10 Years Ago Today (July 10th, 2015) Thank You ZOS

ArchMikem · July 10

I'm about to get mushy, you've been warned.

- - -

In the Winter of 2013, my Heart was broken when I lost my first love. Exactly one year later, my Heart was on it's death bed. I was diagnosed with late stage Hodgkin's Lymphoma of the Neck and Chest. When it was finally caught, I had to immediately begin six months of bi-weekly Chemotherapy infusions. I suffered from severe depression and despair. As the months carried on, my Soul only slid further and further into the dark. Some nights were some of the darkest I've ever experienced. The pain, both physical and emotional, was unimaginable, nearly unbearable.

But then, four months into treatments, I walked into a Gamestop.

I was only looking. I didn't have anything particular on my mind, I just liked to explore what was there sometimes. It was that sunny day however, that my eye caught a beige colored case with the words "The Elder Scrolls" on the side. Like many, many others, I had been a TES: Skyrim player, and this was obviously not another copy of Skyrim. Something completely new to me. I picked it up and saw it was an MMO Elder Scrolls. Now, I had absolutely zero past experience playing MMORPGs. I had heard of and seen a little of World of Warcraft, but that was about it. This however was still The Elder Scrolls, a game and universe I had fallen to love, and if it was anything like Skyrim, if it took place in Tamriel, if it contained the same Race I absolutely loved, the Khajiit...why not?

I took that disc home that day, installed it into my Xbox, and my Soul woke up in Coldharbour.

The rest, is History. Ten years of adventuring in the same world nearly non stop. Ten years of creating Characters, losing Characters, making Friends and losing them. Reaching Veteran Level for the first time. Learning how Armor Sets worked. Defeating a Veteran Dungeon Boss for the first time. Crafting my very first set of Julianos gear in newly released Wrothgar. So many firsts. And the most important achievement I made using this game? Beating Cancer for the first time. I had been suffering the darkest days of my Life before I found ESO, and when I did it gave me the intrigue, the excitement, the escapism that harbored me through the rest of my struggle. The characters Dehyesha the Sorcerer, Ka'atali the Nightblade, and Tazrah the Templar saw me through my Nightmare. They were always there for me when I needed their shoulders, always taking me on their adventures, and as I helped them over come their adversities as the Player, they helped me overcome my own. They have always been there for me, and I know they always will be.

I'm thankful for the decision I made to walk into that Gamestop that day. I'm thankful for my girls and their Companionship. And lastly, I'm thankful for the Men and Women at Zenimax Online Studios, for devoting their energy and imaginations into creating the world we all inhabit today. So, finally, thank you ZOS.

Thank you, for helping save my Life.

OutLaw_Nynx · July 10

:’)

Elvenheart · July 10

There are no words. I’ve always enjoyed your posts whether it is a topic we agree about or not, and I’m very glad you are here today helping make Tamriel the wonderful place it is! 🥰

DragonRacer · July 10

Holy tears, Batman.

Yo, paging @ZOS_Kevin for a crew pick-me-up

ArchMikem · July 10

Elvenheart wrote: »

There are no words. I’ve always enjoyed your posts whether it is a topic we agree about or not, and I’m very glad you are here today helping make Tamriel the wonderful place it is! 🥰

I appreciate that! I do sometimes get a little carried away, and made mistakes since I don't exactly have the greatest social skills, but I do like participating in discussion here and there and I'm glad to see I'm not leaving negative impressions with people.

DragonRacer wrote: »

Holy tears, Batman.

I've been planning this post for the last two weeks, and thinking up the words left me in tears once or twice as well. Realizing this game has made up a 1/3rd of my Life was heavy.

Elvenheart · July 10

ArchMikem wrote: »

Elvenheart wrote: »

There are no words. I’ve always enjoyed your posts whether it is a topic we agree about or not, and I’m very glad you are here today helping make Tamriel the wonderful place it is! 🥰

I appreciate that! I do sometimes get a little carried away, and made mistakes since I don't exactly have the greatest social skills, but I do like participating in discussion here and there and I'm glad to see I'm not leaving negative impressions with people.

DragonRacer wrote: »

Holy tears, Batman.

I've been planning this post for the last two weeks, and thinking up the words left me in tears once or twice as well. Realizing this game has made up a 1/3rd of my Life was heavy.

I wish I had your talent as a graphic artist, I would love to be able to do a picture of all my characters together like that!

ArchMikem · July 11

Elvenheart wrote: »

I wish I had your talent as a graphic artist, I would love to be able to do a picture of all my characters together like that!

