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The Daily Grind: Your favorite MMO art?
As MMO fiends, many of us tend to gather game art up as we move from title to title. For some of us, it can be as simple as a folder full of screenshots of particular MMO moments that spoke to us - the first time we saw certain places and admired a designer's vision. Others may have MMO art as a matter of history - we just happened to be around and playing when this game or that started up, and we got a special item they mailed out. Still others of us devotedly pick up Collector's Editions for the bonus included soundtracks or art books. Beyond that, there are posters, fan art and even tattoos based on MMOs. This morning we thought we'd ask what some of your favorite bits of MMO art are? Did you particularly enjoy certain art books? Do you have a big collection of maps from worlds you've traveled in? Perhaps you love an MMO so much that you went and got some ink, or created your own art based on the imagery? What are some of your favorite bits of MMO art?
Swift Flight Form in ink
Zeerah wrote in earlier today to send us a pretty awesome addition to our WoW tattoo gallery. They took their love for their class to the next level, and have emblazoned their leg with one of the coolest looking (in my opinion) Druid forms in WoW thus far.Personally, I think it's a pretty good choice for a tattoo. I don't have a problem with gaming tattoos, but I do think that if you're going to get one, get one that looks awesome (while also meaning something, of course). This one is pretty good I think, not that it's my place to judge. Congratulations on your ink, Zeerah! Looks like they did a pretty good job on it. It's an Alliance Druid form too, which is a plus in my book. I love both factions equally, but we're a little Horde heavy in our gallery, don't you think?%Gallery-40471%
Pata-pata-what? Man tattoos Patapons on self
Gamer tattoos are not that much of a new thing, but we like highlighting some of the more unique and amusing kinds of gaming-related skin art. This piece in particular portrays the rhythmically-obsessed Patapons marching off to war. Fan Masatomo Ueda had this tat etched upon his arm and chest, and judging by the expression on his face he seems really freaked out by the little dudes and their spear carrying ways. Oh uh, Masa, just make sure you steer clear from drum beats or else those Patapons will do you in. [Via Kotaku]
Sprite Darter tattoo
Here's another tattoo, this one faction-independent. Adikchun on Zul'jin (who is a Forsaken Priest -- maybe Alliance don't get tattoos?) sent me this one after we posted the big Horde tattoo the other day, and while yes, she plays Horde, she says she got the Sprite Darter pre-BC because it was the only pet that only Alliance could get. I'm not quite sure I understand the logic there, but it is a cool tattoo, and she's right: it is a little more subtle and original than all of the Horde insignias. And while it means something special to WoW fans, it works as just a nice piece of art if you don't actually know what a Sprite Darter is.We've added this picture to our brand new gallery of all the tattoos we've collected so far over the years. If you've got a nice WoW-related piece of body art that you'd like to share, feel free to send it in and we'll give it a look. %Gallery-40471%
All the World's a Stage: Dear Wrath
The art of roleplaying is like a field of tender soil. You only get something back after you put something in.World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. But wait... before we get serious about this new expansion of our relationship, Wrath, there's something you should understand about me: I may be a hunter, druid, rogue, warlock, warrior, shaman, and even a mage, but above and beyond all these things I'm also a roleplayer. Yes, I love all those promises you're making me these days about how wonderful our life together is going to be, but something inside tells me that you don't really understand what I really want. You only understand the part of me that likes to shoot, shred, stun, fear, strike, shock and even blast my pixelated enemies into oblivion. But what about my artistic vision?Oh sure, I see you smirking. What does artistic vision have to do with "Warcraft," "Wrath," and "Lich King?" ... well, you're forgetting the very first thing that anyone ever sees or hears about you: "World." You may have lots of violence, anger, and nasty enemies, but in the end what you really are is a world, a space, and a stage, where my friends and I can get together and have a good time. This is what you don't understand, Wrath: I'm a person, and I like to have things to do and talk about with other people that don't involve damage, threat, or recovering from damage and threat. Okay okay, you have a point. It's not like you've ignored this aspect of our relationship completely; I'll give you credit for that. In fact, there are some new non-violent things I'm really looking forward to, which I wouldn't be able to do without you.
