In 2008 I arrived on Calypso with ten dollars and a name that did not require much imagination: Totoian Toto Eleodor. Naming an avatar after myself at least saved me from spending my first evening arguing with a character creation screen. The interesting decisions could begin outside.
My friend Alex AmokRa Sin introduced me to Entropia and became my mentor. Two or three other friends from my town played too, including Kito and Nadia. We sometimes hunted together, which meant this enormous alien world already had a few familiar faces. I mostly followed the mining path, enjoying each skill gain and discovery. As I remember it, that first deposit lasted almost two years. I was in no hurry; Calypso was not going anywhere.
A different sort of discovery
Then real life became rather busy. Between the family business and falling in love with the woman who would become my wife, I had less time for probes. I chipped out skills and gave them to Alex. Prospecting, Surveying and Ground Assessment are the three I remember clearly. It felt right to leave something with the friend who had helped me begin.
After we married in 2012, my wife and I created Miss Izabel Shift on Arkadia. We treated her rather like a virtual child, although most children probably have fewer Carabok on their daily schedule.
Small creatures, enormous ambitions
I took progression seriously. Carabok, Gallard, Monura, Arkadian Hornet and Halix challenges kept me busy; possibly Oro too, though that memory is less certain. I think I hunted more than 100,000 puny creatures altogether. They were small. My enthusiasm apparently was not.
Larger creatures, occasional mining and Oratan Prospector dailies filled out those roughly three years. I remember qualifying for a Dropship assigned to Victorious Firebase. The surviving profile still names Oratan Prospector as my favourite creature, which seems a fair summary of where much of my time went.
The photograph is a later trace of those Arkadian years. The older EntropiaLife record also preserves a Molisk entry from January 2009. Between them are two avatars and a great many ordinary evenings. Those evenings, especially the ones shared with friends, are where this story really begins.