Guild Wars 2: Lost Shores

Today marks the start of a weekend long event in the vast world of Tyria. This will mark Guild Wars 2's next content expansion and allegedly some game changing events that will culminate on Sunday the 18th.

I've enjoyed Guild Wars 2's extremely well designed world quite thoroughly, it may even be my favorite aspect of the game as a whole. In addition to the slew of events this weekend there will also be a new PvP map introduced, a long needed addition to the stagnating PvP content that pushed me to shy away from the game to begin with.

So, what can we expect this weekend? My current expectations are quite lofty considering ArenaNet put on some absolutely fantastic events while I was playing GW2 such as a map-wide Zombie PvP match and a survivor-type attrition event. Both of these were incredibly well done so I have high expectations for the events this weekend. My main question right now is one of direction. I want to see how ANet defines itself with this weekend's events. They will largely determine, for me, what kind of game GW2 will become.

From the sound of the advertisements I'm expecting some colossal boss encounter on Sunday that changes the world of Tyria in a significant way(s). If GW2 wants to preserve their initial intent to have a constantly evolving, dynamic world then this kind of content is exactly what I've been waiting for and completely justifies my return to the game this weekend.

This is GW2's chance to pull some of its more reluctant audience back into the fold and keep them interested. I'm very excited to see where things go!

If you're interested in participating in the Lost Shores event then please drop a comment so we can see about sending out some invites perhaps.

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You're Doing it Wrong: SWTOR's F2P Model

With the MMO market rapidly shifting to a free to play philosophy there are games that do it right and games that...well make you want to kick yourself for even thinking it was a good idea to play it. Star Wars: The Old Republic is one of those games that I has generated a high level of self-kicking.

When you embrace a free to play model you have to go all or nothing. If you want to turn your game into an exclusive pile of garbage then you do what EA and Bioware did and divide both the content and the players themselves. SWTOR's free to play model essentially breaks down to allowing players to do the bare bones content and not much more. You are restricted with experience, loot, PvP, and high grade equipment. To make this even more silly players are able to purchase items from a cash shop that lift some of these restrictions...for ten dollars a week. The game is a 14 dollar a month subscription. If that isn't the most counter intuitive business plan then I don't know what is.

The strategy here breaks down to making the free to play players feel so ostracized from the rest of the community that they are almost forced to subscribe. The only content allowed for free players is the basic story content and almost no end game material. Heck, you can't even use half of the stuff you'll acquire along the story.

For comparison you could look at AION's "Truly Free" model that restricts ZERO content and the cash shop exists simply to supplement the game-play experience rather than choke money out of an already dwindling player-base like SWTOR's.

Personally, I resubscribed to SWTOR earlier this week to get the dust off and play with some friends who were going to try the free model. Needless to say, our hopes were dashed quite quickly as we realized they couldn't even run PvP content or benefit from instances.

I find it hard to believe that the companies running MMOs like SWTOR would look around at the rampant success other companies are having with their F2P policies (NC West's Q3 earnings went up 426% when they switched AION and Lineage 2 to F2P) and just disregard them and still fail horribly. 

I tried to love SWTOR, I did. I played to 50 at launch, did the whole SWTOR thing for a few months and then dropped it. EA has just delivered a series of upsetting failures resulting in an equally shoddy free model for a game they expected to be a hit without even bothering to look at the numerous ways they could have made it better.

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Fest's Character Corner: Supporting/Peripheral Characters

Few games use only one character, there is almost always a fairly high amount of supporting characters both in support and opposition of the protagonist. These characters often add a degree of depth and intrigue to a story as they involve themselves in both the main story as well as numerous sub-plots.

There are a few games that jump to mind, both new and old, that boast a solid supporting cast. The most obvious ones being games like Mass Effect. Looking at ME over the years it's obvious that it was meant to be looked at as more than just the story of Commander Shepard, it's the story of the group of diverse individuals banding together to overcome insurmountable odds. The potency of Mass Effect would be highly diminished without its core supporting characters that added such character to the Mass Effect universe.

In Mass Effect's case the player is able to easily identify ways in which the supporting characters change the story but also how the story, and your choices, affect the characters around Shepard. The consequences of your actions are felt within your comrades as some of them suffer due to various choices you make throughout the game even sometimes resulting in death.

We would have had a much less colorful experience had it been a solo performance by Shepard. The Mass Effect supporting cast gave the franchise that distinct sense of camaraderie that has aided in ME's appeal.

Another game franchise that did this well was the Fire Emblem series, simply because the main characters almost took a backseat sometimes in favor of the wide variety of characters you could use to assemble your forces. One commonality with the Mass Effect franchise is the presence of consequence; Fire Emblem did this extremely well with the finality of all death that occurs. There is no second chance for a character that falls in combat they either retire for the remainder of the game if they are story relevant or actually die.

That sense of consequence really helps create a very real feel to many of these characters. The thought that you could potentially lose them if you aren't careful pushes players to go through the game with a conscious sense of cause and effect.

The supporting characters in a story are often what make them so memorable and dynamic. Humans are made for contact and interaction and that is reflected in the stories we tell, games being no exception.

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Dishonored Full Review

When a player hears the word "freedom" tossed around lightheartedly describing a game it may give them reason to pause. How much freedom can we expect in a video game?

Games themselves are simply a set of rules and scenarios presented to a player in the hope that they will take and apply those rules in the intended ways. Dishonored, however, sought to break the mold of its predecessors and allow the player a high degree of freedom to move through the game in a way they see fit.
So what is Dishonored? If you were to categorize it then you'd label it a stealth action title. But it's more than that, Dishonored took the standard stealth game formula and ran with it, giving birth to an incredibly intricate mission based stealth sandbox.

The gameplay is a fluid mix of physical weaponry and supernatural abilities, a combo reminiscent of Bioshock’s combat systems. Players can upgrade their physical arsenal in significant ways using currency and can augment their supernatural abilities by finding hidden items called Runes. This customization can be pursued to the player’s liking; allowing Corvo, the protagonist, to become anything from a walking supernatural armory to a shadowy assassin armed with nothing more than a blade. The choice is entirely the player’s and Dishonored doesn’t demand that any of these abilities be used to complete the game.

The plot the other hand, draws from many tried and true themes and plot points with heavy emphasis on betrayal and consequence. Much of Dishonored’s themes, however, are communicated through a visual medium, as you take control of the silent protagonist, Corvo, and guide him through the ruined remains of the once great city of Dunwall, now reduced to a shell of its former self by a brutal plague akin to the Black Death.

Corvo’s story is, in part, left up to the player. It can be a story of vengeance and death, as Corvo becomes part of the chaos he seeks to destroy to exact his revenge on those who took both family and dignity from him. Or it can be a story of retribution and redemption as there are non-lethal ways to complete every mission.

No matter what choices you make you will end up in the same geographical locations but they will be vastly different in content depending on how the player has shaped the story. This is measured throughout the game by determining the level of “chaos” the player has caused in completing Corvo’s assignments. Should the player choose a more chaotic path, it will be reflected in both the mission content and the environment itself as the city reels in the wake of Corvo’s vengeance.


Dishonored is arguably one of the most prominent stealth action titles to hit the market in recent years and promises a solid, albeit short experience. It is a must have for any fans of the stealth genre and has fully earned my approval

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Fest's Character Corner: Pets!

Pets are great. My house is a complete zoo containing three cats, two massive huskies and an albino ferret. Pets add texture to my life in the same ways that they do in games. Pets in video games often take a variety of roles depicted as anything from a companion character that serves little purpose, to an actual playable character.

Generally speaking, I love dogs. Most people do. Often shown as a dedicated ally to their owner it's hard to think about life without them once you've had one. As far as dogs go in the virtual world I have to say that one jumps into mind before all others; Blanca a character from the Shadow Hearts franchise and the main character Yuri's ever faithful companion.

Blanca was always a character I added to the character lineups I'd use for battles not because he was the "best" choice but because I liked the dynamic between Blanca and Yuri. Blanca is always viewed as a highly intelligent guardian who decides to go with Yuri after his original master was killed by the people Yuri was pursuing.

