Tomorrow, March 14, is 's third year materialization date (or birthday). I came here in 2007, which is before the birch Forest, the Halloween stuff, and the Community Site. The support forums say I joined March 15, but that's because I actually debated with myself whether or not I wanted to join another online community. I'm glad I did. (Read more.)

When I first came upon this game, I was glad to see a program that would allow me to run around, explore, and interact at my liesure. Not having goals to accomplish, the lack of chatting, and the beautiful environment made it the perfect place to relax for a little bit. I don't come into the forest as often as I used to due to graduate school, but I still love it. In fact, my training for Human Factors has helped me to appreciate how the design of the game is organized more than ever (but that's for another post).

At first the human faces seemed weird, but I got used to it. I started to develop a backstory for my deer; I like to think that he was made from the dust of the forest floor when the Twin Gods set their intentions upon it. To me, the deer are not only in the forest, but are as much as a part of the forest as leaves are on a tree. The magic that rings through the trees, grass, rocks, and water penetrates the deer because they came from the forest like mushrooms from a log.

This place isn't perfect, though. The Forest itself is made up of deer, but people control them and communicate with one another on the Community Site and support forums. Whatever you believe happens to someone's energy when they pass away, we're mortal beings with little insight and foresight regarding the things of eternity, so we're not perfect. We have arguments like any other community out there, but we always come together to have fun again.

I just wanted to take this time to not only toot my own horn, but also to thank Michael, Auriea, and everyone here for this wonderful interactive experience.