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Jukebox Heroes: Guild Wars Prophecies
What's that, you say? A cheap tie-in, you say? Oh, pish posh. It just so happens that I appreciate the rich oeuvre of Jeremy Soule, and the alignment of the planets is... OK, it's a cheap tie-in. I can't help it; Guild Wars has been on my mind this past week, and since the full Guild Wars 2 soundtrack has yet to ship for DirectSong, this will do. Besides, as we well know, music doesn't age at the same pace as games. So why not hit up a soundtrack for the first Guild Wars while we dive into the sequel? At the risk of understatement, I think it's safe to say Jeremy Soule is somewhat well-known in the field of gaming. As a composer, he's tackled projects like Knights of the Old Republic, Icewind Dale, and the last three Elder Scrolls titles. In the Guild Wars community, he is the voice of the musical soul of the game. His compositions are the stuff of heaven: full, ethereal, dreamy. It's almost impossible to separate Soule's work on Guild Wars: Prophecies from the game, especially for those who played Prophecies extensively since its 2005 release. I'll be eager to digest and report on his newest work when it arrives, but until then, let's sample the highlights of his first foray into Tyria.
Guild Wars 2 posts online manual, talks economy and art
One of the unsung heroes of MMOs is the economist -- the guy or gal in charge of making sure that supply and demand doesn't get all wonky. Whether you think about in-game economy or not, its function impacts everyone. For ArenaNet, the man in charge of keeping Guild Wars 2's money ship float is John Smith, and he's created an interesting infographic showing the state of the economy from the beta process. From the chart, Smith deduces many interesting trends that may or may not play out in the live game. The largest sources of income during the beta were rewards, followed by dynamic events and tasks, while the most frequently traded items were crafting materials. He notes that an abnormal percentage of players gravitated to jewelcrafting as a profession, although he speculates that this was because of the temporary nature of the beta. Smith even compares the rate of gems to gold to Facebook's recent IPO and finds a similar pattern therein. Keeping up with the information reveals, ArenaNet has released the online manual for Guild Wars 2 that covers everything from "getting started" to "competitive play." If the economy and manual don't interest you, perhaps art does. MSNBC interviewed Art Director Daniel Dociu about the look of Guild Wars 2, and you can watch it right here after the break.
Guild Wars 2 nets 500K Facebook likes, releases Destiny's Edge art to celebrate
ArenaNet continues to roll out the rewards for being well-liked this week. Guild Wars 2 crossed the half-million Facebook like barrier, and as a result, the studio released a new epic piece of art for its fans. The picture is of Destiny's Edge, the adventuring group that features so prominently in Guild Wars 2, facing a rather fearsome foe: The Shatterer. According to the Facebook page, this is actually an in-game screenshot that's been "embellished" by ArenaNet artist Daniel Dociu. As with the other pictures that it has released, ArenaNet has made this image available as a high-resolution version as well. This art release comes at an auspicious time, as Guild Wars 2 is diving into a seven-hour beta stress test starting today at 2:00 p.m. EDT.
Artist plagiarizes Guild Wars 2, World of Warcraft illustrators
If you're going to steal, steal big -- or so Romanian artist Iani Papadopol thought. Papadopol put on an exhibit called "UpDate 3D loading" featuring fantastic landscapes and scenery. The only problem? Instead of painting them himself, he ripped off several well-known illustrators, including ArenaNet's Daniel Dociu and Blizzard's Mathias Verhasselt, claiming the pieces as his own. The fraud was discovered by online fans and local artists after the exhibit was broadcast on TV. Papadopol's works were found to be stunningly similar -- in fact, identical -- to those of famous video game illustrators. Papadopol attempted to sell the prints before he was caught. There's no word yet whether charges will be filed. "I found out from my friends," Dociu, a fellow Romanian, said on a news channel. "I recognized four pieces of my work immediately. What upsets me is that he's also Romanian with an artistic background. I will not take legal action if he admits what he did." Papadopol's father, the acclaimed artist Constantin Papadopol, says that this is a misunderstanding. In any case, let this be the lesson to the next lazy art thief: It's perhaps best not to rip off the guy whose work was on the cover of National Geographic.
Take a behind-the-scenes tour of ArenaNet's (totally awesome) offices
Guild Wars 2 fans are surely champing at the bit to get their hands on the game next week in the game's first public beta weekend, but you know what's cooler than taking part in GW2's beta weekends? Doing so at ArenaNet's offices in Seattle, which is exactly what the folks at Eurogamer got to do just recently. Not only did they get the opportunity to sit down and play the Guild Wars 2 beta with the team, but they also got the chance to chat with many of the key figures behind it all. Virtually every department of development is represented in the lengthy article, which includes interviews with head honcho Mike O'Brien, QA manager Mike Zadorojny, art director Daniel Dociu, lead content designer Colin Johanson, and many, many more. So if you're interested in a behind-the-scenes look at the studio behind what could be this year's biggest MMO, just head on over and check out the full piece.
Guild War 2's art director illustrates cover of National Geographic
ArenaNet's Daniel Dociu has another high-profile project in addition to his work on Guild Wars 2: the cover of National Geographic. In this month's issue of the magazine, Dociu provides artwork to illustrate a "magical mystery treasure" of Anglo-Saxan origin that was recently found. Both the cover and the article piece show an era soldier with appropriate armor, clothing, and weapons. Dociu currently holds the positions of both creative director and art director for Guild Wars 2. His skill and prestige certainly isn't hurting the game's profile any, as this achievement comes on top of the Exposé 9's Grand Master Award he won this past July. The National Geographic issue is on news stands (or, to you whippersnappers, the "website") now.
ArenaNet's Daniel Dociu wins award for digital art
Guild Wars 2 has had a distinctive art style ever since it was first announced, helping to solidify the game's image in the minds of fans. A big part of that has naturally been the vision of Daniel Dociu, art director for ArenaNet and overseer of the visuals for the project. So it should come as no surprise that Dociu has been awarded the Grand Master Award for Exposé 9, Ballistic Publishing's digital art annual for 2011. Both Dociu and concept artist Kekai Kotaki were featured in the pages, with both praised for their expressive and immersive artwork for the game. It might be a surprise to the readers of the magazine, but it's no surprise to the players who have been enjoying the work of these talented figures for years. Congratulations are in order for the award, one well-deserved considering the visual treat that Guild Wars 2 promises to provide.
Guild Wars 2 art director talks racial redesigns and making it as a game artist
Tap Repeatedly has posted the third part of its interview with Guild Wars 2 and ArenaNet art director Daniel Dociu. Unlike yesterday's segment, which focused on game art in general as well as Guild Wars 2's unique aesthetic, today's entry deals with everything from concept artists and breaking into the business to why ANet chose to revisit some of the game's racial designs (specifically the Sylvari). "For some races the early design didn't stand the test of time. You build and implement things, some grow on you and some tend to age poorly and beg for redesign," Dociu explains. He also touches on his relationship with the characters and creatures art team, noting that his contributions are more along the lines of managing creative energy and overseeing the big picture as opposed to creating assets, designs, and concept art.
An ArenaNet retrospective: "We're not a video game company, we're a community building company"
"I don't think I've seen a studio more passionate about its work." Massively contributing editor Larry Everett made this comment regarding ArenaNet in our recent Staff Choice Awards, and his timing couldn't have been better. ArenaNet has begun 2011 in a big way with the ArenaNet retrospective. The 15-minute video is a trip back in time to the earliest days of ArenaNet and Guild Wars, but it doesn't stop there. Over 20 ArenaNet team members give their perspectives on where the company has been, where it's going, the company's take on Guild Wars 2, and what makes it great. If you loved the Manifesto video, you're likely going to find this one an even bigger treat. Follow along after the jump to see the ArenaNet retrospective video and Massively's take on it.
This game will care that you're there: Our look at the Guild Wars 2 manifesto
Earlier this week, ArenaNet promised a new Guild Wars 2 video. That announcement came with a warning: no, it's not a new class reveal, and many fans were pretty disappointed. What could possibly serve as an adequate substitute for a class reveal? It's safe to say that the disappointment was blown out of the water yesterday with the unveiling of the MMO Manifesto and the Walking the Walk blog post. Merriam-Webster defines the word manifesto as a "a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer," but when the word is used in context, there are usually strong feelings behind those intentions. Revolutionary, groundbreaking, and change are words associated with such a thing, and it was a word well-chosen by ArenaNet with this newest reveal. Follow along after the jump as we take a closer look at what ArenaNet showed us yesterday.
