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WoW Moviewatch: Irdeen's The Power of the Horde
At this rate, it looks like Irdeen may turn into one of machinima's regulars. Today's Moviewatch features not only him, but also another regular in the WoW community: L70ETC. Irdeen has created a music video for one of their most popular songs, "The Power of the Horde." For obvious reasons, Irdeen used the in-game models for the Blizzard rock band. The video features the metal group stomping out their tunes at the gate to Outland, with several mileu shots for chorus and chords. Irdeen also helpfully includes subtitles for those who might have trouble making out the lyrics. (I like metal as much, if not more, than the next guy, but even I have to admit you could be stumbled trying to make out what L70ETC is singing.) At this point, I'd encourage Irdeen to keep developing original material. I think this video shows that he's mastered a lot of tactics and tools to creating machinima, and Go Turbo Go displayed his ability to do some music himself. I'm eager to see him take his skills to another level. If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
WoW Moviewatch: Devour
(Warning: This machinima apparently contains some spoiler elements for the game F.E.A.R.)Inspired by Baron Soosdon, first time machinimator, Buzz Dawson, learned to make machinima in just three days with not only World of Warcraft, but also F.E.A.R. He even bought the editing program, Sony Vegas 9, just for this project, which is quite ambitious for an inaugural effort. The result of his educational experiment, Devour, a music video for the song by Shinedown, isn't a literal interpretation, employs creative use of the L70ETC character models, and contains some great cut scenes. While I wish WoW was featured a bit more prominently, for a new effort, this is fantastic. The aspect ratio doesn't jump, the characters don't randomly fade in and out, and the transitions are fairly smooth. What say you, (constructively) critical commenters?[Via Warcraftmovies.com]If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ..
Around Azeroth: Heavy metal drummer
I must confess that due to my habit of playing WoW with the sound turned off, I've never actually heard the music of Level 10 60 70 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain. In case you didn't know, L70ETC is a group of Blizzard employees who recorded some Blizzard-property-related songs and are now represented in-game as a Horde hair metal band. Lead singer Samuro is actually art director Sam Didier; bassist Mai'Kyl is Blizzard president Mike Morhaime; and so on and so forth. Vindonnus of Stormreaver took this particular pic of Chief Thunder-Skins (aka longtime Blizzardite Alan Dabiri) as the band played their hourly show at the World's End Tavern in Shattrath City. Please note that the Blizz employees are not actually playing the characters and cannot hear complaints and suggestions /yelled at their in-game avatars. And sorry, egg-throwers and forum trolls -- Kalgan, Tigole and Metzen aren't in the band. Save your all-caps complaints for General Discussion.Do you have any unusual World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? We'd love to see it on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next! Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. We prefer full screen shots without the UI showing -- use alt-Z to remove it. Please, no more sunsets -- but we would love some beta screenshots here. %Gallery-1816%
Strange things are afoot at the Grim Guzzler
A lot of us pre-Burning Crusade players hold a warm place in our hearts for the Grim Guzzler, the bar in the middle of Blackrock Depths. It's a hangout for desperadoes and shady figures run by a leper gnome with a demonic bar wench and a metallic bouncer. Most of the patrons would usually kill you as soon as look at you, but as long as they're drunk and you don't bother them too much, they'll generally leave you alone. Of course, sometimes it's worth bothering them, since a few of the patrons and staff drop some pretty cool loot. Despite this charming atmosphere, the Grim Guzzler is in the middle of a sprawling dungeon of hostile Dark Iron Dwarves, so ever since the Burning Crusade, people don't seem to go down there too often. That said, you might want to check it out in the next few days. There's a few new faces down at the bar since patch 2.4.3 went live, including an Arena gear vendor named Griz Gutshank, a Dark Iron Brewer who can't hold his brew, and a couple of goblin roadies setting up for a Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain concert. Check out the gallery for a complete illustrated guide to the new faces and surprises at the Grim Guzzler, and maybe I'll see you there tonight for the Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain concert. Oh, and try the Sulfuron Slammer -- It's Plugger's newest specialty! %Gallery-27816%
Activision-Blizzard merger may be complete on July 9th
WoW Insider sister site Big Download is reporting that the Activision-Blizzard merger is getting closer and closer to reality. They recently won another victory in court today, as a Delaware court struck down an attempt by the Wayne County Employees' Retirement System to gain a preliminary injunction against the deal. We're now coming up fast the July 8th Activision shareholders' meeting, where they will vote to approve the merger. Activision has already said that they expect the merger to be official on or about July 9th, according to Big Download. This, of course, squeaks in just under the wire for the E3 expo. Activision-Blizzard has already said they don't plan to participate, but that they will hold a press conference on or near the dates of the expo. It seems likely now that they will be officially announcing the completion of their merger. Of course, we here at WoW Insider are hoping the merger isn't the only thing they reveal. A WoTLK cinematic and official release date or another L70ETC song on Guitar Hero would be nice, I'd say.
