april-fools-2010
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WoW Insider Show Episode 134: On that genocidal note...
Every week, we present you with the WoW Insider Show podcast -- an hour's worth of WoW community discussion, covering everything from the week's top stories here on WoW.com to emails from our readers to what's been going on with our particular characters in Azeroth. Along with your hosts, WoW.com editor Michael Sacco and contributing editor Matthew Rossi, we also feature rotating guest hosts, whether regular WoW.com contributors or personalities from other sites. Want to have your question answered on the air? Email theshow@wow.com! Today's show features: Guest host: WoW.com AddOn/UI columnist Mat McCurley April Fool's Day roundup Rage normalization for warriors and druids Know Your Lore mini-extravaganza Reader emails And more! Get the podcast: [iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes. [RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator. [MP3] Download the MP3 directly. Listen here on the page:
April Fools EPEEN meter now a reality
We all saw this coming. When April Fools jokes and pranks have any basis in the real world, someone, somewhere is going to make it a reality. This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone -- E.P.E.E.N. meters are becoming a reality. Addon developer suicidalkatt has created a theme for TidyPlates that mirrors Blizzard's own April Fools creation, the Equipment Potency EquivalencE Number addon. You can pick it up here at WoWInterface. The addon requires Gearscore to run, as it uses the player's value from Gearscore to scale your bar. Just make sure to select the EPEEN theme on TidyPlates after you download and install the theme. stolenlegacy over at WowAce has also begun work on his very own E.P.E.E.N. meter. The addon is in its very early stages of inception, but I can't imagine it will be anything less than amazing. Personally, I am very excited. My number will most likely be gigantic (and not compensating for anything, whatsoever). With a true E.P.E.E.N. system in place, maybe we can finally kill GearScore once and for all. Rather than be judged by a number cobbled together from disparate item values, we can be judged by the size of a bar cobbled together from disparate item values. All kidding aside, I am happy that World of Warcraft's user interface allows for fun stuff like this to become realized and that Blizzard has a good sense of humor when it comes to the addons the community could potentially come up with. While we're on the subject of bringing April Fools jokes to life, can we get another petition going for two-headed ogres?
[1.Local]: Yo, it's April, fools!
Reader comments -- ahh, yes, the juicy goodness following a meaty post. [1.Local] ducks past the swinging doors to see what readers have been chatting about in the back room over the past week. April Fool's Day around WoW.com usually means bracing for impact with emails and comments from nerd-raging readers who haven't ... quite ... caught on that there's something special going on. This year, though, you all really outdid yourselves. You played along! You danced, you sang, you /fishslapped, you showed us your sunflowery sunny dispositions, you popped back in every two hours like clockwork to see what new havoc was going on. Special thanks go to Kelly Aarons and Zach Yonzon for oudoing themselves on the fabulous artwork, and three cheers to Justin Glow for helping us change out the site header every two hours. Gather 'round for a group hug, everybody -- ya'll are an awesome bunch. Sedirex: All 5 iterations had their own logo, top stories, and hot topics (on the right). The evil part of this joke is that if you're like me, you felt obligated to check every 2 hours to see them, as, unlike the posts, they don't remain after the site changes focus again. Jayfitty: That was actually a pretty awesome routine. I'm not sure how I feel about so much turmoil happening here at WoW.com. Hopefully we can just settle on one type of Insider and commit to that. Every time the website changes I have to update my wardrope, Facebook page, Twitter and haircut to reflect said changes. And to go from Edward hair to Gaga hair in one day isn't easy.
One Shots: A panorama of minis
The other day we asked for more April Fool's screenshots. In return, we got a couple more fun Guild Wars screenshots! While the holiday (and its associated silliness) may be fading into memory, screenshots stand as a permanent record of the craziness the team at ArenaNet dreamed up for players. This panoramic image comes to us from Reggie A. who has sent in an amazingly large screenshot like this one before. (As before, you'll want to see this one at full size to appreciate it!) This time, he shows us how cool Guild Wars looks on his three-monitor setup: "Hello again Massively, coming to you once more in Eyefinity! I logged in to GuildWars this April Fool's morning to ponder a bit more on my Ranger build and discovered that I was quite dinky!?!? In fact, every player was lilliputian today and we were dominated by our minis! That wee tiny spec in roughly the middle of the screen -- not the one running, the smaller one just standing -- is me... the Lich mini is mine. Hope he's not still pissed about that whole Flameseeker Prophecies incident." We love to see what players are doing in their favorite MMOs, but it takes players sending in screenshots and stories to make that happen. If you'd like to show off your latest adventures, then just grab a great screenshot and send it in to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. We'll post it out here on One Shots and give you the credit! %Gallery-85937%
The Daily Grind: What attitudes can you not stand?