It's mostly just photo editing. I take screenshots of my characters in the character log-in menu, open the images into Gimp (I don't use Photoshop) and use the Lasso Select tool, tracing the outlines of their bodies so I can select just the character, copy, then I open a new file with a transparent background and paste, then saving the portrait as a PNG file so it keeps the transparency. Once I've done that for all of them I create a new image in Gimp with a transparent background and the dimensions of my Monitor (to make it a Wallpaper) and then bring each character portrait in as a new Layer. That way I can move each of them around the image separately. I also create another Layer just for the background so I can fill with color or effects without altering the characters. When everything looks good I then export as a .PNG file for the final picture. I've spent many years playing around with Gimp to get a slight grasp of all this.

katanagirl1 · July 11

Congrats on beating cancer. That is never easy, but ten years ago it was harder to beat.

OutLaw_Nynx · July 11

ArchMikem wrote: »

Elvenheart wrote: »

I wish I had your talent as a graphic artist, I would love to be able to do a picture of all my characters together like that!

It's mostly just photo editing. I take screenshots of my characters in the character log-in menu, open the images into Gimp (I don't use Photoshop) and use the Lasso Select tool, tracing the outlines of their bodies so I can select just the character, copy, then I open a new file with a transparent background and paste, then saving the portrait as a PNG file so it keeps the transparency. Once I've done that for all of them I create a new image in Gimp with a transparent background and the dimensions of my Monitor (to make it a Wallpaper) and then bring each character portrait in as a new Layer. That way I can move each of them around the image separately. I also create another Layer just for the background so I can fill with color or effects without altering the characters. When everything looks good I then export as a .PNG file for the final picture. I've spent many years playing around with Gimp to get a slight grasp of all this.

I didn’t even notice the banner behind them at first! I love that.

karthrag_inak · July 11

ArchMikem wrote: »

I'm about to get mushy, you've been warned.

--sniff--
khajiit wishes you were on PCNA, he'd want to be your friend

AzuraFan · July 11

ArchMikem wrote: »

I'm thankful for the decision I made to walk into that Gamestop that day. I'm thankful for my girls and their Companionship. And lastly, I'm thankful for the Men and Women at Zenimax Online Studios, for devoting their energy and imaginations into

Thank you, for helping save my Life.

That's awesome! Glad things worked out for you and your girls saw you through. Wishing you many further adventures in Tamriel (and beyond!).

ArchMikem · July 11

katanagirl1 wrote: »

Congrats on beating cancer. That is never easy, but ten years ago it was harder to beat.

I guess you could say i got lucky. My Oncologist told me, if you're going to get Cancer, mine is the best one, as its the most easily "curable". Even still, 12 Chemotherapy doses and then another four weeks of daily Radiation to the chest doesn't come without a toll.

Then again, I received good news today. My recent imaging and EKG's show my Heart as completely healthy, save for a minor Heart flutter.

moderatelyfatman · July 11

Stay strong and take care, brother.

Attorneyatlawl · July 11

ArchMikem wrote: »

katanagirl1 wrote: »

Congrats on beating cancer. That is never easy, but ten years ago it was harder to beat.

I guess you could say i got lucky. My Oncologist told me, if you're going to get Cancer, mine is the best one, as its the most easily "curable". Even still, 12 Chemotherapy doses and then another four weeks of daily Radiation to the chest doesn't come without a toll.

Then again, I received good news today. My recent imaging and EKG's show my Heart as completely healthy, save for a minor Heart flutter.

Glad to hear the good news! Cancer is awful

.

katanagirl1 · July 11

ArchMikem wrote: »

katanagirl1 wrote: »

Congrats on beating cancer. That is never easy, but ten years ago it was harder to beat.

I guess you could say i got lucky. My Oncologist told me, if you're going to get Cancer, mine is the best one, as its the most easily "curable". Even still, 12 Chemotherapy doses and then another four weeks of daily Radiation to the chest doesn't come without a toll.

Then again, I received good news today. My recent imaging and EKG's show my Heart as completely healthy, save for a minor Heart flutter.

We forget how precious life is sometimes until things like this come along.

Don’t put off those screenings you all should be getting when you get older. My hubby never went to the doctor but gave himself a hernia working in the yard years ago. Had to get a full physical since it had been more than ten years since he saw the doctor, got a blood test and found out he had early stage prostrate cancer. That hernia saved his life.

ArchMikem · July 13

katanagirl1 wrote: »

ArchMikem wrote: »

katanagirl1 wrote: »

Congrats on beating cancer. That is never easy, but ten years ago it was harder to beat.

I guess you could say i got lucky. My Oncologist told me, if you're going to get Cancer, mine is the best one, as its the most easily "curable". Even still, 12 Chemotherapy doses and then another four weeks of daily Radiation to the chest doesn't come without a toll.

Then again, I received good news today. My recent imaging and EKG's show my Heart as completely healthy, save for a minor Heart flutter.

We forget how precious life is sometimes until things like this come along.

Don’t put off those screenings you all should be getting when you get older. My hubby never went to the doctor but gave himself a hernia working in the yard years ago. Had to get a full physical since it had been more than ten years since he saw the doctor, got a blood test and found out he had early stage prostrate cancer. That hernia saved his life.

