User blog:Gerard Shorehound/Gerard Shorehound

The Beginning
It all started one morning in 2007. I was sitting in my living room watching TV when an advertisement got my attention. It was announcing a new online game: Disneys Pirates of the Carribean Online. I quickly rushed to my computer and made my account as Gerard Shorehound. Little did I know that I had just started a journey on more than a game. It was a legacy that I will never forget...

Life of a Beginner
'''I was still pretty young when I played and didn't know much about the gameplay or anything. I was still having a ton of fun not knowing how to play (that goes to show how much fun the game is). On my first year I probably only got to level 10. I didn't really understand what Unlimited Access was so I didn't know how much more fun the game could get.'''

Game Face On
'''About a year or so later, I got back on POTCO. I was older so I understood the details more. I realized that in order to keep leveling, I needed to purchase unlimitted access. So one day I can remember the excitement of going to CVS Pharmacy. We went in and sure enough there was a 30 day POTCO Membership Card. I bought it and we headed home. I started leveling and discovered new stuff on the game. I realized how fun this game could get!'''

Guilds
I can remember making a few guilds. They were pretty small and not known to many people. Like Wind Blazers, Waves and Ripples. Stuff like that. The only joiners were my real life friends and some low levels that never got online haha. I discovered that i wasn't the best at leading guilds. I was more of the follower type guy, you know... like a soldier. I would join a guild and whatever the GM or Officer wanted me to do, I would get the job done.

Friends
I made many friends along this game. Some of them being my friends from real life and some from the game. My best friends were from the game. I would like to give a shout out to many of my friends: Hector Keelginy, Ned Deckrat, Remy, Paul, and to all of the other awesome friends that i forgot to mention.

Mid Life of My Pirate
I was leveling up alot and I just could'nt get enough of this game. I remember getting my grenade and the excitement I felt. I can remember first hearing about this mythical weapon called the Voodoo Staff. I reached level 30 and I immiedietly I was doing the quest for the Staff. I got my Staff and thought the game couldnt get any more fun! Then they released a whole new system of clothing and weaponry. I was about to explode of excitement. I can remember calling all of my real life friends and telling them to "GET ON RIGHT NOW!" This game just kept getting better and better! When I thought that this game was at it's most exciting point, I met a friend that made this game one of  the best games that I have ever played....

Davy Darkmorgan
Davy Darkmorgan is a friend that I will never forget. He helped me with everything and when I was down he would encourage me to never quit my mission. We did SVS, PVP, looted, did boss fights together, sailed, plundered, You name it. Oh and Paul was another good friend that was involved in all of this. These two guys made my POTCO experience just plain awesome.

The last Year of it all
'''I was leveling up alot and by now I was in my 40's. Me, Davy, and Paul were having a blast on this game and I was really into hunting Legendary swords (basically my hobby). Well one day we found out that Paul had left the game it was just down to me and Davy. We were pretty sad about his leaving. One day I decided to leave to play a few of my other games and then I would come back to play POTCO some more with Davy. It was October 24, 2013 when I attempted my logging on to POTCO. It wasnt working so I went to the POTCO website to find that the game had closed September 19, 2013. I was devestated and felt terrible. I couldn't sleep last night. I felt cheated. I would never see my weapons, clothes, money, ships, and most importantly... I would never see my friends again. I thought to myself, Disney! what on earth are you thinking?! I spent all of that money and time on this game and you threw it away! This morning I woke up and realized something. It wasn't about the money, or about the things I lost... It was about the great experience that i gained from this 6 years. This game has let me have so much fun and I will always remember it. This game will always be in my heart.'''

The Afterlife Of POTCO
'''I found this POTCO wikia site and realized, I can still find all of my friends and we can share the memories and keep in touch. Even though I was level 49 when the game closed... I feel as if this can be my final level. Searching and keeping in touch with my wonderful friends who make POTCO what it is.'''