Since I am such a dog person I loved Shadow Hearts even more when there was a canine companion to add into the mix but I digress. As far as pets in games go they serve to create an emotional bond between the player and the game. Pets are good for facilitating that emotional stimulation and connection as it is a widely shared experience, most people have loved a pet at some point in their lives and that makes it easy to love a pet in a virtual setting as well.

                                                                    Gotta love the dogs!

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What CAN Make it in Today's Market?

As an avid gamer throughout the years I have watched the industry ebb and flow in some pretty significant ways but none quite as extreme as the changes we're seeing these days. For me, there has always been an expectation of quality coming at a price; games that were worth my time often demanded a significant portion of my money. This both encouraged me to spend my time in-game to make sure I was getting my money's worth and it also kept companies accountable to their subscribers.

This standard has gone through a complete shift in the past few years as more online games embrace a free to play model of business. So what does this mean for the players? What about future MMO's? Will online games hold themselves to the standards that they did in the past or become bland in the absence of motivation?

It's important to keep in mind that with the hundreds, even thousands of online games available for people to play that it's going to become even harder for a new MMO to achieve any sort of success as most players already have their online home away from home established. There is a significant level of brand loyalty that comes along with the games people play. You find players investing their time and often money into building a better experience for themselves within the game world they inhabit. Even with the free to play model becoming more common players spend money in virtual cash shops for special items, which generates the bulk of the revenue an online game produces but I digress.

What can actually make it these days? In the days to come we will see Star Wars: The Old Republic transition to a free to play model and, quoting my good friend Kemp, "If Star Wars can't do it WHAT can?". Good food for thought, arguably the most popular, well known license can't even maintain a pay to play status then how could anything else, especially new concepts, hope to find success?

Personally, I hope this forces developers to realize that it's time to take things to the next level with online gaming. We have such great tools at our disposal that now, more than ever, we need to innovate and rethink what online games are. Just some food for thought.

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Art Convergence

I've mentioned in previous blogs very briefly that video games are comprised of nearly every form of entertainment media carefully mashed together into an interactive experience all its own. I wanted to take a moment and really look at just how daunting a task this has turned game making into.

Creating any form of entertainment media with the intent of making money off of it is no easy feat. You have to take into consideration what people like and then create something to show them their entire life has been a hollow mess without (Insert Media Title Here). Point being, you've got to drop some jaws with whatever you do otherwise you've essentially been wasting your own time and everyone else's.

When drafting up the next big thing in any media industry it requires the attention of extremely talented individuals to write, produce, edit, film, tweak, etc. So what happens when a new video game is born? You get to go find talented people for every form of media.

I think this is why management for video game projects can be so difficult at times, you're effectively managing a vastly diverse set of very talented individuals, all fully fit with their own style and ideas. Then you have to get them all to conform to one specific type of art in their respective fields. If you had a game that didn't intentionally feature 63 different art styles you'd have a visual mess that would detract from the continuity in other fields.

Despite my perception of this making game design a managerial nightmare I also think this is the most intriguing part of video games. You capture so many different things in any video game experience. Games are some of the most emotionally provocative forms of media out there simply because it hits you on so many levels. You can listen to a sad song play in an emotional climax of a dramatic movie and be moved to tears but what happens when you're viewing an emotional climax of something you've not only been directly involve in but also retains those same visual and auditory elements?

The result is a powerful mix, not only is the player drawn in by the audio and visual elements but they've also invested time into vicariously living out the story of these characters. This often results in a deep attachment to the characters that they players have been playing. It's always sad to see characters I know and love end up dead. Zack Fair's death in Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core is one that always gets me. It paves the way for the events of FFVII to happen and due to Crisis Core's nature as a prequel, Zack's ultimate fate is something already known by the players. You're essentially walking through the story knowing full well that this character you're playing does not make it out alive. It's quite a powerful story telling device.

I love games, I love how they bring creative media together and give us truly interactive story experiences that, for me, transcend all other current forms of expressive media.

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Aion 3.5 Chronicles: Tiamat Stronghold

Hey! This guide will serve as a general instance knowledge and boss strategy guide fully fit with any bugs encountered along the way. Tiamat's Stronghold is definitely one of the more challenging instances in the game right now so I figured a nice how-to guide was in order. Let's get started.

H'okay so  let's talk party composition. The group I typically run with is as follows:
1 Sorcerer
1 Gladiator
1 Spiritmaster
1 Templar
1 Chanter
1 Cleric

That setup is one that works quite well as spiritmasters can dispell key buffs off the bosses that simplify the fights considerably. Anyway, I want to talk a little bit about melee dps' role in this instance as it isn't traditional in the sense that up until now there have been no instances that really call players to respec to a more PvE friendly stigma build in a long time. This instance has one boss in particular that absolutely requires maximum dps to be dished out and having ranged dps as opposed to melee seems to make the fights a lot easier. We had no trouble with any boss when running mostly melee dps except that last one. So, I urge caution if you choose to run melee dps in this instance as they will need to spec for maximum dps to ensure the final boss goes smoothly.

Let's talk bosses.



Boss #1: Invincible Shabokan
This guy is quite easy and his rotations are predictable and easily avoided, provided people are quick on their feet. This instance has a lot of bosses that use kind of progressive AoE attacks that will continually deal damage the longer you stay in them. This boss in particular uses a skill called tremor. The tank and all melee dps should be out of the range of this attack whenever he uses it, you just don't need to get hit by it at all. The range is quite small, it's a very visible circle around the boss, so yeah, don't stand in it.

Aside from that he'll just use a skill called Earth Upheaval that is reminiscent of Raksha's Earth Fragments in Raksang. It'll spawn several rock formations under the party's feet, just move away from these to avoid taking some pretty heavy damage. They do explode quickly so be ready to move and be sure to have someone in vent or chat calling out when he uses upheaval.

Once you have a firm grasp of these two skills you can avoid the boss is really just cake. He has one more single target skill that he'll use on random members of the party which isn't a big deal at all. The only other thing to watch out for is at the last 20%~ or so he will pop a buff, it's a little yellow icon (I'll insert the actual name later) which increases his attack power and speed but stops him from using any of his skills. At this point in the fight you just focus dps on the boss to burn it down, shouldn't be much of an issue.

Known Bugs: None

Now, after this boss you enter a large plaza area with three branching paths, which I'll refer to as "Top", "Left", and "Right". You can attempt these in any order you want but for this guide the boss numbering will be as if you went down the left hall, then the right, finishing with the top.

Left Hallway:
Boss #2: Brigade General Chantra
The next boss you encounter is quite easy. The only thing to take note of before starting is that the room is circular and consists of three rings. This boss will do a skill called "Activate Drana Reactor" and sections of the floor with blink red. Do not stand on the red areas. Your group needs to be ready to move between the rings as the fight goes on. Aside from that, this boss is a simple tank n' spank. He will pop the typical attack/speed buff during his last 15% or so.

Boss #3: Brigade General Terath
Before starting this boss you need to position yourselves properly, near one of the two circular panels on either side of the boss. These serve no purpose until the boss does a very obvious room AoE which will kill anyone left inside of it for too long. All ranged dps and healers should be near one of the platforms at all times while the melee fights the boss near-ish the middle of the room. Once the boss teleports she is about to start the room AoE and everyone needs to get on the platform. Just run on top of them and stop moving completely, lest you be thrown off. These circles function as bounce panels that keep you out of the range of the room AoE.

Aside from the room AoE this boss also makes gravity distortions appear around her feet on the floor. These will inflict 3-4k damage per second you stand in them so pay attention to your footing and be ready to move around or back off completely if you're a melee class. Once you understand these two things this boss should be quite easy as the only other skill that is used is a frontal cone AoE (Commander's Strike) that does moderate damage. Just have the tank face her away from any of the melee dps.

Pro tip: While bouncing on the panels you can't use skills but you can use potions, if you need healing.

