[SnowTroll]

I've thought about this but can't quite finger what it is that really draws me to a good game. I think mostly it's about my first day playing. I've made the most awesome characters in the world, full of personality and story, with just the perfect niche and role for a mud, and simply put, had no fun whatsoever. I've also made fairly plain characters, just planning on winging it and trying a mud out, and had an absolute blast with how the character's personality and life turned out, completely surprising myself. It all turns on who I bump into that first day and how those interactions go.

That second paragraph of your post is really pretty exemplary of what I'm into. It sounds like you had a fun day, ran into various types of people, got to decide how your character reacted, and made a place for yourself. That day could have been different if you'd run into worse people, had worse interactions, less fun, or not met as many people. I guess you could say my favorite thing isn't creation of a cool character, per se, but the very next step. Seeing whether my creation takes root. That's even more interesting to me than how it grows thereafter. Taking root is the fun part for me.