Guild Wars 2 video features developers and new gameplay footage
You know all those quotes and images ArenaNet has been teasing us with the past few days? Well, we finally found out what that was all about -- the promised Guild Wars 2 video was finally released. We've known for a long time that the design goals for Guild Wars 2 were to make something bigger and better than what we've come to expect from an MMO. A truly immersive story in which the world around you isn't made up of blocks of quest text, oblivious NPCs, and enemies who loiter in a field waiting for you to come attack. In the new video from ArenaNet, we hear more on this plan straight from the developers: Mike O'Brien, Daniel Dociu, Colin Johanson, and Ree Soesbee. Follow along after the jump to hear what they have to say, and check out the beautiful new gameplay footage in the video.
ArenaNet releases fourth Guild Wars 2 concept art video
The final Guild Wars 2 concept art slideshow is finally out, and ArenaNet finished up with a bang. Monsters, armor/clothing, and landscapes were the theme of this video, with the camera panning across some truly breathtaking locations both above and below the sea and enough creature images to qualify as a bestiary. While the last video seemed to focus more on details, this one contains plenty of long, sweeping views that give us an overall view of areas that are becoming very familiar to us. The distinct look and feel of each of the five races has become more apparent with each round of art released, and it's fairly easy to identify what we're looking at in that respect. While we know the focus is mainly on the art, we'd be amiss in not giving a nod to those who added the music and sound effects. These added a dimension to each slideshow that became very apparent during the brief technical difficulties of the second video. We -- and the Guild Wars community -- say thanks to the amazing talent behind the art, animations, video, and music given in these four slideshows. Follow along after the jump to see for yourself. As with the last slideshow, it couldn't hurt to watch all the way to the end. Just in case.
ArenaNet releases third concept art video
ArenaNet has released the third of four slideshows of Guild Wars 2 concept art that was presented at GDC nearly two weeks ago, and all is not lovely and idyllic in the land of Tyria. This newest video gives us a look at what are presumably Orrian undead, as well as a decaying ship and something huge brandishing a pair of severed heads. The video runs the full spectrum, however, and the architecture, armor art and newborn Sylvari scenes provide a beautiful contrast to some of the older areas. We enjoyed a peek at details of all five playable races, and art ranging from basic creature sketches to some fully fleshed-out areas that are beginning to look familiar to us. The technical difficulties -- now fixed -- in part two gave us a new appreciation for the music and sound effects added in, and this round is just as impressive as the last two, and -- hey, wait a minute, what was that at the end? Follow along after the jump to see for yourself!
Flameseeker Chronicles: A look at the concept art of Guild Wars 2
The Guild Wars community, as always, is anxious for any and all news of Guild Wars 2, and the information coming from ArenaNet is increasing on a regular basis. (Hopefully this means we won't have to resort to anything drastic to get news.) GDC was the most recent source of new information thanks to our chat with artist Daniel Dociu, and his panel discussion showed off enough concept art both old and new to keep the community buzzing for weeks. Even better -- or worse, depending on how impatient you are -- they're releasing it to the general public via Youtube in a four-part slideshow to make it last longer. As we mentioned the other day, it's important to keep in mind that concept art is just that: concept art. It's an idea of how the artists see the world of Guild Wars 2, a way to get a feel for things rather than something concrete saying "you will definitely be able to get 'x' item in 'x' town, and here is exactly what it will look like." We can learn a lot from ideas and sketches though, so follow along after the jump for a closer look at some of the concept art.
Second Guild Wars 2 concept art slideshow released
When the first slideshow video of Guild Wars 2 concept art was released, fans immediately saw the "Part 1" in the title and were thrilled to know that more was on the way. That "more" arrived Friday afternoon in the form of Part 2, a video that seemed to drop some very broad hints via current game load screens (such as one from Elona), Dhuum concept art, and an image of the Grenth costume recently made available to players. (There are some technical difficulties with the sound right now, but hopefully they'll get resolved.) Much of it is subject to change, of course. Concept art isn't a concrete set of plans so much as it is ideas that help develop the look of the game -- much of the old concept art from Factions, for example, is wildly different than what we ended up with. It gives a good idea of where the game is going, though. Keep an eye out for Monday's Flameseeker Chronicles as we take an in-depth look at the current art. For now, follow along after the jump for the latest slideshow, or check it out on YouTube.