"I am Murloc" gets rocked already
Well that didn't take long. Despite the song only being announced yesterday,"I am Murloc" has been 5-starred on Expert, and you can see the video above to prove it. You can also see the notes they've chosed -- as a veteran of all three Guitar Hero games (and a current owner of Rock Band, though "Green Grass" is giving me trouble on Expert), I have to say that it looks pretty simple, especially compared to some of the other songs in GH3. It is too bad that they used the normal Guitar Hero 3 singer, too, and not a virtual version of Samwise.If you want something a little tougher, head down after the jump to see a hacked custom version of "I am Murloc" for Guitar Hero 2. The phrasing on that one seems to fit much more, and it seems to work a little better than the official version that got released in the latest game.
World of Warcraft music player updated
A few short days ago, Blizzard updated their browser-based music player with the fan favorite track "Power of the Horde" by Tenth Level Tauren Chieftain, now known as Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain. If you've never heard of this music player before, don't feel too bad. Most players haven't. Heck, I hadn't heard of it until recently, which is a bit of a shame. There's a lot of great music available here, ranging from the World of Warcraft to Warcraft II. It doesn't provide all of the Warcraft music, you need to buy the CDs for that, but there's enough there fuel some nostalgia or get you in the adventuring mood. Plus, you can check out some of their old holiday specials, which lie somewhere between 'amusing' and 'hilarious.' Oh yeah, there's a dancing ogre. Those are always good. I... think.
L70ETC music video contest winners announced
Back in April, Blizzard announced a contest to direct your own music video in machinima form to accompany Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain's new song Rogues Do It From Behind. Three Grand Prize Winners would get an 8GB iPod Touch and five First Place winners would get a G15 Logitech keyboard and a signed copy of the World of Warcraft Battlechest.They've just announced the winners, and you can see all of the winning videos on the official WoW website. I have to say, I don't find most of the winners particularly interesting. They're quality videos, and probably exactly what Blizzard was looking for in a L70ETC music video, but they're not really my style. I tend to enjoy the music videos that are a little more... out there, and don't just show the band members' faces for five minutes. Something happening throughout, with a little less glam or random filler shots. Dayetriper of Nathrezim has a little of that at the very end, but you need to sit through almost the whole thing before seeing it. That's only my personal taste, though. The quality on most of these videos is still very good. After all, they won the thing, and I really couldn't do any better I'm sure.I enjoyed the video from Naje of Stormreaver, out of all of the glam-filled winners. The scenery and camera work pulled me into the video a little more than the others. You can view that one directly above, or head over to the official page to see them all.[ Thanks to MMO-Champ for the vimeo upload! ]
WWI tickets sold out (again)
They'd first sold out back in March. Then, like sweet, sweet relief, Blizzard announced that more tickets were available yesterday. Now, less than 24 hours after the additional tickets were made available, the Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational is sold out again. Of course, the news blurb on the official site encourages you to keep checking back, so it's possible they'll announce more ticket availability yet again. There had been some payment problems, so maybe this round of new tickets were a concession to that issue. For those just tuning in, the WWI looks like it's going to be quite the hopping place. There's an Arena tournament scheduled, and L70ETC is going to be rocking out. You'll probably be able to spot a mailbox performance by a few Night Elves in their dance tournament. Don't forget to hit the fan art contest and machinima contest. Keep an eye on WoW Insider -- we'll let you know if tickets somehow become available again.