Right Hallway:
Boss #4: Traitor Kumbanda
This boss can be a bit tricky for a few reasons. First of all, don't stand on the elevator that leads down to him until everyone is ready. Once you go down there you'll begin to be hit with a DoT that will constantly hit the entire party throughout the fight but it starts as soon as you get down there. This boss isn't aggressive but you'll want to start him quickly to offset the DoT damage. Also, do not aggro the boss until the whole party is out of the elevator, as it seals once the boss is pulled, this can trap party members. (If you do trap a party member you can either have them try to jump the rail up at the top of the elevator or reset the boss by running back around the elevator.)

Fighting this guy is fairly simple but you really have to be on guard against a few things. First off, you'll notice you're very slow. This is an effect that can be counteracted by standing in the middle of any of the clocks that will appear around the boss. These clocks speed cast and attack speed significantly. Ranged will need to move around to different clocks throughout the fight, this is especially important for healers. Melee has it a bit easier in this fight as there is always a clock underneath the boss, all melee dps and the tank should be right under the boss. If you want to simplify your life you can have your entire party stand under the boss, the only drawback is that it is a bit hard to see the adds when they spawn. It's best to have a designated add manager who is tab targeting every ~20 seconds.

As mentioned above, this boss also summons adds. They are to be the absolute priority for the group whenever they spawn. Have at least one person on dedicated add duty. I filled this role in my group while on my Assassin, spamming tab while just auto attacking the boss to ensure I jumped on the adds as soon as they spawned. These adds will paralyze the person they have targeted. As you can imagine this is incredibly costly if they target a healer, they are the #1 reason a group would wipe on this boss.

Once you have the adds under control and keep yourselves on clocks this fight is fairly straight forward. At the last little portion of the boss' (10-15%) he will pop that little yellow attack buff like the rest of the bosses and the clocks will stop spawning and you just have to dps him down as best you can.

Pro Tip: The adds can be silenced! If you have a ranger or sorcerer in your group have them start off by silencing the add to ensure nobody is paralyzed. (Stuns work too!)

Boss #5: Laksyaka
This is probably the boss people have the hardest time with but it doesn't need to be! That being said, this is a strange fight and you'll need to come prepared to deal with a change of pace. This entire fight is tanked not by the templar, but rather whomever gets turned into a skeleton by the giant eyeball at the far end of the room, opposite the stairs. When turned into a skeleton the player will be given access to two skills, a taunt and an AoE lifesteal that works on the adds the Laksyaka will spawn.

As a skeleton it will be that player's express purpose to taunt the boss and run him around in circles while your group works on DPSing him down. In addition to kiting and  taunting the skeleton player must kill the adds as they spawn to prevent them from hindering the party. To do this all the skeleton has to do is use their second skill while near the adds, you do not need them targeted for the lifesteal to work and it instantly kills them. Use it several times to be sure the adds all die.

Once your group has the hang of these concepts this boss is cake. However, there are a few things to take note of. First, you need to be ready to switch roles on the fly if you happen to get turned into a skeleton, it happens fast and can be costly if someone doesn't keep aggro on the boss. Second, you can determine who starts as a skeleton by having your party wait on the stairs while the actual tank and your intended skeleton go in. The non-tank should end up as a skeleton.

Known Bugs: If two people are skeletons and both use their taunts there will be a small gap in the aggro hold and the boss will go attack someone else. If you have two skeletons make sure they are aware of each other so one can go after adds while the other taunts the boss.

Boss #6 Anuhart
This boss is a pain if you aren't running with a spiritmaster simply because he gets that nice little yellow attack/attack speed buff the other bosses get, except he gets it three times. More on that crap in a moment. The fight leading up to those buffs being put on is fairly easy but there are a few things to watch out for.

First off, if you're running any melee dps aside from your tank you need to make sure they're aware that they can't stand in Anuhart's 360 AoE. It is easy to figure out when it's coming since he says something ("I WILL CRUSH YOU ALL!") before he does it so listen for that. If you don't play with game sound turned on you can predict it by watching his AoE rotations. He'll do a frontal AoE called "Wave of Pain" three times before using his circular AoE, so be sure to count them for your tank and melee.

Once he starts doing the 360 AoE he'll be shielded and will reflect and close range damage so all melee MUST be outside of this range (roughly 10 meters). Ranged can still attack but they will do no damage. Just before 50% Anuhart will buff himself for the first time and his attack power and speed will increase. This isn't a huge deal if you've got a decent tank and healers but if you're running an SM then have them strip the buff off. He does this again before 25% and one last time at around 15%. If you are not running a spiritmaster you need to save all major cooldowns for this last 15%, your tank will likely need iron skin and the chanter should be pop aetheric field if needed. It is a race at this point and if the tank dies then the party is likely to follow.

Lastly, there is one last AoE he does that hits the whole party which involves him stabbing his sword into the ground and causing other swords to shoot up underneath everyone's feet. Don't worry too much about it but make sure the cleric is group healing everyone back up to full.

Known Bugs: Anuhart WILL drop aggro and reset if your tank doesn't run back in before his 360 AoE ends. It's okay for the templar to reflect himself a bit to make sure he doesn't bug and drop aggro.

Boss #7 Tahabata
This should be the last boss you run into as he will demand most of your big cooldowns. Do not start this fight if you're waiting for important 10 minute cooldowns such as Iron skin, Emperean Providence, and Aetheric Field, you will likely need them. Also, be sure to pop fire resist scrolls if you have them, Tahabata loves his fire.

Tahabata is not a hard boss until his last phase at about 15%. The fight will involve the room getting smaller and smaller as he loses health so be sure to tank him right in the middle of the room. There are a few things to watch out for during this fight. First off, he'll use a room-wide fire AoE every 25% or so that needs to be healed through, it cannot  be avoided but isn't too hard to keep the party alive through.

Aside from that, Tahabata will often teleport around randomly and use a skill called Piercing Strike which is a medium damage AoE but he uses it twice in a row so be mindful and move away from him if he teleports to you. In addition to this Tahabata will also spawn tornadoes around the room that will put players in aether's hold and damage them a fair bit, be sure to move away from these tornadoes as they spawn. He also puts a DoT on people randomly that looks like a tornado but it can be removed with a healing potion or a dispell.

Now, once you get him to about 50% have your chanter pop WoW in preparation for the only dangerous part of this fight. Once you see the boss switch phases for the last time the room will become covered in fire and the entire party will begin taking fairly heavy AoE damage. This can't be avoided so if your templar has it, pop Emp. Providence at this point. Chanters should also pop elemental screen and word of quickness at this point to improve DPS and healing capabilities. Once Providence is over chanters can follow up with aetheric field if you need more time with the boss. It is at this last phase that dps needs to pop their DP skills and pump as much dps into the boss as possible to ensure a smooth finish.

The last thing to do in the instance is porting into the last room through the central area of the instance. This last room contains six AP chests and one gold chest which can contain one of the new mounts if you're lucky.

Congratulations! You've finished Tiamat's Stronghold! If you have anymore questions feel free to drop a comment.

-Fest

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Video Games: Visual Storytelling

The title of this post may not exactly capture exactly what I'm about to talk about so I'll clarify a bit; Seeing as video games use visual representation as the primary method of conveying messages there is a heavy emphasis placed on how a game looks in addition to the story.

In previous posts I've singled out graphics as something we've become obsessed with in recent times that often seems to detract from other important aspects of game creation. That being said, graphics play an ever increasing role in how we take in these interactive stories. So, I just wanted to take a moment to talk about what graphics are doing to promote storytelling in games and where things are heading.

In recent times we've seen several tech demos like this one pop up on YouTube and many gaming sites for the Unreal 4 Engine, the successor to the widely used Unreal 3 Engine. The demo itself showcases an extremely realistic set of events rendered in real time, rather than being an animated video with CGI. So what does all that mean? Well it means that we're going to be hopefully shifting up a gear when it comes to the graphical side of things and video games will take yet another step forward. What are they moving towards ultimately? Who knows.

When I was at PAX East this past spring I got the chance to attend a panel consistent of numerous successful game designers, one of them talked a bit about this visual storytelling component. The man was Ken Levine, renowned for his creative contribution and direction in the Bioshock series. One Ken's points was that much of the story told in Bioshock is not done through verbal speech but rather through the environment that has been crafted for the main character and the player to progress through.