Blizzard has always been known by the fans for going all-out with their jokes on April 1st, and this year was no exception. The entire Equipment Potency Equivalence Number was funny in its own right, but especially as an attitude prevalent not only among World of Warcraft players. No matter what game you play, you know people whose sense of ego and importance at in-game achievements drives you up the wall. For some people it's a minor irritation; for others, it's the sort of thing that is so insufferable it's not worth even trying to work with them. There are no shortage of helpful and friendly players in games, but there's also an abundance of arrogant gear worshippers, socially inept trolls, die-hard PvP grognards, ineffectual PvE carebears... you get the idea. Almost everyone agrees the extreme cases are bad, but we all think some are worse than others. So what about you? What sort of outlook makes you just quit a group in frustration no matter how the player performs? Is it something hugely removed from your own playstyle and approach, or something that's close to how you normally run and becomes more obnoxious as a result?
WoW.com's April Fools Round-up
April Fools! Or at least it was yesterday. Some love the pranks, some find the pranks boring, some wish to see the pranks fall down a dark, dark hole, never to return, possibly to be eaten by a grue. Regardless of your personal feelings on the matter, we've gathered a short list of Blizzard and WoW-related pranks across the web: Blizzard Pranks World of Warcraft EPEEN: New from Blizzard, the Equipment Potency EquivalencE Number system! WoW Armory Tuskarr Invasion: Folks checking out the armory may have noticed their characters transformed to tuskarr, their achievements reported as 'cheesed,' and a whole lot of gear ninjaed and summarily vendored Battle.net Matchmaking Service: Battle.net decides to play eHarmony and place lonely gamers with suitable partners Battle.net Neural Interface: New from the Blizzard Store, the Neural Interface promises a lifelike gaming experience Blizzard Mobile Games: Up for 2010 from Blizzard Mobile Games are Blackthorne 2: Thorne Harder, and Queen's Quest! Diablo Gamer Blanket and Body Pillow: Wave goodbye to the cold as best as you can while swaddled in this Diablo 'gamer blanket!' Diablo Deckard Cain GPS System: Now you can listen to Deckard drone while you drive! Other WoW-related sites El's Extreme Anglin': El reports on the latest Cataclysm feature: Aquariums! MMO-Champion/Paragon/Premonition: MMO-Champion breaks the news that Paragon will be moving to US servers come Cataclysm and merging with the US Guild Premonition. Sponsored by AXE! Nihilum: Nihilum breaks some rules and brings us screens and video from the Cataclysm alpha Wowhead: Wowhead, er, TACOhead brings news of a new in-game item, the Hellfire Kickin' Taco Supreme! Tankspot: Tankspot announces their change to Farmspot Warcraft Pets: Breanni fills us in on some new non-combat pet... er... features coming out in Cataclysm World of Raids: World of Raids reports on the new Observation Deck and Spectate features coming in Cataclysm The Guild: The Guild proudly announces its new foray into the world of animation! Curse.com: Curse.com fills us in on Cataclysm -- exclusively available for the IPad WoW.com: And of course, there's us. Our day was filled with takeover after takeover, from Twilight to Muscle March to Saturn Six -- we've decided to return to WoW news. For now... Love them or hate them, at least they're done for the year, right? Now we can all breathe a sigh of relief and start believing what we see again. Did you laugh? Did you see a clever prank we missed? Or did you hide indoors all day and fervently wait for it to all be over? Let us know -- and check out the gallery below for screenshots from the various sites listed above! %Gallery-89602%
April Fools: Use Razer Venom for those extended play sessions
Peripheral manufacturer Razer is taking on the brave new world of "gaming grade stimulant and nutritional supplement." Razer's new product, Venom, can keep gamers awake and going for over 100 hours -- however, if you do "yawn," just refuel with more and you'll be good to do. If you're into mainlining your stimulants, a three-pack of Venom costs $40 and comes with a gold-plated needle -- apparently, it's reusable and classy. If you're not into needles, there's the wussy option of purchasing for $100 a Venom nebulizer to inhale the product. Not sure if Venom is right for you? Well, listen to what one beta tester said, "If an energy drink gives you wings, then this gives you a scram-jet!" That's endorsement!