Oh, believe me. The last time I had a seemingly benign symptom be brushed off, it was the Cancer. It's turned me into a bit of a Hypochondriac, but at least nothing's going to sneak in on me again.

Cooperharley · July 13

Man this is just so cool. I love stuff like this. This is truly powerful and heart warming. So happy for you man! Cheers to you and to many more years of happiness, in and out of Tamriel!

Radiate77 · July 13

Earlier this year our little khajiit, Khenarthi had a cyst on her upper leg break and we found a tumor underneath, after months of trying different strategies to help her, from multiple removals, to chemo, to an experimental injection, we eventually had to settle on an amputation. (The spoiler on the 2nd image is for it being a sensitive image)

Those were some of the hardest times we’ve ever dealt with, I can only imagine what it must have been like being the one actually fighting cancer.

Just know that you’re a shining example of what it means to be a soldier. That you fought it and won, just like our Khenarthi and I have all of the respect in the world for you and what you survived.

spartaxoxo · July 13

Thank you for sharing. I must admit that I got a bit misty eyed. I think it's a wonderful thing that you beat cancer and I'm glad you're here. You may not think it but you are a person on the forums who's posts I do enjoy even if we don't always agree. One of the things I have always really loved about this game is how accessibility friendly that it is. I know and have known people with various health issues far more severe than mine (although I'm not a beacon of health either) and this game truly is a wonderful escape from all that. I think it's a beautiful thing just how many groups ESO is able to cater towards. I would never want that to change.

I'm glad you found this game and I am glad that you're still with us. Take care. And may bright moons shine upon you.

Katahdin · July 13

I feel this post as I am facing knee replacement surgery probably in December and suspect Im going to spend a lot of the first 2 weeks to a month (or more as Im not sure how recovery will go) in my games, including ESO just to stay sane..

I am glad that it helped keep you going and fighting the fight every day to get better

.

Radiate77 · July 13

Katahdin wrote: »

I feel this post as I am facing knee replacement surgery probably in December and suspect Im going to spend a lot of the first 2 weeks to a month (or more as Im not sure how recovery will go) in my games, including ESO just to stay sane..

I am glad that it helped keep you going and fighting the fight every day to get better

.

Good luck, hope it works out!
When that time comes, if you need help with anything feel free to reach out, I’ll make time.

ArchMikem · July 14

spartaxoxo wrote: »

Thank you for sharing. I must admit that I got a bit misty eyed. I think it's a wonderful thing that you beat cancer and I'm glad you're here. You may not think it but you are a person on the forums who's posts I do enjoy even if we don't always agree.

I hope the weight of this is felt when I say, that's one of the nicest things anyone's said to me in years.

Elvenheart wrote: »

There are no words. I’ve always enjoyed your posts whether it is a topic we agree about or not, and I’m very glad you are here today helping make Tamriel the wonderful place it is! 🥰

You too.

I am glad I can have a place here. It always tears at me whenever I mistakenly say something that ends up risking my forum account. I want to participate but I'm fighting my horrible social skills with every post. It's why I'm such a quiet person outside the screen.

Radiate77 wrote: »

Earlier this year our little khajiit, Khenarthi had a cyst on her upper leg break and we found a tumor underneath, after months of trying different strategies to help her, from multiple removals, to chemo, to an experimental injection, we eventually had to settle on an amputation. (The spoiler on the 2nd image is for it being a sensitive image)

Those were some of the hardest times we’ve ever dealt with, I can only imagine what it must have been like being the one actually fighting cancer.

Just know that you’re a shining example of what it means to be a soldier. That you fought it and won, just like our Khenarthi and I have all of the respect in the world for you and what you survived.

Even with the loss of a limb Animals show so much more strength and resilience than any Human ever could, it's incredible. A local Computer Repair Tech down the street from me has a three legged Dog, and every time I'm there it's like they see no problem with their life. I'm sure little Khenarthi will return to sleek, five clawed living just as easily.

Carcamongus · July 14

Posts like these are one thing that keep me playing the game, because it's nice to be part of something in which badasses like OP take part. And not just him, but others who posted in this discussion as well. Congrats on beating cancer while beating Molag Bal; that should be a separate achievement.

I've had the privilege of bumping into some fine people from here in-game and hopefully once day cross-platforming will allow me to bump into some more.

ZOS_Finn · July 15

Thank you for the story and being a part of the community. This really brings to light the joys of being a game dev.

ZOS_Kevin · July 15

@ArchMikem Thanks so much for sharing your story! Glad you've enjoyed Tamriel for the last 10 years and look forward to many more. Stories like yours always make the work worth it!

ArchMikem · July 15

ZOS_Finn wrote: »

Thank you for the story and being a part of the community. This really brings to light the joys of being a game dev.

Thank you for being a major part of the one game that has taken up the biggest chunk of my life!

Even though Group Dungeons haven't always been one of the major aspects of why I play, you should still know that I think Falkreath Hold, Moongrave Fane, Graven Deep, and Lep Seclusa are some of your best work.