For a bit of background information for those unfamiliar with Bioshock's setting; it takes place in an underwater utopia, ruined wholly by its inhabitants. This place is called Rapture and is completely awash in tragedy and destruction. In this failed utopia the player takes the role of someone who stumbles upon what's left of this corrupted dream. The main character is entirely silent throughout the entire experience and with the exception of whoever is guiding you at the time and maybe some villains there is very little dialogue to be had in present time. There are recordings of past residents that help flesh out certain parts of the story but I digress.

Bioshock's strongest tool, in my opinion, was its carefully crafted visual setting. These weren't always huge things like looking out a window at the collapsing city but rather the most impacting elements were the small details. A pile of luggage left at an elevator door, a teddy bear left on the floor of a child's room, small remnants of humanity that echoed through the now hollow city. These small things communicate much bigger themes that would perhaps be much more dull had they been explained verbally.

I personally loved both Bioshock games and was happy to hear Levine speak on his experiences in helping craft such an intricate and meaning filled world. I do hope that this method of storytelling is embraced further as games begin utilizing the Unreal 4 Engine. With things becoming more and more vivid as time goes on it's important to remember what got us this far.

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Fest's Character Corner: The Sidekick

Sidekicks are a character type everyone should be familiar with, they're a very present component in many stories and video games are no exception. Many video game characters come fully fit with sidekicks ranging from useful to just downright strange. Several games come to mind when I think of sidekicks as these games go as far to feature them in the title of the game itself. First, we have one of my all time favorite series while I was growing up, Banjo-Kazooie.

I loved Banjo-Kazooie for many reasons, ranging from it's quirky story to it's enjoyable platforming, but most of all I loved the characters. Banjo the bear and his rather loud partner Kazooie hold a very special place in my heart but they also just work well together. A bit of a strange pair in nature but you're playing a game where you run around as a bear with a bird in your backpack, only so much can be expected. Despite the noted lack of vocal interaction this pair works extremely well together as Banjo's jumping ability is augmented by Kazooie's ability to glide, yielding a solid puzzle solving duo.

Moving on, we have the Jak and Daxter series. This was more of an action franchise featuring the quiet and noble hearted Jak and his partner, Daxter, who has been turned into a talking weasel. The player primarily controls Jak and assumes periodic control of Daxter to fit into small places or when Jak isn't available for whatever reason. This relationship exemplifies what I see a sidekick as, a supporting character that can do something that the "main" character cannot.

For example, Jak is featured as a silent character but he is paired with what may just be the loudest and most obnoxious weasel in existence. Daxter often serves as a mouthpiece for Jak in the early parts of the franchise when Jak doesn't talk at all but still carries that role as Jak begins to talk more in the later games.

Sidekicks are an essential role in many of today's stories as they provide sometimes differing opinions, guidance for the main character, or fill a role of their own that can't be accomplished by the central character. Gotta love sidekicks.

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Aion 3.5 Chronicles: Comprehensive 3.5 Guide

Features to be added:
Named Mobs: Locations/Maps
Gearing Process and Options: What armor to get.
What Not to do in the Eye: Bugs/Exploits to AVOID
PvP Friendship 101 - A good way to bond with your fellow players. Don't drive them away, get to know them.
Tiamat Stronghold Guide (Almost done! Just adding pictures!)
Dragon Lord Refuge Guide (So close, yet so far)
Leave suggestions in the comments section if you have any requests!


Staying Relevant in the post 3.0 World: A General Guide

Well hello there! Welcome to the last Aion general guide you'll ever need. This guide will encompass all of the 3.0-3.1 content with additional 3.5 info being added as it is made available. So, as this is a fairly large project I won't be able to have it all done at once! Be ready to come back and check as updates are made available, I'll bold them at the top of the guide for easy notification. If you have anything that you feel this guide needs to focus more on be sure to shoot me an e-mail at teaminfestation@hotmail.com! Well, here we go!

Gear in 3.0-3.5:

Kahrun Gear:
This was one of the larger additions to 3.0 as it provided people a fairly easy and progressive way to get top-tier endgame gear with both weapons and armor being available. For any new 60's this is definitely a good place to start getting your PvE Armor/Accessories in order before attempting any of the more difficult instances 3.0 offers.

What's the best way to get Kahrun symbols? 
There are numerous ways to acquire these symbols so don't be daunted by the hefty price tag on some of the eternal gear. The easiest way to consistently get Kahrun symbols is to do the daily quests offered in both Tiamaranta and Sarpan. There will be two regular quests and one [Group] quest for each map. In addition to these daily quests there is also a set of weekly quests that reset every Wednesday after maintenance. These provide tons of symbols and it is fairly easy to find a group for the two [Alliance] quests as most players run them at least once a week. If you're on Tiamat and would like to do these feel free to whisper me on Fest. Since the 3.5 update two of the daily quests in each zone have been switched to Weekly quests and have had their rewards upgraded a bit. This saves on time and you'll total roughly the same amount of symbols per week!

I don't like doing daily quests, is there another option?
Yes! There are other options for getting Kahrun symbols. Since 3.1 came out there have been quests that are automatically acquired in every 3.0 instance that reward you with a Kahrun bundle when you kill the final boss of the instance. So, by running 3.0 instances you not only open yourself up to receive nice gear from the instances themselves but they also contribute to your Kahrun symbols!

Fest I don't have time for all this crap! Give me Kahrun symbols!
For the extremely time restricted player you aren't out of luck! In the near future you'll still be able to buy the tradeable Kahrun boxes that people are selling on the broker. As of tomorrow this promotion on the Black Cloud Marketplace ends but many players still have the conversion items and will be posting them up even after the promotion ends. If you find yourself short on time but have the extra kinah to throw around then look to the broker for some extra symbols!

What mobs should I be killing for my Kahrun daily quests?
-Coming Soon- (With maps!)

PvP Gear:
As Aion continues to develop we will continue to see more tiers of end game PvP gear pop up. Currently there are several eternal sets of PvP gear that may seem quite pricey but are often worth the work to get them. Thankfully 3.5 has brought us multiple ways to pursue this top-tier PvP gear with easier access to both AP and Mithril Medals. (More to come here)

AP In 3.5:
If you like PvP then chances are good that you'll be needing a good way to gain AP as fast as you can to ensure a speedy gearing process. You may be saying silly things like: "Fest! Gaining ap is slow and stupid! What do!?" Fear not, 3.5 has given us a way to make some juicy AP extremely fast and allowing us to utilize multiple methods to do so.

I love PvP! Can I make AP realistically through just PvP?
Yes! I have found the most profitable PvP to be Solo or Duo PvP in the eye as this also opens you up to finding keymasters and get some nice AP bumps through that. In addition to the eye there is also an increased level of PvP in all cross-faction zones (rifts n' stuff). 3.5 has given level 60 players the ability to rift again and every zone is accessible!

I typically make my AP through PvP in Tiamaranta's Eye as it's fairly populated with officers trying to farm keys and whatnot, a veritable AP buffet for an Assassin such as myself. Don't worry though, any class can be successful in the eye, it's just a matter of knowing how to go about it.

Fest! You jerk! I keep dying in the eye, people are zerging like crazy!
This is a fairly common issue people have while playing in the Eye and it happens for a few reasons. First off, there is a PvP daily in there that requires five kills. Often if a group of players is having trouble finding people to fight they tend to congregate near the breakout of the opposing faction and then...a zerg is born. This can be extremely frustrating for people but it doesn't have to be the end of your PvP session.

Keep in mind that these zergs often form from players who aren't overly confident in their ability to be successful in small group situations. In order to discourage this kind of zerg PvP I urge people to start lashing out at some of these groups even if your numbers may not be on par with theirs. More often than not, if you can coordinate a bit with your fellow players you can drop high priority targets with good focus fire rather than just running back to the guards. Showing people that they're still vulnerable in a zerg is a good way to rattle their cage a bit and perhaps discourage them from zerging in the future. Not to be mean but, nobody likes a zergling.

