In July 2024, a photo of a Pink Bean-shaped rug was posted in the global MapleStory community. The poster introduced it as something made for their sixth wedding anniversary with their wife. But the rug wasn't the only thing that caught people's attention.
The two said they met in MapleStory 11 years ago, and their first conversation began in the Nett's Pyramid party quest map.
Only the two of them were left in the map waiting for other participants, and that boring wait turned into time spent talking with each other, they said.
What Kind of Game Is MapleStory?
✦ What You Do in MapleStory
In a 2D side-scrolling MMORPG
MapleStory is a 2D side-scrolling MMORPG that began its official service in Korea on April 29, 2003. You move left and right hunting monsters, doing quests, and raising your character with job-specific skills and gear.
It's famous for its cute characters and graphics, but play it for a long time and you end up spending quite a lot of time on boss strategies and gear progression.
That's why many people keep raising the same character for a long time, and the bonds with friends and guilds formed along the way can last just as long.
Of course, MapleStory isn't a party-focused game from start to finish. You spend long stretches hunting and growing alone, and even when you log in together, everyone sometimes just does their own thing.
But play the same game for a long time, run into the same people again and again, and talk each time, and couples like these end up forming.
A Bond That Began in Nett's Pyramid
✦ From Nett's Pyramid to a Wedding Rug
How the bond unfolded over time
The gamer I mentioned earlier said they met their wife in the Nett's Pyramid party quest about 11 years ago. Only the two of them were left in the map back then, and they kept talking while waiting for others.
The poster added that they were on their 'Mihile' alt character and the other person was on their 'Xenon' alt. About a year later they went to meet in person, and in 2024 they showed off the Pink Bean rug made to mark their sixth wedding anniversary.
It's a keepsake that preserved a bond that started in the game as one of Maple's signature characters.
What's worth remembering in this story is that the party quest wasn't some special content made for romance. It was an ordinary moment of waiting for other participants that became the opening for conversation.
And from that first conversation to meeting in real life took about a year. It took plenty of time for an acquaintance made in the game to turn into a real-life meeting.
A Whisper Sent After the Boss Fight
✦ Three Ways a Bond Started
Comparing how they met
Another global MapleStory player wrote in a 2020 post that about nine years earlier, while taking down Zakum with an acquaintance, they got to know a woman.
After the battle ended, they sent a whisper first asking to be friends, and afterward they hunted together, talked over voice calls, and traded videos and various links about shared interests.
As the conversations piled up, they confirmed they liked each other and started a long-distance relationship.
The two lived far apart on the East and West Coasts of the US, but about a year later they began living together, and at the time of posting they said they had kept the relationship going for more than 8 years and were raising two kids.
The starting point of this bond was less the boss fight itself than what came after the battle. The chance to play together could have vanished once the boss was over, but the whisper they sent first led to the next play session and conversation.
In June 2024, another global MapleStory player posted news of their marriage to the community. The two started the game around 2006 and played together from time to time, and after many years they got married in real life, they said.
Looking for Someone to Play With? Start with Your World and Guild
✦ Keeping Bonds Going in MapleStory
From your world to your guild
Korean MapleStory also has party quests, a friends list, and a guild system.
Guilds have content that members take part in as a guild, such as the Sharenian Culvert, Flag Race, and weekly missions, and a guild that does these activities steadily gives you reasons to keep meeting the same people.
✦ What to Check When Choosing a Guild
Find one that fits your style
That said, MapleStory isn't a game that always has enough content to play together.
In 2023, a post also appeared in the global community from someone who started the game with their wife, but it felt like a single-player game and they struggled to find things to do together. That's only natural.
Many people also feel tired of playing with others, so the game isn't entirely filled with cooperative play. So to find a bond, you have to actively join cooperative-play content and find the courage to speak first.
✦ Strengths and Limits
Finding bonds in MapleStory
Compared with people who enjoy single-player games, people who enjoy massively multiplayer online games like MMORPGs have a stronger wish to find a bond inside the game. Whether it's a lover or a friend.
So if you start MapleStory, let's find the courage to speak first to people who catch your interest. Maybe the other person has been desperately waiting for someone to talk to them and compliment how pretty and cool their character is.
That's all for this post. See you next time.
Related posts: Guild Wars 2: From Raid Partners to Real-Life Spouses | Sea of Thieves: From Crewmates to Real-Life Couples | Korean MMORPG Legend(?) Lineage Classic Adds Marriage
🌐 Korean version: 메이플스토리에서 만난 두 사람, 파티퀘스트가 현실 부부의 인연이 되기까지
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