Not long ago I found myself thoroughly addicted to Lord of the Rings Online. It’s a good-looking game with a nice array of character classes, and it offers lengthy, satisfying quests. But the kicker for me was getting to take part in the story.

Having read the books, playing the game was a fun exploration into the various corners of Tolkien’s world. Most importantly, I felt that every time I logged on I was making small steps towards the next dramatic twist in the tale – unlike other MMOs that start to feel terribly pointless when you don’t know if anything is coming next.

Here was a game that I was happy to bust out the credit card for, because it felt like the investment was somehow worthwhile (well, as worthwhile as playing a MMO game can be). In any case, I was playing towards the final chapters of an epic story that I really enjoyed. I had paid for the book, paid for the movies and now here I was paying to play the game, which didn’t seem like a huge stretch.

Well, at some point, real life became too busy for my love affair with Middle-Earth to continue any further, and my Hunter character was put back on the digital shelf (although I’m yet to actually uninstall the game – the issue of game separation anxiety is for a future blog post). Since Lord of the Rings Online, there hasn’t been another MMO that has come close to tempting me to rattle off my credit card number.

The recently released Aion looks rather nice, but there’s that problem of paying to play in a fictional world that’s foreign and unknown. How long until it feels like it’s paying off? What if I don’t like the characters or plot? Does anyone else playing MMOs care about the story?

The end game is going to be a long way off for Lord of the Rings Online, but that’s beside the point. The game still gives you that sense of progression through a familiar story, with plenty nods and winks along the way. It makes you feel confident that your money was well spent, because… well look, there’s Gandalf!

So what makes you feel justified in paying to play your favourite MMO? Or, if you don’t play one, what is it that’s stopping you?