A Dummie | [SFM] 10 Years of TF2 @ADummie | Uploaded October 2017 | Updated October 2024, 4 hours ago.
Title says it all.

In memory of the Great Dummie, who is in a Siberia Gulag.

Part 1

In case you weren’t aware, TF2 was released on the 10th of October, 2007, alongside Portal and Half Life 2: Episode 2, as part of the Orange Box. As of this writing (19/08/2017) there are currently 248 online HL2:E2 players, 598 online Portal players, and 64905 online TF2 players. For a 10 year old game, TF2 is doing really well.

Think about it. Think of another 10 year old game that receives support. COD 4 is also turning 10 this year, but unlike TF2, its glory days are gone. Gone are the days of Boots on the ground, and came space ninjas ripped out of Titanfall. TF2 is also not in it’s heyday, (That would be 2011-2012, according to reddit), but at least the game is still the same. Right?

Not entirely. TF2 in 2007 is different from TF2 in 2017. Very.

We have hats. We have trading. We have the largest in-game economy in an online game. We have weapons. We have maps. We have custom maps. We had Quickplay. We have a matchmaking system that is shit. We have a competitive mode that is also shit. We have dancing.
A TF2 player from 2007 might look at 2017 TF2 and find that their Windows XP, 512 MB RAM, E6700 Intel supercomputer would have a hard time downloading that 19.8GB monster at 500kb/s. But after he/she’s done, they would probably fail to recognize TF2.

Or would they? Unlike Cod, TF2’s core hasn’t changed. There are still 9 classes, whose roles are still similar, and still have access to anything that was available in 2007. The core gameplay hasn’t changed too much.

This brings me to kitty. On the 21st of October, 2017, kitty0706 would have had died for 1000 days. Imagine we now reincarnate this TF2 veteran. What would he feel about TF2? Kitty died on the 27th of January, 2015, before Gun Mettle, before Invasion, before the trainwreck of Meet Your Match, and before the Pyro Update(Which I presume would be out in September).

Really, even during the 3 years that I have played this game (15/10/2014-Today) I have seen TF2 change, for better or for worse. Imagine a TF2 player who fell into a coma in 2007 and woke up today.

All in all, TF2 has changed a lot, and this is both a good thing and a bad thing.

Part 2

Why did we start playing TF2?

Because it was F2P and I wanted to try it out.

Because all my friends were playing it and if I didn’t, they’d leave me in the Fritzl basement.

Because I wanted to buy HL2:E2 and bought the Orange Box.

Because I was hyped for it since 1999.

Many many reasons.

Harder question. Why did we stick with TF2?

Because it’s core gameplay was interesting.

Because it was a lot of dumb fucking fun.

I don’t play TF2 anymore, fuck you.

The above reasons, realistically, won’t keep a game alive for 10 years. So what did?

Unlike most game communities, the TF2 community is where you can give the most contributions.

We have several trading sites, as well as specific trade servers. We have a website designed to bridge TF2’s pubs and competitive. We have a group dedicated to charity. We have communities, where content creators group up for collabs. We have a website designed to allow people to build maps. We have a community dedicated to giving shoutouts to TF2bers/TF2 videos.

We also have fantastic community servers, with brilliant people. I regularly play on Rushy Servers’ California and Australia Zombie servers, and that place, as well as the people there, have given me a lot of fun. I might as well give a shoutout to Jack5 and Acey here, also regulars on the server.

youtube.com/user/jack5vlogging
youtube.com/channel/UCj1xQ883QKFt1W0tY_qSkkA

Fact is, without the community, TF2 would have faded into obscurity long ago. The community has turned TF2 into more than a game. It’s a fucking life experience. Unlike other games, like CS:GO, Siege, and Overwatch, I don’t just play a game when I play TF2. I do a whole lot more.

So give yourself some applause, TF2 community, for keeping TF2 alive, and much more than just another dumb shooter in this growing FPS genre.

Part 3 is in the comments.