Acts of Gord/
I never update except when i find a new linky to post...I found an old one.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Giving rites to the fallen
In a forest’s glen, not far from the crushing sounds of the sea against a nearby cliff, lie the remnants of a battlefield. Blood from wounds only minutes old sprinkles the snowy blanket that recently coated the surrounding area. Dozens of bodies litter the ground, their faces and dress all showing the signs of men and women who were prepared to die for their causes. Standing at the edge of the battlefield are three figures, a man and two women. Their weapons are still at the ready, and their attire sharply contrasts against those they have slain only moments before. One of the women is wrapped from head to toe in a cloak that seems a size too large. It is this woman who moves first, who kneels in front of one of the dead. The cloaked woman appears to stare at the remains of the man that lays butchered before her; his crimson tabard hiding the blood stains well, but not the wounds that caused them. He is not alone; a sprinkling of his cohorts lay nearby in similar poses of death. She speaks, not to the companions at her sides, but in actuality to no one at all.
Her voice is raspy and her words seem to make the air colder than it already is. "So far the mighty have fallen from grace. What once was a great man serving a great order is now just carrion for the scavengers."
The two at her flanks both seem to recoil a little as the woman bends over the corpse, her bony almost clawed hands sliding out of her cloak and gently caressing the face of the deceased man. The tall, thin Elfin man on her left brushes a few loose strands of his silver hair back behind his ear and quickly turns his head slightly towards the troll on her right.
"She is doing it again, isn't she Ny? I hate it when she does this."
The fiery haired troll gives the elf a small smile, her lips spreading just far enough apart to show more than a little of her razor sharp teeth. The grin quickly fades as she watches what she knows will now come to pass.
The bone-handed woman does not seem to acknowledge the elf’s words as she speaks again. "May the light you tried to serve so hard in this life guide you in the next." Her hand slowly slides down the deceased man's face and chest until stopping over his heart, her fingers spreading out and pressing hard against his chest. "For as long as there is light in this world to protect the living, there shall also forever be a shadow cast over the dead."
A dark green light seems to glow within the chest of the deceased, spilling out from the wounds in his body. The body rapidly begins to change, first its teeth and jaw growing many times larger than the rest of the face. Next, the flesh seems to rot weeks in a length of time only slightly longer then a moment. This newly created creature immediately stands up and stares obediently at his creator, patiently waiting to be commanded by his master.
As she finishes her ritual she speaks one last time, "And it is that shadow that shall serve me now until the day I die again." She lets her cloak flow freely in the cold blowing air as her raven hair and long dead face are seemingly rejuvenated by the cold. She then turns her soulless icy blue eyes towards the gates of the Keep atop the cliff in the distance. "Come my friends, we have some funerals to arrange."
The group starts to leave the glen, the undead woman leaving last. She stares over her shoulder at that which they had wrought, and she seems somewhat saddened and almost reluctant to leave. She waves her hand in an arcane gesture, and turns away, leaving the forest as little more than a memory. Slowly, with nothing but the silence of the departed to welcome it, snow begins to fall again. Within a few minutes, all signs of the battle are buried by the snow.
Her voice is raspy and her words seem to make the air colder than it already is. "So far the mighty have fallen from grace. What once was a great man serving a great order is now just carrion for the scavengers."
The two at her flanks both seem to recoil a little as the woman bends over the corpse, her bony almost clawed hands sliding out of her cloak and gently caressing the face of the deceased man. The tall, thin Elfin man on her left brushes a few loose strands of his silver hair back behind his ear and quickly turns his head slightly towards the troll on her right.
"She is doing it again, isn't she Ny? I hate it when she does this."
The fiery haired troll gives the elf a small smile, her lips spreading just far enough apart to show more than a little of her razor sharp teeth. The grin quickly fades as she watches what she knows will now come to pass.
The bone-handed woman does not seem to acknowledge the elf’s words as she speaks again. "May the light you tried to serve so hard in this life guide you in the next." Her hand slowly slides down the deceased man's face and chest until stopping over his heart, her fingers spreading out and pressing hard against his chest. "For as long as there is light in this world to protect the living, there shall also forever be a shadow cast over the dead."
A dark green light seems to glow within the chest of the deceased, spilling out from the wounds in his body. The body rapidly begins to change, first its teeth and jaw growing many times larger than the rest of the face. Next, the flesh seems to rot weeks in a length of time only slightly longer then a moment. This newly created creature immediately stands up and stares obediently at his creator, patiently waiting to be commanded by his master.
