FATHER'S DAY SPOTLIGHT
June 20th is Father's Day. In the world of Ultima Online, it's difficult to discern who may be a father, midst the myriad of players in the game. Unless, of course, you happen to be a family member of that particular father. With Father's Day coming up, we decided to find out how fathers affect the lives of their families through the world of Ultima Online. We asked you to send us stories about dads and UO and we've picked two of these tales to highlight and celebrate all of the fathers that play UO.
Our first spotlight comes from Bryn ab Owain of the Napa Shard. Bryn's father was far away from home for an extended period of time and Bryn tells us how they used UO to stay in touch.
"My father, Owain ab Arawn, is the head of Clan Owain on Napa. Owain started playing UO during the Beta test; at that time, neither my brothers nor I played UO. After the finish of the Beta, he had to relocate to Arizona for job reasons, while the rest of the family stayed in Utah. For about 6 months one of the ways we kept in touch was through UO.
On one of his trips back to Utah while he was doing contract work in Arizona, he upgraded an old 486 we had been using to a Pentium processor and bought another copy of UO for us. We adventured together on Napa after he went back to Arizona.
Six months later, his job changed from contract status to direct employee for his company and the rest of us moved to Arizona as well. We retained the two UO accounts and my brothers and I still crawl the dungeons together with my Dad. I wouldn't have it any other way!"
- Bryn ab Owain, Napa
Our second story comes from Grimwolf of the Europa Shard. Grimwolf's father has been playing role-playing games for a very long time and their entire family plays together.
"My dad, Trepida, started playing UO in November of 1998. Shortly after that, he got me involved in UO as Grimwolf. Both me and my dad love the game, even my mom plays with her character, Leather. What I would like to say is I think I have the best DAD in the whole world.
My dad is my stepdad but has really been the only father in my life. He not only dedicates his time with me and UO, but he also serves his country as a member of the USAF for almost 14 years. He is very patriotic and has taught me to love and appreciate my country.
He is a great dad because even though he works 70 hours a week, often in harsh weather, and takes care of the family, he still finds time to spend with us in UO.
My dad has been a fan of role-playing games for about 24 years. He even went to the European Game Convention in 1992, winning 2nd place overall. We stay up late at night playing Ultima Online and when we are not playing, we are talking about tactics and strategies. We all love it. My parents own two vendor shops behind the bank in Yew and I am a guard for the shops.
Ultima Online has opened another world for us because we get to learn from and talk to people from different countries.
UO has brought our family closer now that we all have something in common. I get to spend time with my dad doing something we both love and it helps our family connect. I am looking to go to college soon and if I get what I want, I will be a pilot in the USAF and serve my country like my dad does.
Thank you OSI, it's been great and I look forward to playing UO with my kids, errr, when I get some!"
- Grimwolf, Europa
As June 20th approaches, please take a few moments to recognize your father, whether in UO or not. We'd like to thank everyone that sent us a story and we also send a special thanks to all of the fathers that make our lives so special.