One Shots: Hanging with L70ETC
We admit it; for all that many of the team have spent time in World of Warcraft, most of us hadn't noticed that when not on tour, apparently Silvermoon City is the place to be if you want to spot L70ETC! Complete with a small gaggle of fans under their balcony, you can find them by going into the city and turning an immediate right. Considering all of the people below them have dialogue, and the guards in Silvermoon will interact with certain emotes, we suspect L70ETC may well interact if you target them and /wave or /cheer. If you pop by and say hi, leave us a comment on this One Shots and let us know if they reacted! Have you stumbled across something you never noticed before in an MMO you play? Perhaps something tucked away overhead, or in an odd corner you normally don't visit? Whatever the case, we love to hear about things like this. Just pop those screenshots into an email to oneshots AT massively.com along with a quick note on what you found. %Gallery-9798%
L70ETC, Video Games Live will both perform at WWI
Just in case you were worried about whether or not you'd see Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain live at Blizzard's upcoming Worldwide Invitational event in Paris, worry no more -- they'll be there. Both L70ETC and the Video Games Live orchestra will be performing at WWI, just as they did last year at BlizzCon '07.Should be a great show on both counts. Does make us wonder, though, what Blizzard is planning for BlizzCon this year -- a repeat of last year's performance would be nice and all (and we have no doubt that no matter who else plays, L70ETC will definitely have to be there, considering that they're made up of Blizzard employees), but maybe we'll get some new blood in the mix? Jonathan Coulton is definitely a name that springs to mind -- even if he's not specifically a Blizzard guy, his music is very familiar to WoW fans of all levels.Who else could they hire? Nyhm? Felicia Day to host? As fun as Jay Mohr was, seems like after all the taunting last time, he just might be trouble to get again -- Blizzard might as well choose someone that WoW fans want to see.
WoW Moviewatch: Rogues Do It From Behind, a Saphira interpretation
The submission deadline for the L70ETC music video contest has passed, and the contestants are starting to upload their work to Warcraftmovies. That's where we found this interpretation of Rogues Do It From Behind, by Saphira. This machinima was obviously model viewed, but I think the editor did a pretty good job, despite having quite an awful song to work with. Personally, I'd rather hear more from Gnomechewer's Lower City Gypsies.[Via Warcraftmovies.com]If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
WoW Moviewatch: Through the Roof & Underground
Gnomechewer is apparently so over Level 70 Elite Tauren Cheiftain (L70ETC). In Through the Roof 'n' Underground, he ponders what it would be like if Lower City had a band, appropriately named the Lower City Gypsies. Using a song by Gogol Bordello with the same name as the video, he portrays a little village of gypsy folk dancing, singing, and weaving tales.Fans of Gnomechewer's faster-paced work may end up disappointed with this video. It has a slow development and focuses more on relationships among a group of people. Nevertheless, it's a well-done, beautiful story -- with cookies! For a higher quality version, be sure to check out his Warcraftmovies page.[Via Warcraftmovies.com]If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain, now featuring an orphan on Air Guitar
So, with Children's Week upon us, the lore buff in me was wondering something: What's going to happen with Salandria? If you had a high level character Horde last year and did the Shattrath Orphan's Week quest, you know what I'm talking about. Salandria, your Blood Elf Orphan, is a somewhat snooty and stuck up girl who loves to stick her nose where it might not be safe (such as the fire elemental up at the Throne of Elements), but she seems mostly like a normal, if slightly precocious girl. Until she asks to go to Silvermoon and the Caverns of Time.
Direct your own L70ETC music video, win great prizes!
