Empress Justine

Considering my age, I have already gone through a large number of things in life. My resume and job profiles are loaded with previous experience and credentials. I didn’t capitalize on sharing my experiences when I was experiencing them.

I had multiple ideas for projects, goals, hobbies, and content production. I never got around to most of it. When I did make contributions to the online world, it’s been scattered across multiple domains, and it’s admittedly been limited in scope. Here’s a solid example:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/938607-god-of-war-chains-of-olympus/36164633

Back on GameFAQs, I was Dark_Jak47710II. It all began with GameSpot.

I created a GameSpot account in 2005 so that I could download videogame trailers at school, put them onto USB drives, and take them home. I was stuck with dial-up until later in the 2000’s. This was a workaround.

At the time, multiple different videogame websites had been united under CNET. Creating an account for one website automatically created accounts for the connected websites. GameSpot and GameFAQs were part of this united network. The message boards for videogames had even been merged, for GameSpot and GameFAQs. The social boards were kept separate.

I discovered the merged message boards on GameSpot. Through GameSpot, I taught myself how to handle message boards. Everything from creating posts to creating topics. There were some definite growing pains and some mistakes. Web culture was unforgiving in the 2000’s, and a large number of users were active contributors long before me. It was easy for me to look clueless or foolish.

GameSpot was awkward to use, for message board activity. There were a large number of filters built into the system that blocked things like pasted text. There were also glitches, like half of a post disappearing after it was written. GameFAQs didn’t have these issues.

The users of GameFAQs often had a negative view for the users of GameSpot. Ironically, even though GameSpot was a detailed and technically demanding website, the paired GameFAQs accounts were lacking quite a few features. The GameFAQs profile for a GameSpot was merely a blank page that labelled the user as a GameSpot user. The paired GameSpot account for a GameFAQs account had a full range of features.

The negative view of GameSpot users, coupled with the issues with GameSpot and the lack of all features for the paired GameFAQs account, led to a personal decision in which I abandoned my GameSpot account and started a new GameFAQs account. I stopped caring about the content of GameSpot. I was focused on the message boards.

After wising up to message board use, I made attempts to be an active contributor for GameFAQs. Since I’m likely 2e or 3e, which refers to neurodivergence coupled with giftedness and other personal complications, the process was a bit awkward. Self-worth issues, anxiety, and perfectionism kept me from actively contributing in as many ways as I could have contributed.

Despite this, I still made my mark. I knew that the videogame message boards often had leaders. I wanted to be a leader. The main issue is that the message boards were filled with established communities and leadership within those communities. To be a leader, I knew that I needed an opportunity.

The videogame “God of War: Chains of my Olympus” was my opportunity. It was a portable gaming spin-off for the main “God of War” series. Fewer members of the established community migrated to the “Chains of Olympus” board. I was able to lead others, provide information, and basically moderate things. It all came to a head with the FAQ thread that I shared earlier.

The FAQ thread was the “sticky” topic for the message board; it was the topic that was placed at the top of the message board, and it would never expire as long as it maintained its “sticky” status. My FAQ thread ended up being a method to enter the “God of War” veterans community.

I was familiar with the members of the veterans community. They posted on the “Chains of Olympus” board from time to time. A few of them even had words of praise for me.

While I was actively contributing to the “Chains of Olympus” board, I was occasionally perusing the social boards of GameFAQs. One of the “God of War” veterans had posted in one of these boards. Some time later, I recalled seeing this user on a social board, but I couldn’t recall the social board. I did a Google search of their username, to locate the social board. I found something else, instead.

The veterans had appropriated the empty message board for a “Rygar” game. They were using it as a private social board. I made my presence known by making a post in one of their active topics. I explained how I found the private social board. Then I was invited to the veterans community, on the grounds of my FAQ thread on the “Chains of Olympus” board.

This all happened near the tail end of my active period of message board activity. My message board activity gradually declined, so I didn’t make much use of my status as a member of the “God of War” veterans community. My online activity was distilled into posting comments on places like YouTube.

GameFAQs is a shell of its former self. Due to some incredibly stressful periods of my life, I completely abandoned GameFAQs for several years. When I finally revisited GameFAQs, it was after it had declined.

Time moves on, but memories remain.