Despite a loyal fanbase and thriving community, however, on 31 August, 2012, NCsoft, without any prior warning - no, really, the development team was working on new content right up until the day of the notice - terminated its entire team at Paragon Studios, at least being decent enough to provide them with severance packages before yanking the carpet out from underneath their faithful, hard-working employees and leaving them jobless. But that's where their decency ends. The company stated that the game would go dark on 30 November, 2012, due to "a realignment of company focus and publishing support." The official announcement can be found here:
A few short hours after the announcement, the game's devoted developers and players began rallying together to save our beloved game; moreover, our close-knit community, because in eight-and-a-half years, City of Heroes has become more than "just a game."
Since the goal of the Save City of Heroes campaign is to remain polite and professional, I am going to refrain from telling you just what I think of NCsoft; moreover, I am going to keep myself in check and not discuss my rather profane opinion of its (expletive omitted) CEO, Mr. Taek-jin Kim. I will, however, tell you this: if City of Heroes does, indeed, go dark on 30 November, 2012, then I am never going to purchase any other product that NCsoft publishes, or has anything to do with, again. No, my friends, my goal is not to complain. Today, I am going to tell you why I, personally, am fighting to save Paragon City.
Since the goal of the Save City of Heroes campaign is to remain polite and professional, I am going to refrain from telling you just what I think of NCsoft; moreover, I am going to keep myself in check and not discuss my rather profane opinion of its (expletive omitted) CEO, Mr. Taek-jin Kim. I will, however, tell you this: if City of Heroes does, indeed, go dark on 30 November, 2012, then I am never going to purchase any other product that NCsoft publishes, or has anything to do with, again. No, my friends, my goal is not to complain. Today, I am going to tell you why I, personally, am fighting to save Paragon City.
City of Heroes may not be where I met my fiancé (we met during our second year of secondary school in its International Club); nonetheless, it is something that is very special to both of us. We each had concepts of D.W. and L.V. before we met. They are names that we have had for a long time now. I, personally, have been L.V. (also V.L, the Italian version of my name) since my childhood in Palermo, Sicilia, Italia, although not in my current form. I used to want to work for SISMI before it became AISE, and when we moved here, I wanted to work for the FBI or CIA, and V.L./L.V. was going to be my secret agent name (LOL); subsequently, it was my pen name, but who knew that the concept would further evolve and I would become what I am today - a Real Life Superhero?
I digress for a moment. D.W. has been around since the pre-beta forum-only days back in 2002-2003; there, he was able to further develop the concept of D.W. in detail, as was I with L.V. when I began playing City of Heroes myself in February 2007. We went from playing together, to writing about D.W. and L.V. together during times when I was hospitalized due to my illness, to playfully mocking one another with CoH-related speak; for example, if we were walking downtown and one of us lagged behind, then the other would holler, "SUPERJUMP!" or, "SUPERSPEED!" depending upon who happened to be lagging, and we'd then proceed to chase each other down the street, running and laughing. Yes, all of these things found a special place in our hearts, but not long after that, we thought, why not fulfill a lifelong dream that we've shared for as long as we can remember: really becoming D.W and L.V. So we did. We took our invented gadgets, formal martial arts training, specialized areas of knowledge, etc., pieced together and donned costumes (we prefer uniforms), and started patrolling our campus during a time when there was a plethora of sex crimes being committed with the goal of preventing them as superheroes. We then decided to take this idea even further: his specific focus was upon drugs and drug houses, mine was upon animal cruelty and puppy mills, and both of us focused upon general crime in the streets. Together, we made a difference in all of these areas. Then something even more special happened: we officially became Real Life Superheroes (RLSH) when we found a community full of people who do exactly what we do. We joined a local team and began making an even bigger difference. We expanded our local crime fighting efforts to include homeless handouts and other charity work, which is largely the mission of the community. We still do it to this day - we always will, no matter what.
It's not just that, though. Yes, optimistically, I patrol my city when I am in peak condition, but as I mentioned before, I struggle with a painful illness. In late 2007, I developed Left-sided Ulcerative Colitis, and in August 2010, I found out that my disease had rapidly progressed and become severe Pancolitis. "You have one pissed off colon," the doctor told me after I had been in the hospital for over one month. No matter how many heavy-duty medications they threw at me and how many of my veins they blew in the process (I had to be poked at least thirty times during that stay), I continued to bleed profusely, and I was reeling in massive pain. I had to receive both a blood transfusion and an iron infusion - this wasn't anything new. I have had both before, both together and separately, and I have needed them several times since then as well. Anyway, it wasn't just me who thought that I was going to lose my life that summer, and let me tell you, it took every ounce of courage and strength that I had to continue fighting, smiling, and telling poop jokes. What really kept me going, however, was that my loving husband-to-be had brought my laptop to me, and when he wasn't able to be by my side at the hospital, he made time to play City of Heroes with me.
This game is where I met special people and forged one-of-a-kind friendships with them. It's where I escaped to when I began my struggles with infertility - living in a world where there are pregnant bellies and strollers everywhere is pure, unadulterated hell when you can't be a part of the exclusive mommy club that is celebrated the world over, and even has a designated day from which you are excluded (talk about adding insult to injury). It really takes your empty arms and makes them feel like the Grand Canyon. Anyway, eight miscarriages and one stillbirth at twenty-three weeks along later, I still rely upon City of Heroes to be able to save a virtual world when I'm not feeling so heroic in real life. It's what I've turned to during times of crisis and loss, but it's also where I have shared unforgettable moments of happiness and joy with my friends when I couldn't be there with them in person.
No, City of Heroes is not just a game, it is a community - a very special, unique community. Before I began doing charity work as a Real Life Superhero, we did things like this in game:
Just look at those numbers - $7.5K raised for charity! I will be so bold as to say that you will not find anything like this anywhere else, and if you, Mr. Taek-jin Kim, do decide to pull the plug on us, then you're not only destroying a game, you're destroying hope for people worldwide.
You're destroying a whole world; it may be a virtual world, but it's one in which real people have forged meaningful friendships, met their spouses, gotten married, celebrated new arrivals, sought support during separations, mourned the loss of friends and loved ones, laughed together, cried together, and for some, such as myself when I'm ill, been able to do that which they are not able to do in real life. I'm not sorry to say, sir, that where I come from, we call that grave injustice.
If your company truly finds it to be in their best interest to let go of this wonderful game, then I (we) humbly ask that you don't destroy the world which we so love; instead, please allow it to continue to expand and thrive in the hands of someone else because, Mr. Kim, believe it or not, some things are more important than money.
Video from massive in-game rally on 8 September, 2012, to save our game.
D.W. and I - lovers and fighters, united together, now and forever. Getting married in costume on a rooftop overlooking the city of Portland, Oregon, Summer 2013. All attendees will also wear costumes, and a fellow RLSH will be marrying us.
No, we're not giving up without a fight, and neither should you. Please visit the links below to take action:
