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A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Playing as icons in superheroic MMORPGs
For the past week or so, I've been playing Marvel Heroes. If you missed my impression piece on Monday morning, let me spoil the big reveal for your right now: I wasn't very happy with it. It produces some minor thrills here and there, but at this point in testing there's not a whole lot to celebrate about the game. So I'm understandably not champing at the bit to talk more about the game this week, which I had originally planned. I do think there's something to be discussed when it comes to the game's central conceit, however: the fact that you're playing as the iconic characters instead of alongside them. I'm not a fan of the approach in general, but considering the panoply of superhero properties out there, it's worth considering. Could you actually make a functional game in which you play as just the official characters rather than original creations? What sort of things do you need to do to make this work? How would a superhero MMORPG with only the official characters work in practice?
Newest World of Warcraft novel gets a release date and cover preview
Jaina Proudmoore is one of the biggest lore figures in World of Warcraft despite the fact that her character history largely consists of trying to make reasonable compromises and being completely ignored. It's no surprise that she's the star of the newest novel based on World of Warcraft considering her prominence in the lore and her relationship to the war between the game's factions. Tides of War is written by Christie Golden and will be released in late August, setting the stage for Mists of Pandaria later this year. While Jaina has always tried to broker a peace between the Alliance and the Horde, the novel's plot revolves around Warchief Garrosh Hellscream launching an attack against Jaina's home in Theramore, demonstrating the same legendary thinking that's alienated several of the Horde's allies. Whether or not the erstwhile diplomat will be able to retain any hopes of a peaceful resolution remains to be seen, but with Mists of Pandaria promising to focus on the conflict between the two factions, it seems likely that players will be looking at silencing the last and loudest voice for peace.
Know Your Lore: The role of characters in WoW lore
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. One of the interesting aspects of the Warcraft setting is which characters have achieved a kind of iconic status. The lore of the game is the unfolding story, and the story is ultimately shaped and defined by its characters. The story is what happened to, and because of, these people be they orc, human, troll, night elf, gnome, tauren or pandaren. Take Rexxar, for instance. He's one of my favorite characters in Warcraft. Why? Why do I love Rexxar? Well, in part I enjoy that his mixed heritage makes him an outcast in a faction of outcasts, that he was one of the few to see how twisted and warped the old Horde was in time to step away from it before it began its campaign of atrocity across Azeroth. I like his simple faith in the ideals Thrall represented for the Horde in Durotar, his willingness to fight to preserve them, and the lengths he went while at the same time knowing exactly when to finally stop. Rexxar knew that defeating Theramore and Admiral Proudmoore was enough; he didn't have to destroy it.
WildStar discusses the exotic and alien human race
Humans are the standard basis for comparison in games that feature non-human races, almost as if said games were being made by humans for other humans. But there's still a distinct flavor to the human race depending on the setting. Case in point, the latest WildStar "interview" with one of the three lore characters from the cinematic trailer gives players a peek at a typical human, and he's a bit different than what you might have been expecting. While the other major characters identify a specific world as "home," humans are portrayed as being a bit more free-forming, having roamed out in space for so long that they're really not bound to a location. The entry also discusses some of the lore behind being an Explorer and some of the perils associated with intentionally venturing into the unknown (it involves lots of things that try to eat you, if you need the short version). If you've been enjoying the flavor of the world Carbine Studios is slowly building, you'll probably enjoy this latest look as well.
City of Heroes performs 'Death of a Statesman'
He's been the face on the package, the man on the cover, the big guy above all other big guys. But today, he is no more. Statesman, the most iconic hero in the City of Heroes lore, is going to meet his end, and it's time for everyone to say goodbye. Episode 5 of the signature story arc is live today, and while the titular question "Who Will Die?" has been answered, it's time to see what happens when Statesman does meet his end. There's more to do than just go play through the arc, however. A new issue of the Intrepid Informer is available in which Matt Miller discusses why the team decided that now is the right time to kill off the game's biggest hero. And if you need a little more help catching up with the story so far, the final vidoc on the arc is embedded just past the cut, giving players a recap of what the Freedom Phalanx is, what is represents, and what this death means for Paragon City.
Breakfast Topic: What secondary character would you promote to a leading role?
It's become sort of an undercurrent in a lot of WoW lore discussion lately that not everyone is happy with their leaders. Varian is too angry and doesn't do anything. Jaina's an appeaser and a crybaby. Malfurion's a jerk. Sylvanas is so evil that she makes Arthas look like a little puppy. Of course, Blizzard has a whole new expansion coming soon, so we may just see more from these leaders that could change our minds -- or at least let us accept their story arcs. That said, what if Blizzard took an opposite tack? What if it just either killed off the leaders or swept them to the side and let other characters step up to drive the narrative going forward?
The Daily Grind: Are there lore elements you feel don't get used enough?
Most MMOs have a pretty expansive list of lore characters and groups. It's not surprising, really -- the games cover entire continents and worlds, so there have to be a lot of different stories going at any given time. But sometimes an interesting group of villains or interesting story promises don't quite get the attention they deserve. You enjoy what's there, but it feels like a really interesting group or plot thread got dropped in favor of something else. Maybe you felt like the Scarlet Onslaught deserved more attention in World of Warcraft. Maybe you want more stories in Final Fantasy XIV centering around the individual nation conflicts. Perhaps you just wanted to see another series of missions in City of Heroes to wrap up some loose ends from Praetoria. Whatever the case, are there lore elements you feel don't get used as often as they deserve? Or do you think that most of the stories in your game of choice feel just the right length? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Someone dies at the end, part two
Welcome back to our intensely morbid two-part series on the answer to the big question from the first City of Heroes signature arc -- namely, who's going to die? The first part from last week covered the four choices that have the most front-cover exposure. If you were forced to name four members of the Surviving Eight off the top of your head, those are the names that would probably come up first, due to both the developers and general storyline importance. Of course, there were a lot of other theories in the comments last week, including suggestions that death is coming for one or two of the members of this week's list. And there were some good arguments in there... but those are arguments that can just as easily be wrong, something I'll address when we jump past the break and start off with the only survivor who doesn't have a task force to his name.
Breakfast Topic: What WoW figure do you want on your desert island?
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages. You've all heard the premise before: You go out on a cruise and are shipwrecked. The island has plenty of food, water, and shelter for you to live pleasantly for a long period of time (well, at least as pleasantly as one can live without an internet connection). Now the person talking to you says, "You only managed to find one music CD in the ship wreckage, and a working CD player. What CD will get you through this marooning?" More often than not, the person you are talking to then laughs at you when you answer, because you listen to weird music and and are inherently weird yourself. Well, that is what happens to me, anyway. Moving on, here is my version of the situation: You are stuck on an island. There is plenty of food, water, and shelter to survive. However, it's all in very basic form; there is no cup of never-ending chicken soup or fancy hotel. I hope you like bananas, and don't mind the rain. Now, in this scenario, there was one person who survived the cruise with you! Here is where you come in to making this scenario. Name one person from Warcraft lore or an NPC from in game that you survived the wreck with. Did you manage to survive with Garrosh Hellscream? You could spend your time wrestling and training until you are rescued! Maybe Kael'thas Sunstrider, so you would have someone who would never, ever, ever, ever tire of talking. Or perhaps you would like to have that bread vendor from Ironforge, to supplement your diet of bananas. So who would you bring and why? (By the way, if you bring a mage, no portal or teleport runes were recovered from the wreck. No cheating!)
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: The changing of the environment
If I had to make a list of video game characters I hate... well, it would take up a thousand words and then some. (Fuuka Yamagishi would be on there.) But if I just had to make a list of MMO lore characters that I hate... actually, again, it would take up a thousand words and then some. (Tyrande Whisperwind would be on there.) Still, near the top of the list would be one of my least favorite characters from the lore of any game, and appropriately enough it's City of Heroes -- because I really, really hate Statesman. Honestly, before I even knew about his background, Statesman rubbed me the wrong way. But it was only made worse by the fact that he derived his powers from Jack Emmert's ego, thereby giving him nearly limitless everything as long as Emmert was in charge. The comics made him out to be a jerk; the game made him out to be The Best Hero In The World Ever. And through it all there was a subtle reminder that he was the real hero. Your character was great and all, but you weren't really the hero. It was Statesman.