So how do I deal with the zerglings?
The best part about the Eye is that you can quickly navigate it through the use of windstreams. One of these windstreams can be entered right from your breakout and may serve as an option to bypass those pesky breakout zergs. Now, this doesn't always solve the problem but it gives you options, and options are awesome.

To add to that thought I'd also like to urge caution at all times while PvPing in the Eye. It's a harsh zone that, at times, will be very unforgiving to players like myself who tunnel vision their targets. To ensure a positive experience go into the Eye with the understanding that, due to the presence of these windstreams, things change very quickly and a 1v1 you were having could turn into a 20v1 without much notice. To deal with this you have to be ready to drop your fight and book it out of there if things look like they're taking a turn for the worse. Windstreams also serve as a good countermeasure to a bad situation as they're quick exits with safe destinations.

Okay, that's cool and all but what if I don't want to do straight PvP for my AP?
Don't worry, you're in good company as the vast majority of the PvP playerbase also employs alternate methods to gain AP and gain it fast. One of these methods is farming keys in the Eye. Now, it's been a while since 3.0 came out so this isn't exactly new information but hey, I'm sure plenty of people aren't fully aware of how to farm keymasters with any consistency.

Your best bet for key farming is to farm the heroic grade keys from a mob called Keymaster Zumita. There are a total of six rooms that Zumita will spawn in, they are the the small rooms in the outer ring of the eye that have mobs forming an "X" shape with a dragon sitting in the middle. These keymasters will often spawn in basic hide so make sure you're popping an eye or running into the rooms to check if anything aggros you that isn't immediately visible.

Once you find a Keymaster Zumita and kill it you are guaranteed a blue chest key. Now for the important part; you've got a key and are on your way to finding a nice box to open but that's just a little AP and you need a lot so how can you get more? Farm it. Once you kill Zumita in a room it will have a respawn time of one hour. Once this hour is up there is a 20 minute window for the mob to spawn. It is important to make note of the times you kill these mobs so you can make your way back to the room an hour after you kill it. This is a great way to make a lot of AP fairly quickly even if you only manage to get the timer on one room, so get out there!

Fest I can't seem to get lucky with Keymasters are there any other ways to make AP?
Yes! As I mentioned earlier, 3.5 has added content that allows level 60 players to rift into any zone. Why is this useful? Well, as it turns out there are new guards that have been added to provide some extra protection for low level players but they also provide a fantastic source of AP relics and mithril medals! These mobs will spawn in Morheim/Eltnen/Beluslan/Heiron/Gelkmaros/Inggison and come in groups of six.

-edit- As of 3.7 this method has decreased in efficiency since they changed the timers on some rifts (Ing/Gelk) and nerfed the guard's drop rates. A new Gelk/Ing PvP Daily was added so be sure to swing by those maps and you should automatically pick up the daily quest!

Wow, that sounds awesome, how do I find them?
This is the tricky part. These new guards will only spawn near the exits of rifts and there will typically be two sets of six guards per rift. Each guard has a chance to drop an AP potion, Mithril medal, or a Major Ancient Crown, oh yes, these guards drop the good stuff. The guards will spawn between 15-30 minutes (based on my personal observations) after the rift pops up. I'll hold off on posting the exact locations of all guards for now but I may post them in the future should the desire be high enough. Just remember that they are generally on roads and at decent "choke" points. ;)

This may sound a little too good to be true, and it is, these guards may be elites but they aren't training dummies, these guys hit back...hard. There are three types of mobs per group, they are as follows: Sentinels (Easiest), Templars (Medium), and Sorcerers (Holypoop Difficulty). As you work your way down the line you'll find that the sentinels will get stunned and slowed just like most elites as they don't have much resistance to these things (I can solo two on my assassin). Following the sentinels you'll move onto the Templars which don't really hit terribly hard but are quite resilient and resist most stuns and crowd control skills. Finally, the last things you'll contend with are the sorcerers...and oh man these guys are nasty. Unless you are running fairly high MR these may give you some trouble. They resist essentially all forms of crowd control and stuns/slows. In addition to this they also have a buttload of HP and will do things like shooting star storm which hit for like 7-8k damage. You will either need two heavy DPS classes to drop one of these before they kill you or have a dedicated healer.

These mobs all have a nice chance to drop major crowns and are a fantastic resource for fast AP gain. There are a few more things to keep in mind with this method of AP gain concerning how you pull them and minding your surroundings. Any set of guards that spawns will often be accompanied by a large cannon  that players from the opposing faction may enter and do away with any pesky rifters. These cannons have set damage and can turn even a harmless pinkie into a nightmare for a few 60s. These cannons give the person inside them 200,000 HP and access to an area bombardment skill and a direct target attack skill. If you see someone get in a cannon near you, run. If you force a player out of a cannon it will immediately disappear.

In regards to pulling these guards you'll often start by pulling all six of them at once, a potentially deadly task. To do this safely you'll need to be ready to pop defensive cooldowns. On my chanter I typically pull them all with protective ward up and hit my instant heal as soon as the initial skills land and then proceed to kite five of the mobs off while my friend(s) pull the one or two we're going to be killing. The templars and sentinels will open with force cleave (it stuns) and the sorcerers open with tranquilizing cloud (sleep storm). This can be a nasty combo as a sleep may land on you after the cleaves and leave you very vulnerable to further attack.

This all sounds awesome but can I solo these?
Soloing these guards would be fairly difficult for most classes and I could maybe see Chanters and Clerics being able to do everything save the sorcerers (unless they're MR spec). But there is one way for melee classes to farm these themselves it's just a bit less profitable. Last night on my assassin I rifted over to Inggison and killed all the sentinels at every guard spawn. This was only about six mobs in total but I scored crowns off of every single one of them and it wasn't terribly difficult to do since the sentinels have low HP and are vulnerable to blinds/stuns.

I would suggest finding a friend or two and working out an AP feed schedule maybe rotating every rift or every day. Depending on your luck you can clear several hundred thousand AP in a day if you do this right, a boon for any player seeking to get level 60 AP gear fast.

Well, this is a good start I suppose. Good enough to post for now, at least. If anyone has any feedback or suggestions for things to prioritize then please, please,  PLEASE...leave a comment or send me an e-mail at teaminfestation@hotmail.com. Cheers, good luck gearing up!

-Fest (60 Assassin - Tiamat)

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Thoughts for Today

Migraines suck. They really do. Thankfully the worst has passed and the photo sensitivity has gone away to the point where I can at least come on here to write a bit. I just finished Dishonored last night and had some thoughts about the length of the typical action/adventure game. Dishonored was, thankfully, a breath of fresh air in this respect as it kept me busy for longer than most games in that genre.

It has become typical for games to last under 20 hours to complete the main story line which is honestly too short for me. I grew up with games that would take me a solid 40-60 hours if I wanted to play a game fully, getting all side stories and whatnot done along the way. There are even several games in my collection that I've dumped over 100 hours into, mostly of the Shin Megami Tensei variety.

New games, however, seem to lack a lot of content. We trade lengthy epic stories for new shiny graphics and I can't seem to put more than 10 hours into an average game these days. The stories told in games these days seems to be more focused on brief periods of time rather than a full duration of a war or any real significant portion of time. Dishonored being the most recent game I've played has definitely left me wanting more to the story but it also left me with a desire to replay it differently.

I do hope that we find a happy medium with this kind of thing in the games to come but I really am frustrated by how short these games are. They spend years in development to release content I can breeze through in an afternoon or two. It leaves a lot to be desired for someone like me who enjoys putting a lot of time and care into how I play through things.

I'm a lover of stories and I do feel that most games these days put the story on the back burner. Plenty of games have great characters but they're put into a setting where they don't have enough time to fully develop. The stories are simply too short. We're in a phase of gaming where most games, if compared to books, would be short stories rather than novels. I. Love. Novels. It's a frustrating shift in the gaming culture right now and I do sorely hope that it changes in the years to come.

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Fest's Character Corner: The Redeemed Villain

Every story has a villain of some sort, a primary antagonist. These characters are often representative of the exact opposite of the hero. Sometimes the primary villain is close with the protagonist in a story, typically experiencing some sort of event that pushes them apart, down opposing paths. These characters have always been of great interest to me as they represent the risk of falling and also the possibility for redemption.

