Month: April 2012

[GW2] What We Have Here Is… Communication

One thing that absolutely amazes me is how much the ArenaNet devs are communicating on the quagmire that is the Guild Wars 2 beta forums. For those with beta access here are the forums as account credentials are required to view the forums. Much of it was just reinforcing constructive feedback, but many times a developer went out of their way to discuss the issues. A sampling of some of the responses are below: Continue reading [GW2] What We Have Here Is… Communication

[Eve] First Blood

The atmosphere inside the wormhole is thick with tension and a restlessness is creeping into the collective consciousness of our comrades.   The CEO has seen this before, and knows full well that the only thing more dangerous than a hostile Fleet in your home, is a pack of Space Cowboys with nothing to shoot at for a string of days…

SynCaine broadcasts a fleet, and orders blare out over coms, “We need a scan fleet out, find us a Hole.”

Continue reading [Eve] First Blood

[GW2] Malaise in Melee

I was helping a friend learn Guild Wars 2 last night when he hit level 11. That’s when players start getting trait points for leveling up. For leveling purposes I told him to go with the power trait line or the precision trait line because both would let him kill enemies faster. I explained that for the next 30 levels he would have to branch out to other trait lines though because until level 40 each trait line could only take 1o points. It appeared the obvious thing to do was fill the damage role first.

I went to sleep thinking about the “wasted” trait lines. Were the more defensive trait lines simply going to be ignored in PvE? Would their traits be strong enough to pull players away from glass-jaw nuking? Between all the beta weekends I had participated in, I just couldn’t picture making any of the more defensive trait lines a primary focus.

I woke up, and read a bunch of really good feedback from some bloggers I like (especially Biobreak, Inventory Full, and especially Spinksville with all of the links). Coupled with a few non-Guild Wars 2 forums I frequent, and it seemed there was some ill feeling about melee viability for Guild Wars 2 PvE. Continue reading [GW2] Malaise in Melee

Default Appearances

Developers: use the character creation screen to show off the characters at different stages of their careers and in different activities. Instead of having one character model on screen, have three: one in the default starter outfit, one in a mid-game or cosmetic outfit, and one in your most splendid endgame gear. They all rotate when you click and drag. Give each of them different weapons, so you can show off the warrior with an axe, hammer, and sword & shield. Then have an “animate” button that puts them into a dance. This will let you show off your character animations and demonstrate how the character looks in motion. Have a choreographed skirmish between the three: baby ranger sends his/her pet in to fight while level 30 ranger is setting a trap and endgame ranger is using a fiery attack volley.

This will give your players a better idea of what they are getting into. It shows the growth of the hero over time and gives the player something to look forward to. It will give your art team a chance to show off a bit and not force them into picking one paper doll to show off each class, although it will significantly increase the work required if you are using a different outfit for each race/sex/class combination (you already have the newbie outfit, so pick one that looks good for most at mid/end, vary it on a case-by-case basis). It also lets you show each class in simple, sexy, and badass versions so that you can appeal to multiple audiences and avoid the kind of accusations that have been flying about the MMO blogosphere this week. This is how she looks in skull-covered black plate mail and this is how she looks in midriff-baring armor.

: Zubon

I swear I have seen a version of this before, but I cannot place it. Guild Wars 2 seems to approximate it by showing off the characters in spectacular armor then switching them to newbie gear once you actually pick, which feels like a bait and switch. (In terms of that hero’s journey, the human/norn female rogue apparently becomes less modest over time.)

Default Appearance

There is nothing wrong with having stripperific outfits in game. Many people like them. Just don’t make them the default option. I logged into the GW2 beta, and of all the female norn default appearances, only the engineer has invented the “covered midriff.” We justified half-naked norn by their tendency to turn into bears, so they can’t be encased in metal … except that the men are. The human women seem to be a good mix, mostly with reasonable outfits, although we have the Asian lass in the orange bikini with some sort of metal exoskeleton floating around her. Except for the mesmer, the rest are great, classically stylish. (The charr look silly, clothed, but silly. The furred race uses more cloth than the giants?)

If people really like the stripper outfits that much, put them in the cash shop. This benefits your bottom line and your first impressions. League of Legends had people lined up to demand the chance to pay for a bunnygirl outfit for Riven. I have no idea how much money Riot made off that, but it seems like a wise business decision. Give people pants for free. Make them pay to take them off.

: Zubon

[GW2] The Late Fool’s Contest Winners!

I laughed. I cried. I drank a lot of bourbon, and eventually I painfully whittled the huge amount of entries to five winners. Believe me it was really hard. So many good ideas that I hope ArenaNet can process into actual gem store items. First, two notables… Tesh with the Bird’s Eye Balloon and Red Vagabond’s DelMonte Python. I do hope some form of these could make it in to Guild Wars 2. Tesh’s idea is a must have for many websites and postcard makers, and Red Vagabond’s idea would make the best minipet ever. They were the last two chopped, but I applaud their entries.

#5 Geikamir’s Glitter Jump – It’s going to happen. People will congregate in a city, waiting, and wishing something would entertain them. They will be soooo boooored. All of the sudden, some mad sylvari runs by them all aglow with glitter. This is a great idea for a impulse buy item, which I feel are necessary for a good microtransaction store. It livens things up, it draws attention, and it sounds fun.

#4 Reggie’s Map to the Stars – I liked Reggie’s idea because it was funny, but I really liked some of the ideas that could be drawn from it. A map that can only be traded to other players could bring a sort of Red Paperclip trading game, where the purchaser will eventually get back a “completed” map where each player kind of made their mark. Getting NPC asura to talk about it would be hilarious. Continue reading [GW2] The Late Fool’s Contest Winners!

The Most Exciting Post You Will Read All Week About Pretending To Fish

Check it out at The Ancient Gaming Noob. Bonus content:

Trion added in another skill with the patch called Survival. Survival seems primarily focused on giving you something to do with the fish you catch. It is basically cooking… seafood… along with the ability to make some camping gear. When the female survival trainer said, “Do you need help pitching a tent?” I thought perhaps I mis-heard… or that it was some sort of reference to the Diablo III demon hunter… everybody seems to be mentioning that.

: Zubon