April Fools: 'AaaAAAaaa' dev announces '14. Drunken Robot Pornography'
Dejobaan Games is giving into the financial realities of being an indie developer and has announced its next project: 14. Drunken Robot Pornography. The developer of AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! -- A Reckless Disregard for Gravity will have 14DRP revolve around an idea that gamers can really support, thus, making the small studio buckets of moolah. Players take control of a giant robot designed to destroy humanity, but, because this is an indie title, you know there has to be some academically-pretentious niche twist. Sure, you destroy buildings and kill people, but the idea is to ruin the life of Penelope Raindance, "a young girl who wants to grow up to be a neurosurgeon. She's a promising young first grader, now -- but if you do things right, you can do away with her nuclear family, leaving her homeless and starving. Don't crush her. Crush her dreams. ... You win!" The game will release in the third quarter of 2015 on PC and requires Windows 2K/XP/Vista; a 3.5GHz processor; 6GB system memory; a 3D card with 16MB video memory; and Microsoft DirectX 12.0.
April Fools: Alan Wake Wars
Throw another gag on the April Fools' Day fire, Remedy has entered the fray. Up for offer is Alan Wake Wars, a game that takes the taut, suspenseful bent of Alan Wake and tosses on a layer of real-time strategy. The game contains 17 maps, 24 unit types and a staggering 18 tech trees. Lots of different units are showcased in the video, including local militia, trucks and, our favorite, deadly lumberjacks. Honestly, as "real time psychological film noir action love story" games go, Alan Wake Wars looks to be on top of the pack. Check out the trailer after the break.
April Fools: Romancing an elcor in Mass Effect 2
[INVITINGLY INQUISITIVE] Did you enjoy playing through Mass Effect 2 and participating in its mature, emotional story? [SMILINGLY CLANDESTINE] If so, you might like to hear about a secret love scene that can only be accessed as a female Commander Shepard. [PROVOCATIVELY JOURNALISTIC] We have obtained a video of this secret sex scene that takes place between Shepard and a devilishly handsome elcor. [ALARMINGLY CHEERFUL] The video can be seen after the break. We hope you enjoy it. [DISTURBINGLY TITILLATED] We certainly did. [PRANKISHLY TRIUMPHANT] This was all a sham. It is only an April Fools' Joke. We totally got you. Ha ha. Ha ha. [APOLOGETICALLY SOLEMN] But seriously, enjoy the video.
The Daily Quest: Initial thoughts on Saturn Six
Here at Saturn Six Insider we're on a Daily Quest (which we try to do every day, honest) to bring you interesting, informative and entertaining Saturn Six related links from around the blogosphere. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment and you may see it here tomorrow! Take a look at the links below, and be sure to check out our Saturn Six Resources Guide for more Saturn Six related sites. We don't know a lot about Saturn Six, but our friends out in the bloggosphere have been uncovering some important details! Read on for what they found out about this wonderful new game! Go agents! Saturn Sixed rants about Seekers vs. Sentinels Cici over at SS-Champion has done it again, datamining the factions of Saturn Six. World of Spaceships posts about targeting in Saturn Six. Too Many Sixes explains the basic lore behind Saturn Six.
April Fools: Bungie introduces Halo: Reach's 'Battle Chess'
Bungie set the bar pretty high last year on April 1 and, today, we feel like it has at least met or exceeded it -- we'll leave the final determination up to you. As Bungie would describe Halo: Reach's included minigame, Battle Chess, it's a variation on the "longest-running competitive multiplayer game in the world" and just felt like a natural fit for the franchise. Frankly, even though it's April 1st, we wholeheartedly support this new game mode and if we don't at least get a special playlist, we're probably going to throw a tantrum and buy Halo: Reach anyway.
