The joys (and sadness) of nostalgia
I recently came across a great fan-made tribute game to Anarchy Online - a long-standing sci-fi MMORPG that I loved playing in the early 2000s. I sank so many hours into that game, drawn by its immersive setting and unique, customisable builds. While playing AO Survivors, I had a blast revisiting familiar classes and locations, seeing the names of old NPCs and enemies in AO Survivors, and it was a massive nostalgia trip.
Which made me think about the draw of nostalgia in general, and how it added to my love of AO Survivors. AO Survivors brought back a lot of great memories of raiding with friends, of spending time decorating my player apartment and inviting friends over to chat about life. Not to mention the fun of deep dives into character builds, and trying out quirky methods of figuring out how I could put on items many levels above my character.
What this golden glow masks is the reason why I was playing Anarchy Online so much - it wasn't all because it was such a great game for its time. It was also because it was my main source of social contact. I had no friends outside of the game. I was painfully socially awkward, very lonely and found interacting with people difficult - I had no idea I was neurodivergent at the time, so I marked my social failings as yet other examples of my failings as a human. Anarchy Online was a great form of escapism.
Which made me realise how nostalgia can blind people to the nuances and negatives of the time. My mind had filtered the complexities of the time. It reminded me that while those days were fun, I'm also glad to have grown as a person. I wouldn't want to go back.
Bottom line: nostalgia can be enjoyable, if you don't let it trap you.