[GW2] Annals of Wonderful Art Design: Mad King’s Clock Tower

A downside of making the Mad King’s Clock Tower time-limited (both the 90 seconds per run and the 1 week per year) is that it is beautifully done. It has just enough kaleidoscopic phantasmagoria without being too busy. You get a ruined clocktower where the ruins hang in the sky, with gears and rubble swirling, along with green mists, skeletal arms, and constant movement. It feels like there is more than there is, but except for the initial jumble of rubble, it has an elegant simplicity. You want more time to stand in that initial jumble and appreciate the art.

I had hoped for a vista at the top or some way to regard the structure, but you end up inside the tower. You do start with a vista of sorts, a quick pan up the side that shows the path of the jumping puzzle. (There is not a lot of “puzzle”; execution under adverse conditions is the hard part.) It is definitely worth visiting for a look, although do not expect to finish a 90-second run in under an hour.

: Zubon

3 thoughts on “[GW2] Annals of Wonderful Art Design: Mad King’s Clock Tower”

  1. After the several hours of attempts, I’d say the layout and appearance is firmly ingrained in my mind at this stage, especially the first two-thirds. Have pictures inside the clock tower at the end just in the unlikely situation that I need to remind myself of all that stress and the eventual reward someday in the future.

  2. For all I complimented the Clock Tower, one of my major complaints was that the top was a huge disappointment (apart from the exotic gear and the thrill of finally beating the puzzle, of course). I anticipated something a little more grand than the inside of a rusty old clock tower… why were we climbing it in the first place? Just ‘cus?

    There should have been something to fight/steal/see – something which might have weakened the Mad King – or at least added to his lore. Instead it was exactly what you’d expect to see… just the inside of a clock tower.

    1. I found the whole clock tower really cool, art/event etc. I for one would be happy if the only way to “Ascension to Madness” (the portal in the middle of Lion’s Arch) was only accessible at the top of that.

      -THAT would be cool-

      But a lot of people would hate it. :P

      Also, for some reason I kept wishing I was Batman while running up the blasted thing. ^_^

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