Often in stories where the antagonist and protagonist are close there is a potent sense of drama that just isn't generated by the more generic villain types. This really gives certain stories some intense depth and great dynamics.

These kinds of villains also seem to find themselves in a position to redeem themselves in some way and return to the light, so to speak. A good example of this type of character would be Kratos, from Tales of Symphonia. Kratos is a character that assumes both the role of hero and villain in Symphonia, often serving as a mentor to the game's protagonist, Lloyd, when he's in a helpful mood. His shifts between good and evil help direct the game's story and flesh out Lloyd's conflicted feelings in regards to Kratos' allegiance.

It is revealed later in the game that Lloyd is actually Kratos' son, a revelation that shocks Llyod, who believed his parents were dead. Similarly, Kratos had believed his entire family was killed in a battle and had lost all meaning in his life. These events pushed him to his former comrade Mithos, the primary antagonist in Symphonia.

Kratos is a constantly conflicted character who is forced to choose between his comrades and his son, ultimately siding with his child to destroy the organization he helped build. The drama between Kratos and Lloyd is also quite interesting as they both have very different perceptions of the world. Kratos is an aloof character who takes very little interest in the world around him while his son fights desperately for even the smallest semblance of peace.

The redeemed villain is always something I like to see in a story and seeing games take that concept further is always nice. Having the ability to use a former villain as a new ally is always a good feeling and makes for deeper character connections.

Another example of this type of character is Jaffar from the original Fire Emblem game. This character's nickname is "The Angel of Death", given to him by the primary antagonist of the series, Nergal, after he found Jaffar as a child, sleeping on a pile corpses. He was trained as an assassin and seems to possess literally no emotions or remorse for those he kills. It is explained that he was under Nergal's control and that his actions were not his own but even after Jaffar escapes Nergal's control he still lacks emotions, for a while anyway.

Upon meeting a female rookie assassin by the name of Nino, Jaffar begins to change. The two of them are put on a mission together to assassinate a prince but when the moment comes for Nino to kill him she hesitates and cannot bring herself to do it. Upon realizing that the mission failed, Jaffar and Nino's employer turns on them both, seeking their death. Jaffar is wounded severely and expects Nino to kill him, respecting the order's way of killing the weak. Nino refuses and nurses Jaffar back to health, which baffles him.

At this point you're actually able to recruit both Nino and Jaffar into the main protagonist, Eliwood's/Hector's, party as they attempt to destroy Jaffar's old master, Nergal. Jaffar decides to stay with the party and protect Nino, whom he eventually falls in love with. In staying with Eliwood, Jaffar seeks to redeem his past actions and atone for all the lives he has taken. Through conversations with the other characters a significant change occurs in this character as he begins to develop an emotional component as he fears for Nino's life.

Overall I would say that these are some of the most interesting and dynamic characters that can be placed into a story. They represent the reality that there is the potential for even a good man to fall into the clutches of evil while also showing that even the filthiest soul can find redemption.

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Fest's Character Corner: The Rising Hero

So I decided I wanted to start doing a weekly "theme" post every Friday delving into the various character archetypes we commonly see in video games. I figured a good starting point would be the concept of the Hero as this would be the "main" character(s) in a story. To clarify a bit I want to talk about the "rising" hero which I'm defining as a type of character with humble beginnings that we follow along his/her rise to hero-dom.

So, why do we like this concept of the humble hero? Honestly I think it's because we can all identify with the concept of a hero starting off as nothing more than a normal person. Sometimes this unassuming hero gains his strength through supernatural means or perhaps chance but there is always a sort of defining moment in the story when that normal, small person becomes something so much more.

One of my favorite examples of this that has been fully fleshed out over many years doesn't even come from a video game, although he appears in many! That hero would be Goku from the anime classic, Dragon Ball (Z/GT). I've always loved Goku and have joked on more than one occasion that I need to write a book about how Goku shaped my moral compass as a kid but to me he's a perfect example of a hero.

For those reading this that may not be so familiar with this character's story he's an alien that's been sent to destroy the Earth but through a nice bump on the head he completely forgets about this mission and begins to develop into a moral paragon who would grow up to save the planet on numerous occasions.

The concepts of destiny are strewn throughout Dragonball but they are accompanied by an emphasis on hard work yielding results. Nothing is achieved without work and more often than not, sacrifice. These concepts become less true as the series progressed but Goku's rise from a little kid competing in his first martial arts tournament to fighting enemies strong enough to blow up planets on a whim demonstrates exactly what I'm talking about.

To get this a bit more specific to video games I'd also like to talk about the main character from one of my favorite games, Tales of Symphonia, a Gamecube classic. In this particular installment of the "Tales" series the main character is a young man named Lloyd. He is often depicted as a compassionate yet hot headed man with a deep concern for those he cares for. Throughout the game there are numerous people that almost overshadow Lloyd's leadership and force him to develop and adapt on the fly.

Lloyd also encounters numerous defeats and set backs along the way as a plot to eradicate humanity develops in front of him. In a lot of ways Lloyd seems like an unlikely leader, at the start of the game he really has very little experience with anything. As the story develops it almost drags Lloyd along with it, a concept that made him very appealing to me. The plot of this game also has a lot of uncertainties that call Lloyd's judgment into question and there are times where he is completely wrong and pays for it dearly. There is even a time where he is flung into a world parallel to his own with seemingly no hope of return. These obstacles helped define the character into something I valued and grew fond of.

A hero in crisis is often what people really want to see, stories just aren't interesting when the hero has it all figured out. Even in games like Devil May Cry the forever arrogant Dante still develops and adapts to his obstacles, despite his extremely laid back personality. Nobody wants to play a stagnant hero.

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Dishonored: First Look

When it comes to video games one might find that they see every single new release hyped up in a manner that is a bit more than acceptable, leading to some pretty bitter disappointments. Dishonored however, seems to be living up to the hype.

Dishonored is a stealth action game developed by Arkane Studios in cooperation with Bethesda Softworks. Arkane studios set out to redefine the concept of freedom in the stealth action genre and Dishonored seems to do just that, boasting an impressive amount of ways for players to accomplish the missions laid out in front of them. Along with this freedom to shape the story, Dishonored also equips the player with a multitude of supernatural abilities including things like short range teleporting, time distortion, and even corporeal possession.

Dishonored has fought for and won my attention in the past year through the use of tantalizing trailers and promises of unparalleled freedom. However, being the ever cautious person I am I didn’t want to overexcite myself and get disappointed by a sub-par finished project.  So, I decided to make playing the exclusive demo of Dishonored at the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX), a large gaming convention held in Seattle, WA, my top priority.

After several hours of enviously watching my peers get their chances with the game, it was finally my turn. I grasped the controller in my hands and dove into the scenario that had been laid in front of me. As I began to experiment with the controls I took a moment to survey my surroundings. This demo took place in a ruined portion of cityscape with collapsed stonework and disheveled residents wandering to and from my projected point of entry.

As I continued with the demo I shifted through my extensive physical and magical arsenal testing out various powers and weapons as I went, finding what suited me best. This process led me to a realization that made me quite happy, I actually didn’t need to fight any of the enemies in front of me to succeed in the mission I was given. Using a combination of time distortion and teleporting I managed to sneak my way into the primary mission location without inflicting a single casualty along the way.

Graphically, Dishonored is fantastically impressive with its steam punk style dystopian world. It sets a gloomy tone to the story as the main character, Corvo, sets out to clear his name of a crime he did not commit. Corvo is assisted by an enigmatic man known only as “The Outsider” who imparts upon him a seal and the ability to utilize supernatural abilities.

Dishonored brings a lot to the table for both stealth and action fans alike. With the freedom to choose how you’d like to go through the game, players will be able to have a personalized experience, different from their peers. Dishonored is a game that shouldn't be missed! It launches on October 9^th.

