Ted
When Everquest came out I couldn't believe it was real. I made a Halfling cleric named Doornoff and killed goblins for awhile. One day, while sitting in a field outside some bird people's encampment I thought; Why are we killing these bird people? What did they ever do? What is their culture like? Then I realized the game wasn't about being a Halfling or an Erudite or a Dark Elf or whatever. It wasn't made to make me feel like I was really living in Astrogoth or Aldruin or whatever the world was called.
I don't really know why they made Everquest. What I do know is that I play games not to collect loot or murder bird people. Rather, I play for those sublime experiences when everything makes sense. Those brief moments when the world in front of me eclipses reality and my imagination is about to burst.
But of course I like loot too.