We’ve discussed our handles, our character names, and the inspiration that led to them. But what about those characters who are made on a whim and then, quickly, all but forgotten? As it turns out, I hoard more than just mounts, pets, gear and random game loot. I also hoard character names — and I’d make a wager that I’m not the only one.
Sometimes, it seems that inspiration just hits. You have a sudden realization that you have found the perfect character name — if ever you want to play such a character. They may not be the most original names — but really. If they’re that awesome, who cares?
Take Tinkerbells up there as an example. She was created on Cataclysm launch day and never again touched. It just seemed the perfect combination. An homage to the ultimate pixie, a reference to the fact that Goblins are born tinkerers (she would be an engineer, of course), plus a hint of the Tinkerballa character who I adore in The Guild. Why a priest? Well, I suppose a hunter would have worked better for that last reference. But I had hoped that I would actually play her, and I’ve been wanting to try out the priest class.
But despite that thought process, she still remains rejected. I’m too faithful to my main. Maybe one day she’ll have her turn to shine. Continue Reading
A few of us here at Lore Hound recently had the opportunity to jump on the Forsaken World closed beta and have at it. You can get an idea of some game basics from Ronix’s introductory post, and now it’s my turn to fill you in on the intricacies of the character creation process.
Forsaken World‘s options for character creation run pretty much right down the middle in terms of what can be personalized, and to what extent. While players can choose from a wide variety of both skin tones and pretty much any hair color, other options are more limited.
Most races have about five or six different facial expressions to choose from, about 8 or so hairstyles and a number of different “flair” options that add some kind of decor, makeup, scars, etc to the face. It’s an easy and pleasant system to go through, and I was satisfied with the number of options.
But these are the basics. The game certainly is lacking in some of the character creation options that many new MMOs have been granting players — everything from voice to body type to the exact curvature of the chin, nose, lips and brows. Forsaken World sticks more to the basics, but does a good job with them to create a polished looking character. Take a look at the video to get a better idea.
For me, one of the best points of playing World of Warcraft is the social aspect. I found a guild that I really meld well with, raiding is always fun and never stressful, and vent and guild chat is a total hoot. Plus, as an added bonus there is a significant number of other female players, like myself, with whom I’ve become pretty close.
So you can see why it was an easy decision for me to not switch to a European realm when I recently moved across the pond from the U.S. to Germany. You also can see the predicament I found myself in when my old West Coast raid crew decided to fire back up again after a long hiatus over the summer — chiefly, the 9-hour time difference. So while I wanted to reclaim my DPS spot with the group, I also was hesitant to commit to a raid starting at 4:30 a.m. my time when I am not a morning person.
But I couldn’t say no without at least trying. I made the raid time one fateful morning last week, and was surprisingly alert as the group (in its second night of raiding ICC for the week) made its way through the Crimson Hall, past the Frostwing Halls and, for my first time ever, up to the Lich King.
Today’s MMORPG worlds are vast and expansive. You need to look no farther than World of Warcraft to fully understand just how big some of these worlds can get. I once attempted to run from the southernmost point of Tanaris to Orgrimmar and bailed about half way through. Suffice it to say I was running for a while, and felt that I could be better using my MMO time. So onto my point, what is it about these hugely expansive worlds that draws you in?
When I first start a new MMORPG I take at least a few hours to fully explore the world. Doesn’t mater how many times I die in the process, I am very picky about my worlds and if I can’t be convinced that I am actually a part of it then I usually just stop playing the game right away. I absolutely can’t tolerate a stale or stagnate world. Vanguard: Saga of Heroes was a perfect example of this. I initially started playing the game a few months after it was released (there was no way I was getting trapped in the beta-retail version). I began the game all cheery and figured the world would be awesome to explore and have fun with. Unfortunately, what I found was immaculate graphics attempting to cover up an otherwise boring world. Needless to say, I didn’t make it past my first month subscription. Of course, Vanguard isn’t the only culprit in this…
As more and more MMORPGs come out I am beginning to notice a trend in the way worlds are built. I don’t know what it is, but the World of Warcraft has character and, as such, I never thought the world was boring. For other games, like Tabula Rasa and Vanguard, the worlds almost feel methodical, like it was a randomly generated map. So what gives? How can an almost 4 year old game have a better, more lively world than games that have been released fairly recently? I honestly can’t tell you, but I bet it definitely helps to have a solid franshice to build off of. Just ask Lord of the Rings Online developer Turbine.
Thoughts? Comments? Let’s hear em!
P.S. Sorry for the absence/random slowdowns. We changed servers and had to deal with that mucky-muck.