As she finishes her ritual she speaks one last time, "And it is that shadow that shall serve me now until the day I die again." She lets her cloak flow freely in the cold blowing air as her raven hair and long dead face are seemingly rejuvenated by the cold. She then turns her soulless icy blue eyes towards the gates of the Keep atop the cliff in the distance. "Come my friends, we have some funerals to arrange."
The group starts to leave the glen, the undead woman leaving last. She stares over her shoulder at that which they had wrought, and she seems somewhat saddened and almost reluctant to leave. She waves her hand in an arcane gesture, and turns away, leaving the forest as little more than a memory. Slowly, with nothing but the silence of the departed to welcome it, snow begins to fall again. Within a few minutes, all signs of the battle are buried by the snow.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Essay Paper on MMORPGs
Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game or MMORPG for short. Many different online games have given themselves these labels. I am going to be discussing the main points these games have in common and what I think can make one game have more players then others. The target audience, graphics, story, controls, teaming style and cost are all factors in choosing the best MMORPG for any given person.
The first thing that these types of games need to do is to decide on their target audience. Some may try to corner a specific sub-market, such as City of Heroes or Champions Online. These two separate games both try to target the standard comic book reader. Other games such as World of Warcraft, try to appeal to every type of video game player. The most simplistic and “cute” game on the market is Free Realms, a game which targets children and those with small amounts of disposable incomes.
Graphics tend to run the entire gambit in MMO games. Some games are simply two dimensional games with 16 bit graphics, while other games are forever pushing their graphics to the highest and most extreme levels. In general, “better” looking MMO’s tend to do better in the long run because they have more instantaneous appeal. Games like Free Realms however have proven graphics do not necessarily need to be cutting edge to be considered good.
Storytelling is another thing that takes a lot of time to work on and decide in these styles of games. Your standard MMO player wants to be able to become “lost” in the world they are playing in. A good MMO plays like reading a book from your favorite author. However, if you don’t like the way the protagonist would do something you can change the outcome, since YOU are the protagonist. To create both this feeling and to keep players drawn to your game over time, you need to make sure that the story of the world you created will keep them interested. While not every player “wants to be the hero” you will find that more often than not, they do.
Ease of controlling is the next thing, and this tends to be the make or break moment no matter how much effort you put into making your game look gorgeous. Even if you put a large amount of effort into making sure the world has a totally logical story, with no plot holes and an amazing timeline, if your game is too hard to play then you will lose most the players within the first hour of playing. You need to go back and think about your target audience and make sure the way of playing the game appeals to them. Innovation might help, but it still needs to be something that the person playing can figure out relatively easily.
The most controversial point of any MMO is teaming. Some players would prefer to never team up with another player. Others want to be teamed from the moment they start, till the moment they stop playing each time. This means that your game would most likely need to appeal to both types of players, or you instantly lose half your audience. The best MMO’s make teaming optional but rewarding. You may not need to team up with others to play the game, but it generally is considered “more rewarding” by enticing players with either prettier rewards or rewards that make the game slightly easier.
The final thing any MMO needs to decide on is cost. In this there probably is the highest amount of diversity than any other section, except graphics. Common types of payment include: Microtransactions, One-Time Fee, Free-to-play, Subscription, and any combination their-of. A microtransaction means instead of a larger payment, the game tends to have many smaller possible transactions. This usually is either a simple cosmetic change, or giving the player access to something that can only be acquired in this manner. One-time fee games tend to be more like the old fashioned video game, where you buy it once and never have to worry about the cost again. This style of game is becoming increasingly rare, however when it is combined with microtransactions it is a very common game type.
Free–to-play games have essentially stolen the thunder from one-time fee games, since who can pass up a game that is free? The majority of these also offer microtransactions, though a small number instead generate their revenue through advertisements. But when it comes to the “standard” payment option, many MMO’s are subscription. This is generally an automated reoccurring fee that must be payed monthly to continue to play the game. This was the original MMO payment model and it has remained strong, though recently is has begun to be combined more and more often with the microtransaction methods.
The best MMO in each Category in my mind would be the following:
- Target Audience: World of Warcraft, more than any other game has crossed all lines in attracting players of all types.
