Flameseeker Chronicles: Norn week
Last week, ArenaNet treated eager fans to an in-depth look at the Norn race of Guild Wars 2. The new details -- the release of which was similar to Human week's release -- gave us a deeper look at who the Norn are, how they see the world around them, and what's important to them.
I've enjoyed it as much as anyone, and I spent the week indulging in repeated viewings of the video, poring over the new art, and reading the write-ups for every scrap of information.
Before we continue, however, I want to give a quick update on what [MVOP] has been up to. We began Nightfall a few weeks ago and continued our new practice of making progress in our regular campaign then switching to other content for the second half of the evening. Last Thursday night's choice was Sorrow's Furnace, one of the most visually impressive areas of the game. We ran through the quest Unspeakable, Unknowable, both for the chance to enjoy the view of the zone and to do a quest involving the Great Destroyer. If you missed our Livestream of the evening, make sure you find time to check it out on our on-demand channel.
For now, follow along after the jump for my analysis of Norn week!
Past and future
One of the great things about Norn week is something I've seen over and over as Guild Wars 2 development progresses: the continual focus on creating an ongoing timeline, so to speak. Guild Wars 2 is set in the same world we know from Guild Wars 1, and while it's changed greatly with the passage of time, it's still a world with a rich heritage. More importantly, it's a world with a heritage that we lived through and know very well. It's important for Guild Wars 2 to be set in a recognizable Tyria and to acknowledge what came before -- that's a big part of what makes us feel at home in Guild Wars 2. Without a recognizable Tyria, much of what makes Guild Wars 2 so great is lost.
Thankfully, the acknowledgement of the Tyria that we know is everywhere we turn, and that held true last week. Sharp-eyed fans picked out the Jora statue in the video pretty quickly, and that's an excellent example of the welcome familiarity that we're finding in Guild Wars 2.
While the Norn whom we met last week are more advanced and do things on an even bigger scale than what we've seen until now, they've still got their roots in present-day Tyria. Their reverence for their heritage and for those who came before ties in nicely with this and makes it all work beautifullly.
Attention to detail
Just because the Norn do things big doesn't mean that the small things are neglected. The soaring structures of the Norn home area aren't impressive just because they're big. You can do things on a huge scale, but without attention to detail, they're just... really big versions of something normal-sized and unexciting.
However, if you take some time and look at the details, you'll find that they're almost more impressive than the sheer size of the overall structure. There are low fences with intricate decorative work, highlighed periodically with clusters of weapons. They're not mere decorative weapons either -- the blades are scarred and notched, as is the wood.
The tops of the structures have shields attached -- is there a story behind those and the weapons? Whom did they belong to? Why are they given what seems to be a place of honor? There's a hint of a story there, a piece of Norn culture that serves to add character to what could otherwise be a bland structure.
The huge carvings of the animal spirits are similar. The details are shown not only in the features of each animal but in the texture of the rock they're carved from. It's not simply art of one of the animals, given a grey color -- it's got the appearance of being cut from the rock, presumably by someone with a lot of patience.
Go big
There seemed to be more to this reveal than with Human week. We saw more contributions from various members of the ArenaNet staff, more lore, more design information, more everything. Is it because it's Norn week and it has to be big? Or is an indication that we're going to keep seeing more with each race reveal?
Granted, we saw a few bits and pieces in the video and art that we've seen before, but I honestly don't mind that sort of thing when it's folded into increased context and detail. What interested me was the variety of information given -- there was really a feel that the team pulled together to teach us about different but connected aspects of the Norn race. The personal feel to it, such as Martin Kerstein's response to the community's confusion regarding the size of the Norn characters in the background, added quite a bit to the week of reveals.
Here's hoping for more very soon!
Rubi is a longtime Guild Wars player and the writer of Flameseeker Chronicles here at Massively. The column keeps a close eye on all the events in Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2, and anything bridging the two. It's also the home of a weekly summary of the travels of [MVOP], Massively's Guild Wars guild. Email Rubi at rubi@massively.com.