Yesterday, the official World of Warcraft website announced a new Blizzard-sponsored contest to accompany Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain's new song Rogues Do It From Behind.The machinima community will eat this one right up. What do you need to do? Create a music video for L70ETC's new song, which can be downloaded right on the contest page. The video can be no larger than 50 MB and must be recorded in .WMV, .MOV, or .AVI formats. The rewards are pretty swanky, too. Three Grand Prize winners will receive an 8GB iPod Touch, and the five First Place winners will get a G15 Logitech keyboard and a signed copy of the World of Warcraft Battlechest.Personally, I'm wondering how long they've been sitting on this song. It's a fun song, don't get me wrong, but it's a little outdated. Perdition's Blade? Really? I suppose Netherblade came with The Burning Crusade, but the rest is pretty old school!
Forum Post of the Day: What type of music do Azerothians make?
Acerba of Cenarion Circle started a pretty fun discussion the other day on her server boards: What type of music would typify various races and cultures of Azeroth? Sure, we all have our soundtracks for when we get tired of the in-game music, and the in-game music itself often has various themes that show again and again music to represent various concepts, but thinking about what music your character would listen to or what sounds you might here around a bonfire at Razor Hill (Well, besides L70ETC) or in a fine mansion in Silvermoon City is a really fun exercise. I'm one who often creates soundtracks for my PnP and MMORPG characters alike in order to understand this, so I find it a useful exercise for us roleplayers, as well.
Samwise and other artists hold book signing
Today's the day for Blizzard art news, it seems -- next Saturday, Blizzard is holding that Art of Blizzard benefit show, but this past Saturday, Samwise Didier and a few other Blizzard artists stopped by the Barnes and Noble in Huntington Beach, California to sign copies of Upper Deck's The Art of the Trading Card Game book.Glenn Rane is the other artist sitting next to Samwise (who you may also recognize as the frontman for L70ETC), and also in attendance were Tom Bava, Randy Gallegos, Terese Nielsen and Justin Sweet, along with Ben Thompson, who we're told was a big part of putting the book together. I suppose it's too much to ask for Blizzard to leave sunny Southern California sometime to do these signings and meet some of us who aren't lucky enough to live there? It is? Oh well -- at least it keeps them close to their real work.%Gallery-17698%
You too can be a Tauren Chieftains groupie
Did you know that the Tauren Chieftains (formerly Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain) hang out on a balcony in Silvermoon City inbetween gigs? Well, some of you do, but as usual, I'm late to the party.If you are the L70ETC fangirl (or boy) that I am, head on over to the Walk of Elders in Silvermoon. You'll see their manager chatting with some groupies. Then just look up to the terrace above to see our favorite in-game band. Each of the Chieftains will /dance with you, /wave at you, /rude at you and if you /kiss at one, he will flex for you.If you're not a fellow Hordie, you can make a Blood Elf noob and just run over to Silvermoon City. It's a safe run and should be easy to find. The band is just inside the entrance and to the right.I spent quite a long time trying out emotes on the band and giggling happily. But I'm a dork. Insert fangirl noise here.Were you able to find another emote they respond to? Isn't Samuro dreamy?
Morhaime headed to the AIAS Hall of Fame
Blizzard's Mike Morhaime is headed for the Hall of Fame-- the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame, that is. The AIAS is going to honor him for contributing to "a significant advancement within the industry, while demonstrating proven success and leadership," and he's certainly done that, presiding not only over this, the most popular MMO of all time, but over years of amazing Blizzard success.Morhaime will get the award as part of the D.I.C.E. Summit in February, and he'll join such videogame luminaries as Peter Molyneux (of Populous and Fable fame), Quake's John Carmack, and Shigeru Miyamoto, an old graphic designer that made some game about a plumber.Congrats to Morhaime on the award-- definitely well-deserved. Now all we need to do is petition the Grammys for his contributions to the musical world.
Breakfast Topic: Resemblance
Just a quick question this morning, from Indigo on Livejournal: if you compared the way you look in real life to a WoW race, what would you be? Indigo would be a Female Dwarf, and I'm sure lots of people would be human. Who would be a Tauren? Actually, now that I think about it, Samwise Didier, lead singer of Blizzard's L70ETC, would be a pretty good Tauren. But only because Pandaren aren't in the game yet.No doubts here-- I'd be an Ogre. Just the one head, but considering my height and size, you can call me High King Mike. I can definitely break out the dance, though, at a moment's notice.