The unstoppable juggernaut that is World of Warcraft has yet again set a new record for active MMORPG subscribers by announcing today they have hit the 10 MILLION mark. The breakdown in subscribers goes like this, 2 million subscribers in Europe, more than 2.5 million in North America, and approximately 5.5 million in Asia. Burning Crusades expansion was also the best selling PC game of 2007 selling more than 2.4 M copies in the first 24 hrs and 3.5 M within a month.
So the question is now, when will this growth finally hit its peak? Well I wouldn’t count on it anytime soon. Blizzard is planning on a Russian version later this year and another expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, so I’d expect those numbers to continue to increase for a least another year or two.
So, it’s actually 9:30am when I am writing this and all the little names are in crumpled up bits of paper in a box to my right. I know, I promised you guys it would be done in a bowler hat not a box, but, you see, I am moving later this week and I accidentally packed my bowler hat so the box will have to do. If anybody is seriously upset you can call our complaint hotline at: 1(325)234-9876. Operators are standing by. . . no they aren’t. Don’t actually call that number because I literally just made it up off the top of my head right now. To any person that owns that number and is accidentally called by disgruntled contestants complainng about some hat and/or box, I’m sorry. . . you can go ahead and call this number so as to reach our comments/complaints operator: 1(678)432-7654. Sorry, I lied again. . . we don’t have a number. :( You see the horrible conditions Mike makes us work in, we don’t even get telephones!
Wow, ok so now you know what its like to begin writing a blog that you can’t actually publish for a half hour. I would normally go ahead and pull the contestants names right now, but there might maybe possibly just be one more entry in these last 15 minutes.
Now, without further ado (it is 10am now :) ), the contest winners are:
Joshua Tompkins
Dan
Congratulations to those winners! WhooOOooOOO! I seriously hope both of youo enjoy Mythos. Feel free to give me a hoot while in game if you are lonely, my Mythos characters are Wrenches, and Bloodface. I could be on either one at some point today.
Also, as a side note, we had no people disqualified during this contest, which is a good good thing! I was a bit worried when I went to sleep with 3 contestants and then woke up to find over a dozen. Which leads me to another side note, we got 17 contestants! Not a bad start for a first ever contest that we in no way advertised at all. I think we all deserve a hearty pat on the back. I can’t wait until we begin offering real prizes like actual games. . . maybe an Age of Conan contest when it gets released? We’ll see. . . enjoy Mythos guys.
P.S. Both invites were sent out to the email addresses provided. If, for some reason, you don’t get yours then their must have been a problem with your email address. We don’t have anymore to hand out at this time so it’s not like we can just send you another one.
Not to say that I am a valid currency to be used in the world of Hellgate: London, but rather an expression meant to convey my leaving of the game. That is correct, I am done with Hellgate: London, just a few days before having played it inconsistently for a month. What started out as months of glorious anticipation eventually lead to the boring monotony of random hack and slash gameplay.
It’s actually kind of odd. The first few days that I was playing Hellgate: London, I absolutely loved it. I’d sworn that I found a 3D Diablo 2, and that I would be able to finally sink months of time into an [M]MORPG again, but, alas, such was not the case. At about the one week mark I could feel the game beginning to wear thin on me. I subscribed to the non-existant bonus’ and got my Evoker up to a respectable level 34. Then, last night after logging in for the first time in a week, I decided that the game was just too boring to continue to play. I subsequently canceled my subscription.
The game isn’t terrible, but it is monotonous. You’ll grow tired of seeing the same scenery over and over again. Likewise, you will also begin to notice that the quests start blurring and blending with eachother. I understand that there needs to be “fetch and kill” quests, but does there need to be this many? Perhaps when more content is released I’ll head back to check it out, but as of now I can’t recommend this game anymore. The subscription bonus’ are not there and the content is thin and paltry. Overall, I’d say the game could have used a few more months in the oven.
P.S. Happy, belated, Thanksgiving. I have been gone for the past few days without any internet. :)
So, it’s actually 9:30am when I am writing this and all the little names are in crumpled up bits of paper in a box to my right. I know, I promised you guys it would be done in a bowler hat not a box, but, you see, I am moving later this week and I accidentally packed my bowler hat so the box will have to do. If anybody is seriously upset you can call our complaint hotline at: 1(325)234-9876. Operators are standing by. . . no they aren’t. Don’t actually call that number because I literally just made it up off the top of my head right now. To any person that owns that number and is accidentally called by disgruntled contestants complainng about some hat and/or box, I’m sorry. . . you can go ahead and call this number so as to reach our comments/complaints operator: 1(678)432-7654. Sorry, I lied again. . . we don’t have a number. :( You see the horrible conditions Mike makes us work in, we don’t even get telephones!