- Graphics: Aion, a Korean import, has defeated many stronger games in certain markets purely based on looks.
- Story: Dungeons and Dragons Online, the original RPG in most people’s minds, has the largest amount of source material to draw on.
- Teaming: City of Heroes, a game that scales its difficulty based on the number of team mates, makes teaming a purely optional matter for 99% of its players.
- Controls: Everquest, since it was the original MMO on the market, is a game that has the controls which “just feel right” for your standard MMO player.
- Cost: Free Realms, while contrary to the games name is far from free, does however tend to offer most players the best bang for their buck.
So what is the greatest MMO? It is hard to choose a game that can compete in all these areas. In all honesty I am left with only one, Guild Wars. This amazingly simple to learn game has one of the most in depth story worlds, is a one-time purchase, though it offers minor cosmetic bonuses as microtransactions, looks amazing for its system requirements and can just as easily be played solo or teamed. All of this combined arguably make it the best MMO on the market. This is why it is no surprise to most gamers that this amazing game is getting a sequel.
So, anyone want to play?
The first thing that these types of games need to do is to decide on their target audience. Some may try to corner a specific sub-market, such as City of Heroes or Champions Online. These two separate games both try to target the standard comic book reader. Other games such as World of Warcraft, try to appeal to every type of video game player. The most simplistic and “cute” game on the market is Free Realms, a game which targets children and those with small amounts of disposable incomes.
Graphics tend to run the entire gambit in MMO games. Some games are simply two dimensional games with 16 bit graphics, while other games are forever pushing their graphics to the highest and most extreme levels. In general, “better” looking MMO’s tend to do better in the long run because they have more instantaneous appeal. Games like Free Realms however have proven graphics do not necessarily need to be cutting edge to be considered good.
Storytelling is another thing that takes a lot of time to work on and decide in these styles of games. Your standard MMO player wants to be able to become “lost” in the world they are playing in. A good MMO plays like reading a book from your favorite author. However, if you don’t like the way the protagonist would do something you can change the outcome, since YOU are the protagonist. To create both this feeling and to keep players drawn to your game over time, you need to make sure that the story of the world you created will keep them interested. While not every player “wants to be the hero” you will find that more often than not, they do.
Ease of controlling is the next thing, and this tends to be the make or break moment no matter how much effort you put into making your game look gorgeous. Even if you put a large amount of effort into making sure the world has a totally logical story, with no plot holes and an amazing timeline, if your game is too hard to play then you will lose most the players within the first hour of playing. You need to go back and think about your target audience and make sure the way of playing the game appeals to them. Innovation might help, but it still needs to be something that the person playing can figure out relatively easily.
The most controversial point of any MMO is teaming. Some players would prefer to never team up with another player. Others want to be teamed from the moment they start, till the moment they stop playing each time. This means that your game would most likely need to appeal to both types of players, or you instantly lose half your audience. The best MMO’s make teaming optional but rewarding. You may not need to team up with others to play the game, but it generally is considered “more rewarding” by enticing players with either prettier rewards or rewards that make the game slightly easier.
The final thing any MMO needs to decide on is cost. In this there probably is the highest amount of diversity than any other section, except graphics. Common types of payment include: Microtransactions, One-Time Fee, Free-to-play, Subscription, and any combination their-of. A microtransaction means instead of a larger payment, the game tends to have many smaller possible transactions. This usually is either a simple cosmetic change, or giving the player access to something that can only be acquired in this manner. One-time fee games tend to be more like the old fashioned video game, where you buy it once and never have to worry about the cost again. This style of game is becoming increasingly rare, however when it is combined with microtransactions it is a very common game type.
Free–to-play games have essentially stolen the thunder from one-time fee games, since who can pass up a game that is free? The majority of these also offer microtransactions, though a small number instead generate their revenue through advertisements. But when it comes to the “standard” payment option, many MMO’s are subscription. This is generally an automated reoccurring fee that must be payed monthly to continue to play the game. This was the original MMO payment model and it has remained strong, though recently is has begun to be combined more and more often with the microtransaction methods.
The best MMO in each Category in my mind would be the following:
- Target Audience: World of Warcraft, more than any other game has crossed all lines in attracting players of all types.
- Graphics: Aion, a Korean import, has defeated many stronger games in certain markets purely based on looks.
- Story: Dungeons and Dragons Online, the original RPG in most people’s minds, has the largest amount of source material to draw on.