Researcher crafts tattoo / scar matching system to nab outlaws
Passports and licenses are so last century -- these days, sophisticated crooks can change their identity on a whim, and one particular Michigan State University researcher is looking to stay one step ahead. Anil Jain has created an automatic image retrieval system dubbed Tattoo-ID, which "includes an annotated database containing images of scars, marks and tattoos" that is "linked to the criminal history records of all the suspects and convicts who have a tattoo." Essentially, the application will give law enforcement the ability to query on permanent skin markings, which sure beats manually flipping through ginormous books of images just hoping for a match. Reportedly, Jain and his team are continuing to improve the system, but there's been no word on how long it'll take before implementation can begin. Better stay on the straight and narrow, Zune Guy Microsoft Zune.[Via TG Daily]
Insider Trader: Crafting speculation in the Flower Kingdom
Insider Trader is your inside line on making, selling, buying and using player-made products.To celebrate the kick-off of HKO-Insider, Insider Trader will be doing a bonus column this week! As the closed beta has only just been put in the works, there are understandably few details floating around.Currently, we have confirmed at least the following professions: Mining. Gathering fruit from the wild. Tailoring. Furniture-crafting. Farming. Cooking. House-building. This week we will speculate on what we might see, and compose a wishlist for what we would like to see. Join us on Friday as we resume our normal schedule and delve deeper into the concept of mining as a profession, building on today's overview as well as player feedback.
New content for Pirates of the Caribbean
As previously mentioned, Pirates of the Caribbean Online is the surprisingly fun corporate-giant-backed MMO that could. Refreshingly, the dev team on PotCO isn't resting on their brand name to keep them afloat (no pun intended -- well, okay, you got me), but instead continue to bring new content to their constituents. Currently, this takes the form of new emotes, hairstyles, tattoos, jewelry, and clothing, as well as the new 'Looking For Crew' feature, which lets other players know when you want a PUG. Additionally, Unlimited Access Members can get their hands on a new skull bandana, available until midnight tonight from any tailor. Disney Online has additional content planned for 2008 including a new Black Pearl Boss Battle as well as the expansion of ship customization, extension of quest story lines, and the addition of more enemies and challenges. More than ever, this is a great time for new users to jump in and ply the seas in search of tentacular adventure! If you want more information, our hands-on tour is available for your perusal.
Behind the Curtain: How far is too far?
How far do you go to show how much you love your favourite MMO?Would you have a tattoo done? Our sister site WoW Insider has, in the past, posted about people having tattoos of various World of Warcraft symbols done. I sport a tattoo myself, and I've certainly considered getting a WoW tattoo done. Tattooing is certainly an extreme, and fairly permanent, way of professing your love for a game, so I suppose that might be 'too far' right there. You could go for a simpler option, and pick up some of the nifty official merchandise available for various games instead.I doubt you'll be surprised to hear that there is a veritable plehtora of merchandise available for WoW. There's the pen and paper RPG, (which I have but can't find anyone willing to indulge me an take part in my campaign) the TCG with its many tasty loot cards, and there's the wearable merchandise. Why not grab yourself a T-shirt or two – my personal favourite is the Camp Taurajo one. Wear one of these around town during downtime and see how many "For the Horde!" or "Grab your sword and fight the Horde!" cries you can hear being thrown your way. I wouldn't bet much on the latter though, to be honest. Sorry Mike. If your place of work has a 'dress down' day in effect, declaring your allegiance for the entire cafeteria to see may unearth a fellow WoW player you never knew was there.
Portal tattoos are for heroes only
GameDaily has a gallery chock-full of fresh video game tattoos, one of the boldest ways you can make a commitment both to a beloved hobby and virginity simultaneously. (Trust us.) Though many of the tattoos are cool (we especially like the stained-glass Link) the ones that really caught our eye were Portal-based tats you see above.It's impressive, and not just because of the permanence. Think of it. This cat beat Portal and said "That was such a great experience, I'm going to go out and get needles jammed into me for longer than it took to complete it." That's real love, right there. Real love.
RelaxView is back to distract tattoo customers
We've certainly got to hand it to Dutch retailer relaxView B.V., which is making a name for itself by bundling off-the-shelf components together with a "hygiene set" and marketing the package as a distraction kit for providers of painful services. Following the presumed success of its relaxView 5.0 Dental Pack with tooth torturers worldwide, the company is back with what appears to be the exact same set of HMD plus video discman, but being sold this time around as the 6.0 Tattoo Pack. (FYI, we have no idea why the 5.0 and 6.0 packs both incorporate the relaxView 3.0 head mounted display -- and not the relaxView 4.0, which is the self-proclaimed "Rolls-Royce in video eyewear.") If you're looking to get your favorite tattoo artist something extra special this holiday season, relaxView will part with this kit for a mere €499 ($733) until Christmas, after which the price leaps up to €569 ($836).