GDC10: ArenaNet's Daniel Dociu discusses the art of Guild Wars 2
Daniel Dociu, Senior Art Director for Guild Wars 2, was one of the panelists at last week's GDC, and Massively was fortunate enough to sit down and chat with him about the art coming up in Guild Wars 2. The information on this highly-anticipated game is starting to increase bit by bit, and Daniel had some interesting things to say about designing art for Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2. As a bonus feature, we've got a video slideshow of some of the gorgeous concept art featured at his panel at GDC. Keep your eyes peeled -- you might just see something you've not seen before. (Check Youtube for the HD version as well.) Follow along after the jump, and enjoy!
Digital arts workshop to feature Guild Wars artists
Guild Wars fans and aspiring game art designers will be descending on Bellevue, WA at the end of the month to attend FUTUREPOLY's sold-out digital arts workshop. FUTUREPOLY focuses specifically on video game development and offers a series of regular classes ranging in length from one to six months, but this is their first one-time workshop, and was obviously a big hit. The workshop will be five hours long, and feature demonstrations from the regular instructors, some of the top names in the field: Daniel Dociu, Chief Art Director at NCsoft North America (currently focusing on Guild Wars 2.) Jaime Jones, digital artist for titles such as Halo, Guild Wars, Wizards of the Coast and many more. Kekai Kotaki, lead concept artist for Guild Wars 2. Richard Anderson, ArenaNet artist for the past seven years, currently creating cinematic illustrations for Guild Wars 2 Matthew Barrett, creature and environment concept artist Horia Dociu, cinematic director for Guild Wars 2. The artists will present a start-to-finish demonstration of the creation process and discuss their technique. More information about the event as well as FUTUREPOLY's regular course schedules can be found here.
New Guild Wars 2 concept art released through Facebook
As ArenaNet has already warned us, their social networking resources will be utilized much more often in the near future. Earlier today, we saw evidence of this on the official Guild Wars 2 Facebook page as four new pieces of concept art for Guild Wars 2 have been released.Now these aren't leaked shots or rumored from a friend of a friend, these are officially the first real pieces of confirmed concept art from the sequel to the highly successful Guild Wars. Follow along in our Guild Wars 2 concept art gallery below to see these images and stay tuned as we continue to bring you more as they're released, including the latest news as it trickles out of GamesCom.%Gallery-70495%
Guild Wars 2 concept art spotted
Guild Wars has some fantastic concept art. We've mentioned this in the past, particularly in the context of the work of ArenaNet art director Daniel Dociu and concept art lead Kekai Kotaki as seen at Spectrum Fantastic Art. In fact, the last thing we asked was, "Does this give some hints as to what we'll be seeing in Guild Wars 2?" It turns out, it does. In fact, Guild Wars 2 concept art is now appearing in other places as well. Ravious at Kill Ten Rats hunted down more GW2 art by Dociu and Kotaki, as confirmed by ArenaNet's Regina Buenaobra. Check out the post on GW2 concept art by Ravious over at Kill Ten Rats, which features some examples of what he's found along with some background on what they may show of the next game's setting, "250 years after the original Guild Wars."
ArenaNet artists win Spectrum honors for Guild Wars concept art
Some of us at Massively are quite taken with the art of Guild Wars and it looks like we're not alone in this respect. The ArenaNet artists were recognized at Spectrum last year, an annual showcase of some of the best artwork in fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Carrying on in that tradition, ArenaNet's Art Director Daniel Dociu made this year's Spectrum 16 list for "Mole Tunnels", taking the Gold Award in the Concept Art category. ArenaNet artist Kekai Kotaki took the Silver Award for "Snow Battle". The work of both artists is stunning, and we urge you to check out the images found at Spectrum Fantastic Art to see what we mean. Given that the Guild Wars images seen at Spectrum are concept art, does this give some hints as to what we'll be seeing in Guild Wars 2?