- Teaming: City of Heroes, a game that scales its difficulty based on the number of team mates, makes teaming a purely optional matter for 99% of its players.
- Controls: Everquest, since it was the original MMO on the market, is a game that has the controls which “just feel right” for your standard MMO player.
- Cost: Free Realms, while contrary to the games name is far from free, does however tend to offer most players the best bang for their buck.
So what is the greatest MMO? It is hard to choose a game that can compete in all these areas. In all honesty I am left with only one, Guild Wars. This amazingly simple to learn game has one of the most in depth story worlds, is a one-time purchase, though it offers minor cosmetic bonuses as microtransactions, looks amazing for its system requirements and can just as easily be played solo or teamed. All of this combined arguably make it the best MMO on the market. This is why it is no surprise to most gamers that this amazing game is getting a sequel.
So, anyone want to play?
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Of things to come
The preacher looks down upon his flock, and he finds himself wanting more.
The soldier looks at his companions, and he finds himself angry at his course.
The prophet looks upon his believers, and finds himself righteous amonst men.
The princess looks across her lands, and finds herself lacking her desires.
The mechanic looks at what he had created, and finds he wishes he never had.
The jester looks at those he once knew, and finds it time to weep.
The guardian looks at his charge, and finds his blade.
The shadow looks at what he has done, and finds himself complete.
The soldier looks at his companions, and he finds himself angry at his course.
The prophet looks upon his believers, and finds himself righteous amonst men.
The princess looks across her lands, and finds herself lacking her desires.
The mechanic looks at what he had created, and finds he wishes he never had.
The jester looks at those he once knew, and finds it time to weep.
The guardian looks at his charge, and finds his blade.
The shadow looks at what he has done, and finds himself complete.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
The rest
Humans, Eladrin and Halflings will remain unchanged.
This gives 3 groups of three, which I like for now.
The Tech races. (Human Dwarf Halfling)
The Fey races. (Eladrin Elves Centaur)
The Dark Fantasy races. (Goblin Hobgoblin Bugbear)
If a player wishes, i will also add in three Draconic races, and three elemental races, but only if players push for one of those styled races.
This gives 3 groups of three, which I like for now.
The Tech races. (Human Dwarf Halfling)
The Fey races. (Eladrin Elves Centaur)
The Dark Fantasy races. (Goblin Hobgoblin Bugbear)
If a player wishes, i will also add in three Draconic races, and three elemental races, but only if players push for one of those styled races.
Centaur
Centaur
Racial Traits:
Average Height: 7'0" - 7'6"
Average Weight: 750-100 lb
Ability Score: +2 Strength, +2 Wisdom
Size: Large
Speed: 7 Squares
Vision: Low-Light
Languages: Common, Elven
Skill Bonuses: +2 Nature, +2 Perception
Fey Origin: Your ancestors were native to the Feywild,
so you are considered a fey creature for the purpose
of effects that relate to creature origin.
Undersized Torso: Despite their Large size Centaurs use weapons as if they were a size smaller.
Wild Step: Ignore difficult Terrain when you shift.
Wild Charge: You can use the Wild Charge power once per encounter:
Wild Charge Centaur Racial Power
Encounter
Standard Action, Personal
Effect: You charge and deal an extra two damage on succesful attack. 4 at 11th level, 6 at 21st.
Note: You may substitute an at-will melee attack instead of a basic attack at the end of the charge.
Racial Traits:
Average Height: 7'0" - 7'6"
Average Weight: 750-100 lb
Ability Score: +2 Strength, +2 Wisdom
Size: Large
Speed: 7 Squares
Vision: Low-Light
Languages: Common, Elven
Skill Bonuses: +2 Nature, +2 Perception
Fey Origin: Your ancestors were native to the Feywild,
so you are considered a fey creature for the purpose
of effects that relate to creature origin.
Undersized Torso: Despite their Large size Centaurs use weapons as if they were a size smaller.
Wild Step: Ignore difficult Terrain when you shift.
Wild Charge: You can use the Wild Charge power once per encounter:
Wild Charge Centaur Racial Power
Encounter
Standard Action, Personal
Effect: You charge and deal an extra two damage on succesful attack. 4 at 11th level, 6 at 21st.
Note: You may substitute an at-will melee attack instead of a basic attack at the end of the charge.
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