Earrings and tattoos may be available at ingame barbershops
Salthem has dropped a nice hint about the most unexpectedly exciting feature of the new expansion: hairstyles!Yep apparently it's not just hair: there will definitely be new hairstyles and colors, but there may also be new jewelry (earrings and noserings, I'd assume), and maybe even tattoos to choose from. And the most interesting piece of news is that the hair changing won't take place outside of the game, in a menu or some such, but at ingame barbershops.Strange. Will there be a barbershop inbetween the swords and wands shops in Orgrimmar? Or maybe new hairstyles will be confined to the new expansion, and the barbershops will appear in Dalaran only. Either way, Salthem says the design is still being planned, so we're a long way off until getting concrete information on this. Hopefully, Blizzard has gotten clued in to how excited players are about more customization option, and we'll all get something cool when the expansion eventually hits.Thanks, Kevin!
Man surrenders back for Mushroom Kingdom tattoo
When you think about it, it's probably best that Average Joes like Mario and Luigi are the only ones getting sucked into the Mushroom Kingdom. Imagine if this guy, who gave his whole back for a Mario-themed tattoo stepped into the wrong warp pipe and ended up face-to-face with the bros. and the princess. "Oh, you have a picture of my face on-a your back," Mario might say as he instinctively rose his hands to protect a completely freaked out Peach. "That's-a ... nice." That being said, we can't wait to see what this thing looks like when it's all filled in. Also, if the guy gets a character from Doki Doki Panic crying somewhere behind his kneecap, we're willing to elect him mayor of video games. P.S. The blogger wants you to know he recognizes the irony in having fun with anyone's gaming-related tattoo.
Cool WoW ink!
While floating through the blogosphere looking for WoW tidbits the other day, I stumbled across a blurb featuring the picture on the above right. It didn't say too much about it, beyond that the girl who had the tattoo played a Tauren Warrior, and that she and her other half had matching tribal Horde symbols done. Now, I should preface this with the fact that I'm no stranger to body art either, having 7 tattoos myself. (all of which are easily hidden -- hooray corporate America) It simply got me wondering just how much WoW ink was out there and what kind of designs people were getting.Armed with Google, search terms, and rampant curiosity, I set off in the search of World of Warcraft ink and the people behind it.
New tattoo ink means "4ever" needn't be permanent
We're not really sure how that late night of Red Bull-fueled coding wrapped up at a sketchy tattoo parlor, but needless to say we were beyond regretful when we woke up the next morning with "1337" emblazoned in huge black numbers on the back of our neck. Unfortunately for our bad-ass reputation and the integrity of our sensitive neck skin, tattoo removal was and still is an expensive, imperfect procedure; it can take up to 12 painful sessions and $5,000 to get that damn ink out, and even then, there's a possibility of permanent, disfiguring scars. So you can imagine our bitterness delight when we learned of a new type of removable ink from a New York-based company called Freedom-2 that, while it won't do anything to hide our shame, promises to help other remorseful human canvases remove their mistakes with only one simple laser treatment. This revolutionary ink -- only available in black for now -- is encapsulated in microscopic polymethylmethacrylate beads (the same synthetic material used to make surgical glue) that fall apart when exposed to laser energy, after which the body's natural ability to expel foreign particles kicks in and does the rest. Freedom-2's CEO, Martin Schmieg, predicts that his company's ink should only add about $50 to the cost of an average tattoo -- a small price to pay to ensure that you don't have to live with your ex's name on your bicep for the rest of your life. Like we said before, this technology comes just a little too late for our neck, but you better believe that once they begin manufacturing this ink in cyan, we're gonna be first in line to get the ol' Engadget "e" tatted right smack in the middle of our forehead.[Via Book of Joe]
Insignia of the Horde, Tattooed
Josh (who raids with his wife on Dragonmaw-- "Horde, obviously," he says) sent along pictures of the sweet tattoos the two of them got to commemorate their adventures in Azeroth. If you're going to get a tattoo to commemorate your time in WoW, I can't think of anything that would look cooler. These look awesome! And Horde FTW!That's his wife above. I have to say, Josh, I like hers better. Josh's tattoo-- don't get me wrong, it's also extremely cool-- is after the jump. Think of the rep they had to grind for those! And hey, if you've got a WoW tattoo that looks as good as these, feel free to send it along via the comment form on the sidebar.(Thanks, Josh!)
Body ports: Nintendo controller port tattoos
Go Nintendo reader Olivier sent them pictures of his tattoos, an armband featuring controller ports from Nintendo's various consoles: NES, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, and GameCube. There's something very eXistenZ about having gaming ports on your body; admittedly, they're not on his lower spine... though that would be a cool tattoo.