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Why We Play

Everyone has different reasons for playing video games. Some of use it in our professional lives and careers while others just use it to pass the time or have fun with friends. But aside from personal motivators there are also several aspects of games that make them appeal to a deeper part of us. A good friend of mine brought up a particular article (attempting to find it) that discussed how video games satisfy a set of needs that often are not met in someone's professional career.

Diving deeper into that thought of games having the ability to satisfy needs that otherwise remain unmet; a point that my friend Travis made was that games provide a certain level of creative freedom that other activities may not. This applies to everything from playing games to making them. People definitely seem to desire a degree of autonomy and creative variance in their lives which in turn fuels other creative habits.

I resonated with this idea of games satisfying needs since it pretty accurately reflects my motivation for writing about and playing many of my favorite games. I specifically love games that permit me to create my own characters and allow myself to have access to the larger-than-life scenarios that games often hold. This often alleviates the more mundane tasks presented in day to day life. It really isn't limited to games either, this desire for adventure and exploration is the same reason I'd watch a movie or read a book.

As I grow older I feel this need for experience deepen and thankfully I can say that my particular habit of playing games is one that will continue to expand and cater to my desire for these larger-than-life experiences.

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A Spectator Sport

When I was growing up I would occasionally find myself watching one of my friends play a video game for brief periods of time if it wasn't a multi-player game or just didn't interest me that much but I never really went out of my way to sit down and watch someone else play a game. More often than not I'd vastly prefer to play the game myself rather than just watch someone else do it for me. However, nowadays we have seen a massive surge in the popularity of spectating games of all kinds; anything from multi-player games like Starcraft 2 or League of Legends to single player hits such as Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

Why would anyone want to watch these things? Well I find myself particularly attracted to watching certain "Lets Plays" by various people on YouTube, my personal favorite is Cry. I find these interesting simply because they aren't games I would normally play. I also enjoy the commentary on these videos as they add to the experience.

The recent surge in "Lets Plays" on YouTube has also created careers for the more successful channels, the most popular one reaching upwards of two million subscribers (Tobuscus/PewDiePie). More popular YouTube channels can enter into a partnership with YouTube that allows them to profit off of their videos and they are quite profitable when each video can hit over several hundred thousand views.

In addition to YouTube there are also sites like Twitch.tv that allow gamers to stream their gaming sessions live to large groups of people. This format is much more common for multi-player games as the appeal is wider.

Another point of interest is the developing world of e-sports which offers some hefty prizes (The World Championship prize for League of Legends was three million dollars). These kinds of games are extremely competitive and other players watch and follow specific gaming teams in the same way one might follow a sports team.

I'm interested to see where things go from here as we move forward with competitive gaming. With new games coming out so frequently there will continue to be an increase in content for people to spectate and enjoy. 

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Video Games as a Medium for Storytelling

I've always loved games. Ever since I started playing Mario for the first time on my cousin's SNES as a tiny child I have adored them. I count myself lucky to have lived in a time where games have gone from something so simple a concept as Pong or Pacman to something as complex as any number of current generation games. But it's not the fancy graphics or game mechanics that fed my love for gaming all these years...it was the stories they told.

Story has always been a central concept in every form of media entertainment and that goes two-fold for video games as it opens up a dimension that is typically untouched in things like movies or music. That dimension is player interaction and input. If I go to a movie or read a book I'm bearing witness to a story that is playing out on that particular form of media. With a game however, I'm often taking up a role in those stories, sometimes changing and sculpting them into my own story.

This is why I love games and also why I love the idea of game development. Every time I pick up the controller I know that I'm stepping into someone else's world, their story, it's quite daunting at times but I know that this was crafted in the hope that a player will experience the story the creators were trying to tell.

Some of the things that really encouraged me to continue gaming were things as simple as a game having multiple endings or side stories, things that I could change of my own volition. How many books or movies end differently based on the audience's input? The opportunity to really live out a story is what made games so gripping for me.

All that being said, I do have to admit that recent games just haven't satisfied me in the same way as the games of my youth. I could have become jaded at some point and that spark have been lost in the shuffle somewhere in my adolescent years but I still reflect back on those older games and wonder what they did so well that current games don't.

I've thought about the effect that our ultra realistic graphics are having on storytelling and I feel like there could possibly be a connection. Back when games like Legaia, Dragoon, Symphonia, and the obviously relevant Final Fantasy series were rather popular (FF still is) there was far less technology to work with when designing these games.

This leads my to believe (and this is my opinion) that perhaps all those innovative game mechanics and shiny graphics take something away from the importance of story. Don't get me wrong, there are still some fantastic games with solid stories out there, Skyrim was one of those games for me (Side Quests!) as anyone could guess from the plethora of guides that exist on this blog but I digress.

I find myself enjoying more games that would fall under the category of "indie" rather than the bigger launches. I find that these games are made by people who are absolutely dying to tell their story and that's what really clicks with me.

I found that this humorous take on the "retro" games vs. the new games was an accurate judge of how other gamers feel about the subject. From just looking at the like/dislike ratio it's plain to see that I'm not the first person to have these kinds of thoughts.

Credit to freddiew and Rocketjump for the video!

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Shifting Focus: A Look at Free to Play Online Gaming. Blog Assignment #3

As an avid MMO player I have found that in recent times a vast quantity of fairly large MMOs have made the switch from a subscription model to a free to play model. In this post I'll mainly be focusing on AION, as it is a perfect example of a game I actively play that has fully transitioned from a monthly subscription to a truly free model.

Aion is one of the more popular MMOs on the market right now with most of its player-base residing in Asia, and more specifically, South Korea. Since Aion is a Korean game we've received a "westernized" version of the game that has specific things tweaked to fit a western gamer's play-style. Typically this is done to make games easier as the Asian MMO market is characterized by its extremely time consuming "grind" up to the maximum level.

One of the more important aspects of the western version of Aion is that it has become completely free. Aion used to have the same subscription prices of most other MMOs, 15 dollars a month. Due to numerous circumstances which included a dwindling player base and a drop in profitability led NCsoft, the producers of Aion, decided to shift the game into a free to play model.

This may seem like an awesome thing for the players and I'm not going to lie, my wallet and my gaming budget were thankful when I no longer had to pay for Aion. However, free to play models aren't without their flaws.

There is one annoyance that comes in tandem with any free to play MMO...cash shops. These are online stores in which players can use real money to exchange for some form of in-game reward. Typically any AAA game will try to stay away from selling any crucial game changing items in the shop that can't be obtained by other methods but there is always the danger of a game slipping into the dreaded "pay to win" situation.

The frustrating part of free to play is that we, as players, know that the game has to generate some form of revenue and that the things that will generate the most money will also cause us the most distress. Managing this type of situation is one of the most delicate processes and more often than not is handled improperly, resulting in a mass exodus of players. Aion has definitely been going through some bumpy times with their cash shop as players struggle to accept new additions to the shop as time goes on. As the primary revenue generator the cash shop receives frequent updates which is incredibly difficult to do without stepping on some toes.

The thing I feel like free to play MMOs need to keep in mind is that, while player satisfaction is always a priority no matter what business model you use, you have to listen to your players. At the end of the day the players know exactly what they want and if developers would take a moment to slow down and really listen it becomes clear what players desire.

For Aion in particular, people take advantage of the extremely deep character customization system to create their perfect character, often taking extreme care in selecting and managing various details of how their character dresses/looks. This involvement in the player's character is an easily profitable aspect of Aion that hasn't been fully realized.

In the end I feel like free to play is a great shift for AAA MMO's but they have to be handled with extreme care as players are more fickle than ever. Despite free MMO's having existed from the start this is still a very young business method for AAA games and as expected, there are problems that are still being worked out. I'm thankful that NCsoft has begun to show signs that player input is becoming a driving force in their future plans.

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Direct Downloads: The Future of Gaming? Blog Assignment #2

This is a topic I've liked talking about for a while now as I am a huge proponent of games shifting into a direct download style of distribution as opposed to the typical physical disc. Why? Because it's healthy for the game studios/companies that are putting years of time and effort into making these games for us. Stores like Gamestop tend to make most of their money by offering gamers minuscule sums of store credit for their used games. This may seem like a benign practice but it takes a chunk out of the profits made by the game creators and hands it over to the store.

