Team Fortress 2 Trailers, lawlz
The team developing Team Fortress 2 have released 3 trailers designed to introduce the new classes that will be available in the game. Even non-geek and non-gamers will find them amusing.
Virtual Fashion
An RPG video game is not much more than a dungeon romp with plenty of opportunities to accessorize. A massively-multiplayer on-line game (MMO) places that much more emphasis on fashion. Yesterday Blizzard released the designs for the tier-6 armor sets–the newest, most powerful equipment sets in the game. Players must travel back in time and defeat Archimonde, Field Commander of the Burning Legion at the Battle of Mount Hyjal in order to earn these rewards. Advocates and ex-junkies alike must admit, it is fun to see what new looks Blizzard’s design team have conjured up.
07.2.07Farewell to Azeroth
The whole Sheppard clan have pitched in to help trim the family budget. Noah volunteered to take public swimming lessons in lieu of private lessons. Madison decided to spend most of her time at her new BFF’s home. Elise agreed to purchase her entire 2007 office wardrobe at the local Goodwill store. What could I do to contribute? It occurred to me I had not played World of Warcraft since April. I decided buy a one-way griffin ride from Stormwind to the real world.
But what will happen to the characters I’ve helped grow these past years? Phifer has taken an extended sabbatical at the Northshire Abbey. She leads Sunday School, participates in choir and recently joined the abbey’s weekly wine tasting club. Cinch has become Iron Forge’s leading alarm expert in Iron Forge. When she finds the time, she likes to get away to Booty Bay where she ganks low level horde. Awaka spends most of her time hiking in Nagrand, communing with nature and whatnot. Vlock is still being corpse camped by a Gnome rogue, deep in Stranglethorn. Jerk.
06.21.07Same Thing We Do Every Night, Pinky…
The thought of world domination strikes a pleasant chord within Young Noah. He enjoys tales of the British Empire and would happily discuss Germany’s failed attempts to expand their borders. He is also drawn to games where he takes the role of an ambitious conquerer. Risk embellished his diplomatic and military dreams. A few days ago I introduced him to Sid Meyer’s Civilization III. It is exponentially more detailed, allowing him to cater to domestic needs and opening a variety of non-military diplomatic options. He debates the merits of monarchy and republic. He warns me how Otto Von Bismark is cranky, unreasonable and quick to declare war. He explains how difficult it is to fight a war on two fronts.
The game tries to incorporate as many historical concepts as it can. His interest always starts with the game but immediately extends into the historical significance. Let me list a few examples. The game progresses through 4 different eras of civilization: Stone Age, Medieval Times, Industrial Age and Modern Age. It was the first he had heard of the Industrial Age, which prompted many questions. We talked about the social structure of the Medieval Times. We talked about German Panzer Tanks, Roman Legionaries, and the Zulu Nation. Each civilization races to be the first to construct “wonders” that bestow special benefits to that nation. He began to explore the history and importance of the Egyptian pyramids, the Great Wall of China and the Sistine Chapel. The historical significance wouldn’t be important if he were just playing the game to win, but Noah has stumbled upon something more. The game fuels his imagination, and history helps flush out the details. The game features a small but informative encyclopedia regarding the in-game and historical significance of everything it mentions. Noah (being Noah) isn’t as into “reading” about them as he is “talking” about them.
Lucky for us all, the game will most likely distract Noah well enough to render his global ambitions moot. In homage to Noah’s endless curiosity regarding the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, I have included a link to an excellent wikipedia article about just that.
05.23.07Starcraft and the Virtues of Blizzard
A few days ago Blizzard announced their next big project: Starcraft 2. I prefer turn-based strategy games over the real-time variety. My brain has trouble tracking all the proverbial “irons in the fire” and those times when my brain is fast enough my fingers often are not. Still, it is a smart move for Blizzard. Ten years after the original release Asia hosts televised Starcraft tournaments–and the popularity on this side of the globe isn’t shabby either. I know I am a bit late for predictions, but I saw this one coming. World of Warcraft if their current cash cow. I expect Blizzard to invest in new content for another 3 years. A “click-n-kill” Diablo game would probably take more subscriptions than an RTS title.
I count the company among the top software developers in the world (gaming or otherwise). Let me quickly review why I feel so strongly about the company. They are committed to releasing and supporting stable code. A small patch for the original Starcraft was released the same week the sequel was announced–10 years after the original release. The patches mostly offer very minor balancing issues, new hardware and some small new features. That is to say, the code is better than 99% of the market, yet Bilizzard doesn’t rest. Contrast this with Ubisoft’s Pools of Radiance which would delete system files when uninstalled without a patch or Bioware’s Neverwinter Nights which included a small portion of the DM features they boasted during production. All through development the developers were trying to pull the DM features into the limelight to avoid comparisons to Baldur’s Gate and Dungeon siege, both of which supported better stories, gameplay and graphics. And yes, I hear all citizens of Azeroth bemoaning the missing hero classes that were “promised” (rather “mentioned”) early in development during World of Warcraft. Clearly these players never had to wade through the unbroken promises of Lionhead’s Peter Molyneux, creator of Fable and Black & White.
Will Wright and Mr. Miyamoto are out to be innovative. Blizzard is just out to be the coolest kid on the block. They have never created a new genre. They simply perfect an existing one: Diablo, Warcraft, and World of Warcraft are prime examples. They emphasize balance more than any other developer I know. They understand graphics are important, but not more important than running smoothly on a normal machine. They do this despite the fact they are often critisized for graphics that don’t squeeze a few extra polygons from the priciest gaming rigs. Best of all, they don’t release crappy games. They pulled the plug on titles like Starcraft: Ghost and Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans. Although I’d like to see what Blizzard would do to the stealth and adventure genres the trust their brand name carries is important. I’d recommend anything they release.