For fans of Guild Wars, today marked a milestone in the evolution of what will become Guild Wars 2 (link), the sequel to the highly successful game released in 2005. The developers of Guild Wars were actually the first to pioneer the territory of free-to-play gaming, which proved extremely successful for NCSoft. The original game, and the subsequent three expansions (Factions, NightFall and Eye of The North) were a unique introduction to the typical hack and slash genre in that each individual game fleshed out the backstory of one of the 4 main characters is a sweeping storyline. Part of the appeal for me was the distinctive feeling I was playing a pivotal role in an epic film!
The first game wasn’t without it’s weaknesses, however. The point and click movement felt antiquated, and the combat a little clumsy. The opportunities to engage in experiences with other players were few and far between because the world itself was instance intensive; meaning 90% of the time you were traveling through your own personal instance alone, or with NPC henchmen to aid you in your battles. Essentially the world suffered from segmentation to an inhibitory degree if you cared at all to share your experiences with the MMO context. The only places to actually see other players were in major areas or mission town. Guild Wars didn’t use Servers as we have come to know them over the years. The load on servers was separated by what they call Districts. The really nice thing was that, regardless of what district you were on, you could easily travel to another a more populated district if the one you were in was empty.
NCsoft is doing away with every bit of the aforementioned and creating a lush persistent world. While there will still be instances, it will not nearly be so instance-centric. The objective this time around, according to the developers, was to create a more fully realized world without so many gateways that isolate characters in instances and break immersion. They want their player to feel as though they are a part of something much bigger; Not playing a solo, single player game.
When Guild Wars 2 was announced in 2007, it was met with great anticipation. Many people play Guild Wars. Some play quite regularly, while others re-visit the game incrementally, but not as frequently. There are many elements that made Guild Wars such a huge success beyond the free-to-play format. It actually broke the disappointing tradition of “You get what you pay for.” With Guild Wars, NCSoft created what is possibly, even today, one of the most lush and graphically appealing worlds ever to grace the metaverse. Their characters are stunning in realization, their attire is absolutely riveting, the creatures that inhabit Tyria are astonishingly well made. You won’t find any clunky or cartoony models in Guild Wars. I regard it as one of the most visually sophisticated games of all time. They also have a crafting system, albeit one that is not easy to navigate. But I do believe that Guild Wars remains one of the most fulfilling free to play games on the market; Obviously indicating that you needn’t go bust to enjoy some quality game time.
A few otehr games followed in Guild Wars’ footsteps but quickly fell off the MMO radar. Dungeon Runners was a World of Warcraft sppof, quite literally. You would loot items like “The Glowing Broken Blade of Dancing Drunk Leprechans,” taking a comedic jab at World of Warcrafts obscenely long loot item names. Cosmetically, it’s similar to Warcraft as well, and the NPC’s talk, often crudely, but they talk. Dungeon Runners, while free, relied on player to purchase extra items through a marketplace for real money. For a small subscription fee you could have access to higher end content and better loot. But the incentive wasn’t enough for people to shell out their hard earned cash, and the game itself is not populated primarily by 13 year old boys who can’t afford the real World of Warcraft subscription fee.
With Guild Wars, there wasn’t any catches. The only think you paid for was the game. You didn’t have to shell out for extra advantages or nicer gear. It essentially did what it said on the tin. And we like that.
Another thing that kept players, including me, retuning to the lands of Tyria for some game time was the dedication of NCSoft Devs in consistently and reliably adding updated content, having festive holiday events, creating new quests and offering up new adventure packs which added new campaigns. The game itself, even 5 years later, is still one of the hottest sellers on the market.
In the great tradition of the Guild Wars storytelling, And Guild Wars 2 takes place 250 years after the events in their third and final expansion to the original, Eye of the North. One aspect i found incredibly innovative was that, while your characters you created and played throughout the original Guild Wars are long dead, their legends and achievements will be remembered in Guild Wars 2! They were heroes of the great war after all, and the descendants of your character will keep their memory alive through the Hall Of Heroes. A building in the city that is like a hall of records, even those great warriors of 250 years ago have not been forgotten.
But the world of Tyria has evolved considerably in the time that has passed. Relationships between the factions, even those that were once hostile, have now now united in the shadow of the greatest threat Tyria has ever faced. New races have appeared on the horizon to join in the battle, The Sylvari, beings of light, who have woken to the Dawn of a New Age in Tyria. Races players are already familiar with, such as the Asura, Norn and Charr, are now playable races. This alone expands the game substantially in scope, given that in the original Guild Wars a player could only be a Human.
Today, NCSoft release their first introductory trailer to the races of Guild Wars 2. The game has been shrouded in secrecy and information has been slow to appear, but it seems like NCSoft is slowly lifting the veil, and with ever bit they reveal, the game look even more incredible!