In this Forbes article a former Gamestop employee spoke out on the franchise's used game "racket" even going so far as to say it'd be illegal if our government regulated the sales of used video games. This may be an extreme example but it adequately depicts an ongoing business issue for the game industry as 100% of used game sales profits go to the store rather than the game studio that created it.

Essentially what happens is Gamestop, as one of the primary game distributors, orders "x" amount of copies of an upcoming game to satisfy the pre-order/launch demands. After the launch rush is over, most of the future sales of that particular game will be used purchases as opposed to new, giving Gamestop a huge portion of the profits and leaving the people who put years of work into making it in the dust.

As far as digital distribution goes you have distributors such as Valve's Steam interface, a wholly digital means of purchasing and playing a plethora of both mainstream and indie games. What often comes along with this method of distribution is decreased prices for new games, sometimes to the tune of a full 10 dollars less than a physical copy.

In addition to the obvious ease of access and the fair prices Steam also fronts a line of impressive packaged deals that feature numerous games from specific studios. These value packs often help rejuvenate even the oldest of games and profit the developers even more.

But hey, business practices aside, digital distribution's appeal is pointed at us, the gamers! It profits the developers and whatnot which is great for us long-term but the push for digital distribution is fueled by our desires as well. Nobody likes pre-ordering through Gamestop, if they're being honest. Trying to pre-order through them is like giving yourself a 75% chance of getting the game you desired and a 25% chance of having them try to tell you it doesn't come out on the day it came out (My experience with Gamestop on multiple occasions). You're far better off picking up the PC game off Steam/Origin and knowing you're supporting the developers and knowing you've got your game. Hint: Devs like digital distribution and more often than not that method of purchase usually comes with some perks! Especially for MMOs!

The next step in the digital distribution process is liberating the console gamers as there is no nice way to get new releases like we can on the PC through Steam, they're forced to use Gamestop in the same way the game companies are forced to work with them to reach core gaming audiences. With any luck the game industry can provide direct download services at some point in the near future and put businesses like Gamestop back in their place.

Can you tell I don't like Gamestop?

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Virtual Reality: A Step Forward? Blog Assignment #1

Alright so one of the things I looked into/tried out at PAX Prime was the virtual reality headset they had up for demo. I was pretty excited going in as it was my first time trying something like this. That initial excitement died fairly quickly as I realized that first off, the game was pretty "meh" and the headset was rather clunky, among other things.

The headset itself was connected to something else through a fairly thick set of cords that were anchored to the back of the headset. What this meant was the person running this booth was constantly trying to adjust this cable so that I wouldn't wrap myself up in it or trip over it. It proved to be a constant annoyance as I was trying to move freely in the game.

I used to see VR as a step forward for gaming but my experiences at PAX felt a tad bit gimmick-y and extremely disorienting (I had to sit down for a bit afterwards to avoid puking). This entire thing seemed a tad premature and I found myself wishing that they had chosen a different game to demo this tech on along with a host who knew what he was doing.

The gentleman hosting this booth was knowledgeable enough about the headset itself but not about the game I was using it for so I spent most of my time wandering around aimlessly which involved a lot of spinning around (which actually required me to physically spin around, thus the disorientation). Needless to say...things could have been better.

Basically what this headset did was disable the right stick (was playing on a 360) so that all camera movement was directed by where I was trying to physically look. This part was pretty cool but it's also quite a bit more difficult than just using the controller which just begs the question, is VR even worth it?

I could see myself using this type of tech for games like Skyrim or other aesthetically pleasing games that I really want to experience on a deeper level. However, the demo I tried at PAX was for a shooter which proved to be a little too hectic at times for me to deal with while trying to aim precisely with the headset. The whole experience was a bit of a turn off but it also may have just been the specific circumstances that led to that feeling.

So! I'd like to know if anyone else has thoughts on VR tech and especially if you've given it a test yourself. But feel free to comment even if you haven't!

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Morally Correct in a Morally Incorrect World: A Look at the Character of Wei Shen

This past week has been a big one for me since Darksiders II, Sleeping Dogs, and The Last Story all came out together. I decided to start with Sleeping Dogs since Gamestop managed to not have my pre-ordered The Last Story. In addition to the game review itself I wanted to stop and take a look at a character that has now taken a spot on my "Favorite Character" list, Wei Shen.

Sleeping Dogs puts you in the shoes of a fiery undercover cop named Wei Shen as he attempts to dismantle the Sun On Yee (A play on the actual Triad Sun Yee On?) from the inside. The plot felt fairly typical at first and I honestly expected to be playing Sleeping Dogs not for it's gripping characters of plot but rather for a fun, face paced action game. However, as the story progressed, my opinions began to shift as I not only got involved in the story but the character of Wei Shen.

After completing the game the base theme I got out of Sleeping Dogs was the heavy concept of being a morally correct character in an extremely incorrect world. To me, Wei was just that. Throughout the story Wei is forced to play out the age old struggle of the undercover cop, the dynamic shift between criminal and officer that he is forced to go through. Obviously there is a great deal of attachment to his new "family" as he sees how far they would go for him, and he reciprocates.

This closeness to his cover causes great distress for Raymond, his handler for the police department, as he is the only one Wei talks to outside of the occasional case from officer Teng and the caustic interactions with Superintendent Pendrew. As Wei continues down the path of a criminal he is continually presented with morally challenging obstacles that force him to push the boundaries of what he feels is acceptable. The first instance of this is when Wei is essentially forced to take a life as a kind of test to prove he isn't a cop, which he does.

As you progress further into the story there are some very real, very painful situations that lead Wei up the food chain in the Triad. These are all things that Wei needed to complete his job but pain him greatly as he sees his friends suffer. Wei is often displayed in direct opposition to how the police attempt to treat him as well as the people he is working with, even criticizing the Officer Teng for belittling the lives of members of the Triad in a murder investigation. Wei is shown to have an incredibly deep connection to his new family for no reason other than a kind of reciprocal relationship of actually wanting to help them as they do things for him.

Eventually Wei's initial obligation to climb the ladder within the triad fades and he is propelled by his own attachments to his friends. Even though much of what is being done around him could be considered wrong or morally incorrect Wei is often forced into the protector or guardian role as he attempts to stave off attempts to harm his friends. Oddly enough, a vast portion of the crime and, specifically, murder occurs within the Triad itself, leaving the risk of harming innocents almost nonexistent. This seems to be Wei's justification for much of what he does as most of his police work is related to taking out drug suppliers and shutting down prostitution rings, things that are extremely detrimental to the innocents of the city.

However, Wei is continually haunted by many of his choices and the events he is forced into, often hearing replays of conversations in his dreams. Wei also bears a bit of his soul when talking to his Master, Sifu Kwok, as you collect his stolen statues and learn new combat techniques. Their relationship definitely is one of Mentor -> Pupil as Sifu constantly challenges Wei's morality and his choices. Sifu definitely takes the role of Wei's conscience and moral adviser as he is presented with increasingly difficult situations.

Close to the end of the game you are working to put a well-known producer/human trafficker Sonny Wo, behind bars. This set of missions involves getting moderately close to his right hand man, Ricky, and his girlfriend, Vivienne. Sonny is depicted as a raunchy scumbag and is constantly saying things like "Hey, F*** her if you want to! Just don't damage the goods! Hahaha!" Real quality guy.

At one point Sonny forces Vivienne to attempt to sleep with Wei and essentially drag him into Sonny's favor. Wei refuses her advances and sends her home, comforting the clearly surprised Vivienne as she leaves, thanking Wei for not forcing her to go through with it. This scene really demonstrated Wei's dedication to his friends and his desire to never hurt those close to him, even though he didn't know Ricky that well.

For me, Sleeping Dogs became less about the fun, flowing combat, and more about watching how this great character developed. You can't help but like Wei Shen and admire the character's firm dedication to his friends and how and where he draws the line between right and wrong. He is an extremely vocal character who is both the voice of reason and of total opposition to the Triad and the Police.

Wei Shen has definitely become one of my favorite characters, and I'd like to thank everyone involved in crafting this wonderful game!

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