" My mom just looked at me for a second with that look, Don't you play enough games already? She groaned and said, "What is the game called?" Of course, with my little boy mind, I expected her to be impressed that it was a game based on a good film. "Pirates of the Caribbean Online!" My mom must have seen that I really wanted to play the game, so she groaned one more time and said, "Let's go." She walked to my room with me, which is where the family computer is located. (Of course, now that I built it, it also contains my gaming computer.)
We went to the advertised site, piratesonline.com, and clicked "Play Now." It didn't take long for us to sign up and before I knew it, we had received the verification e-mail and I was playing in my browser. I clicked "Create A Pirate" and I was immediately greeted by the face of Jack Sparrow. "Aren't you a sight? You look how I feel, mate. Here, pull yourself together." And, just like that, I was creating my main pirate that you all know as:
Gastro.
I don't know why I chose the name, honestly. I chose the first thing that came to my mind, and for whatever reason, the word "gastrointestinal" was that word. Of course, I cut "intestinal" just because it sounded weirder than I wanted my name. That, and there was the very likely chance that Disney would reject it.
Believe it or not, Gastro wasn't always a blonde. In fact, when he started out, I made him a brown-haired pirate with tied back hair. The only rags he carried around were his basic pirate clothes and a rusty cutlass. Far from my would-be modern pirate with blonde hair, an adventure coat, an ostrich hat, black clothes, and my trusty Barrucuda Blade.
When I first went outside the Rambleshack jail, I was confused on where to go. My first instinct was the Old Warehouse that, ironically enough, was where I was supposed to go. However, me being a n00b, I didn't know to press Shift to enter even though the game was telling me to. When I finally got my act together, I was excited to see William Turner, another one of my favorite characters. I took to the new sword-fighting technique quickly, as it seemed to be easy to me (and it was).
When I left the warehouse with my new rusty cutlass and Sweep skill, I was (please don't laugh
) afraid of the skeletons that greeted me right outside. Then, I remembered: I had a cutlass. A rusty one, but who care? If it got the job done, it didn't matter one bit. I took it out and eliminated my fear by striking my enemies with it. The combos I had been taught worked wonders on the skeletons and I didn't miss or mistime one single blow. I quickly ran to the sight of the first ship I would be riding on, and waited for the game to take me on it.
When old Beck greeted me, I was relieved to be away from the threat of those skeletons. That didn't last, however, as Jolly Roger's at the time imposing and scary ship, approached us. I still remember the scream that intimidated me: "SPARROW!!!" As the skeletons climbed on board, I was scared. Would I have to face this seemingly powerful monster and his minions at the same time? Thankfully, that wasn't the case as he not-so-mercifully "spared" me. "Said I'LL be letting ye live...but the sharks may not be so charitable."
As I watched my pirate swim frantically away from the threat, I remember seeing the first ship that I had admired be sunk. "What are ye waiting for? SINK HER! NOW!!" I remember the red and black flashes of the Firebrand cannonballs being shot at the ship I thought I was safe on. When I saw the loading screen, I wondered to myself: "Is this the end of the beginning?" I would soon find out that this is not the end of the beginning. It is merely the beginning of the beginning.
Chapter 1: The Commercial That Changed It All
I was only 10 at the time. I had no idea I was about to find my most played MMORPG of all time. I had been lying on the couch with remote controller in hand, trying to get to Cartoon Network from the news channel. All of a sudden, one channel away, I paused for a second. I was watching a man look at a skeletal figure with a telescope. Suddenly, the skeletal figure got up close to the man, who, to my delight, was revealed as Jack Sparrow! I had been listening to the commercial's advertising for a long time, but what really sold me was the promise of a true Pirates of the Caribbean adventure, as I had been a long-time fan of the films.
I quickly ran to my mom's room and tugged on her arm. "Mom, mom, can I use your e-mail address to sign up for a game?" My mom just looked at me for a second with that look, Don't you play enough games already? She groaned and said, "What is the game called?" Of course, with my little boy mind, I expected her to be impressed that it was a game based on a good film. "Pirates of the Caribbean Online!" My mom must have seen that I really wanted to play the game, so she groaned one more time and said, "Let's go." She walked to my room with me, which is where the family computer is located. (Of course, now that I built it, it also contains my gaming computer.)
We went to the advertised site, piratesonline.com, and clicked "Play Now." It didn't take long for us to sign up and before I knew it, we had received the verification e-mail and I was playing in my browser. I clicked "Create A Pirate" and I was immediately greeted by the face of Jack Sparrow. "Aren't you a sight? You look how I feel, mate. Here, pull yourself together." And, just like that, I was creating my main pirate that you all know as:
Gastro.
I don't know why I chose the name, honestly. I chose the first thing that came to my mind, and for whatever reason, the word "gastrointestinal" was that word. Of course, I cut "intestinal" just because it sounded weirder than I wanted my name. That, and there was the very likely chance that Disney would reject it.
Believe it or not, Gastro wasn't always a blonde. In fact, when he started out, I made him a brown-haired pirate with tied back hair. The only rags he carried around were his basic pirate clothes and a rusty cutlass. Far from my would-be modern pirate with blonde hair, an adventure coat, an ostrich hat, black clothes, and my trusty Barrucuda Blade.
When I first went outside the Rambleshack jail, I was confused on where to go. My first instinct was the Old Warehouse that, ironically enough, was where I was supposed to go. However, me being a n00b, I didn't know to press Shift to enter even though the game was telling me to. When I finally got my act together, I was excited to see William Turner, another one of my favorite characters. I took to the new sword-fighting technique quickly, as it seemed to be easy to me (and it was).
When I left the warehouse with my new rusty cutlass and Sweep skill, I was (please don't laugh
) afraid of the skeletons that greeted me right outside. Then, I remembered: I had a cutlass. A rusty one, but who care? If it got the job done, it didn't matter one bit. I took it out and eliminated my fear by striking my enemies with it. The combos I had been taught worked wonders on the skeletons and I didn't miss or mistime one single blow. I quickly ran to the sight of the first ship I would be riding on, and waited for the game to take me on it.When old Beck greeted me, I was relieved to be away from the threat of those skeletons. That didn't last, however, as Jolly Roger's at the time imposing and scary ship, approached us. I still remember the scream that intimidated me: "SPARROW!!!" As the skeletons climbed on board, I was scared. Would I have to face this seemingly powerful monster and his minions at the same time? Thankfully, that wasn't the case as he not-so-mercifully "spared" me. "Said I'LL be letting ye live...but the sharks may not be so charitable."
As I watched my pirate swim frantically away from the threat, I remember seeing the first ship that I had admired be sunk. "What are ye waiting for? SINK HER! NOW!!" I remember the red and black flashes of the Firebrand cannonballs being shot at the ship I thought I was safe on. When I saw the loading screen, I wondered to myself: "Is this the end of the beginning?" I would soon find out that this is not the end of the beginning. It is merely the beginning of the beginning.
Chapter 2 should be up this weekend!