For fans of Guild Wars, today marked a milestone in the evolution of what will become Guild Wars 2 (link), the sequel to the highly successful game released in 2005. The developers of Guild Wars were actually the first to pioneer the territory of free-to-play gaming, which proved extremely successful for NCSoft. The original game, and the subsequent three expansions (Factions, NightFall and Eye of The North) were a unique introduction to the typical hack and slash genre in that each individual game fleshed out the backstory of one of the 4 main characters is a sweeping storyline. Part of the appeal for me was the distinctive feeling I was playing a pivotal role in an epic film!
The first game wasn’t without it’s weaknesses, however. The point and click movement felt antiquated, and the combat a little clumsy. The opportunities to engage in experiences with other players were few and far between because the world itself was instance intensive; meaning 90% of the time you were traveling through your own personal instance alone, or with NPC henchmen to aid you in your battles. Essentially the world suffered from segmentation to an inhibitory degree if you cared at all to share your experiences with the MMO context. The only places to actually see other players were in major areas or mission town. Guild Wars didn’t use Servers as we have come to know them over the years. The load on servers was separated by what they call Districts. The really nice thing was that, regardless of what district you were on, you could easily travel to another a more populated district if the one you were in was empty.
NCsoft is doing away with every bit of the aforementioned and creating a lush persistent world. While there will still be instances, it will not nearly be so instance-centric. The objective this time around, according to the developers, was to create a more fully realized world without so many gateways that isolate characters in instances and break immersion. They want their player to feel as though they are a part of something much bigger; Not playing a solo, single player game.
When Guild Wars 2 was announced in 2007, it was met with great anticipation. Many people play Guild Wars. Some play quite regularly, while others re-visit the game incrementally, but not as frequently. There are many elements that made Guild Wars such a huge success beyond the free-to-play format. It actually broke the disappointing tradition of “You get what you pay for.” With Guild Wars, NCSoft created what is possibly, even today, one of the most lush and graphically appealing worlds ever to grace the metaverse. Their characters are stunning in realization, their attire is absolutely riveting, the creatures that inhabit Tyria are astonishingly well made. You won’t find any clunky or cartoony models in Guild Wars. I regard it as one of the most visually sophisticated games of all time. They also have a crafting system, albeit one that is not easy to navigate. But I do believe that Guild Wars remains one of the most fulfilling free to play games on the market; Obviously indicating that you needn’t go bust to enjoy some quality game time.
A few otehr games followed in Guild Wars’ footsteps but quickly fell off the MMO radar. Dungeon Runners was a World of Warcraft spoof, quite literally. You would loot items like “The Glowing Broken Blade of Dancing Drunk Leprechans,” taking a comedic jab at World of Warcraft’s obscenely long loot item names. Cosmetically, it’s similar to Warcraft as well, and the NPC’s talk, often crudely, but they talk. Dungeon Runners, while free, relied on player to purchase extra items through a marketplace for real money. For a small subscription fee you could have access to higher end content and better loot. But the incentive wasn’t enough for people to shell out their hard earned cash, and the game itself is not populated primarily by 13 year old boys who can’t afford the real World of Warcraft subscription fee.
With Guild Wars, there wasn’t any catches. The only think you paid for was the game. You didn’t have to shell out for extra advantages or nicer gear. It essentially did what it said on the tin. And we like that.
Another thing that kept players, including me, retuning to the lands of Tyria for some game time was the dedication of NCSoft Devs in consistently and reliably adding updated content, having festive holiday events, creating new quests and offering up new adventure packs which added new campaigns. The game itself, even 5 years later, is still one of the hottest sellers on the market.
In the great tradition of the Guild Wars storytelling, And Guild Wars 2 takes place 250 years after the events in their third and final expansion to the original, Eye of the North. One aspect i found incredibly innovative was that, while your characters you created and played throughout the original Guild Wars are long dead, their legends and achievements will be remembered in Guild Wars 2! They were heroes of the great war after all, and the descendants of your character will keep their memory alive through the Hall Of Heroes. A building in the city that is like a hall of records, even those great warriors of 250 years ago have not been forgotten.
But the world of Tyria has evolved considerably in the time that has passed. Relationships between the factions, even those that were once hostile, have now now united in the shadow of the greatest threat Tyria has ever faced. New races have appeared on the horizon to join in the battle, The Sylvari, beings of light, who have woken to the Dawn of a New Age in Tyria. Races players are already familiar with, such as the Asura, Norn and Charr, are now playable races. This alone expands the game substantially in scope, given that in the original Guild Wars a player could only be a Human.
Today, NCSoft release their first introductory trailer to the races of Guild Wars 2. The game has been shrouded in secrecy and information has been slow to appear, but it seems like NCSoft is slowly lifting the veil, and with ever bit they reveal, the game look even more incredible!
This trailer is a MUST SEE! (As a little Aside- Web phenom and creator of the hugely popular web series The Guild (link), Felicia day, voices the impish Asura!)