April Fools! A roundup of the best pranks in the MMO world today
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/April_Fools_A_roundup_of_the_best_pranks_in_the_MMO_world'; April Fools! So did you get taken in by some clever pranks today, or did you wake up and decide that until the calendar rolled over to April 2nd, the entire world was full of it? In either case, everyone had some fun whether they were creating pranks or reading through them. We all enjoyed the chance to let our silly sides take the reins for the day. Just in case you missed a few pranks, we've rounded up some of the best from today around the MMO community. Follow along after the jump for shenanigans, tomfoolery, and monkeyshines!
Welcome to Saturn Six Insider n00bs!
WoW is sooooo last weak! Blizzard's next gen MMOOOOOMFG is the next big thing and we at Saturn Six Insider are bringing you the latest, leetest and neatest news on this mind blowing game! Breaking news out of BLIZZARD today: A new MMO is on the way from the Blizzboys and it is TOTALLY SWEET. Saturn Six Insider just got confirmation from multiple independent Tweets, uh, sources about this sweet new game called SATURN SIX. Forget that ancient garbage where you ride into battle on your "pony" with a "sword" (lol, lame). Blizz's phne NEW first-person MMO breaks new ground, totally setting the standard for the virgin "futuristic steampunk" genre! You heard me right, boys and robogirls: EFFIN SWEET SPACESHIPS. Lasers and nukes. PEW PEW! We don't know all the details, but here's what we've gathered from our intergalactic data miners on planet Rilon 4.
PvZ, Hardcore: Frost vs. fire 101
Robin Torres writes PvZ, Hardcore for the hardcore Plants vs. Zombies player. Of course, you casual players can read this too, but you may get annoyed by the fact that we are unashamed, even proud, of the fact that beating PvZ is our highest priority. We're going back to the basics this week, fellow Lawn Elitists, and we're going to let the noobs in on some of our secrets. So I'm jumping on the 101 bandwagon here at PvZ insider, and we'll rehash the old frost vs. fire debate. Don't skip this column, however, because a refresher course may be just what you need to beat your Survival Endless score.
The Queue: There's a zombie on your lawn
Notesss from the Editorssss: There are no more editorssss. We ate their brainsss. Welcome back to The Queue, PvZ Insider's daily Q&A column where the PvZ Insider team answers your questions about Plants Vs. Zombies. Lisa Poisso will be your host today. Get ready to soil your plants! Here at The Queue, we like to kick things off with some cool listening music -- what's hot, what's not, sometimes a blast from the past. Today's alternative mows down all that other stuff. Get off my lawn, Lady Gaga! Wilted Lover asked ... Hordes of zombies advancing across my lawn ... It's all too frantic and mind-gobbling for me. I'm wilting under the pressure. Help! You need to chill out in the Zen Garden, my friend -- and chill you'll be, when you get a load of the cold, hard cash you'll be making. In some games, the stuff you get from farming isn't really free at all. In the Zen Garden, you can make a cool $500 profit from selling your mature marigolds. Your garden even makes money while you're AFK. Spritz your plants with bug spray or turn on some phonograph tunes to keep them happy; they'll produce coins for a day or so. Don't forget to get Stinky the Snail to help you gather the coins. Wake him up with the chocolate (dropped by zombies during the adventure levels). Soiling your plants with chocolate -- farming doesn't get any more laid back than that.
April Fools: BlizzCon already sold out ... before tickets go on sale
In a surprise announcement this morning via IncGamers, Blizzard has revealed that tickets to the just-announced BlizzCon 2010 sold out earlier than ever before -- before the tickets even went on sale, in fact. Apparently, due to a high rate of calls on Blizzard's tech support line suffering from "3 - 4 hour wait times," the company released early tickets to some customers. "We didn't intend to sell all of them already, but I guess the vast, password-losing World of Warcraft community spread the word, and one thing led to another," CEO Mike Morhaime said. He added that he's "looking forward to another great show, with some of our most passionate, patient, credit card-possessing fans," speaking from a recently purchased yacht, allegedly. You can check out the full press release right here, which you might have realized by this point is not legit.
Grab your baskets! Spring eggs are here!
Spring is here and so are the Spring Eggs in our favorite Facebook game. Collect them to redeem fabulous spring items and compete with your friends for the most full Spring Basket. Your Spring Basket is in your Gift Box, ready to be deployed on your farm. Once you have done that, you can use the Spring Eggs you have probably already received in your gifts. If you don't have enough, just click on the Ask for Eggs button to request more. Though the best way to get eggs is to give them yourself. As with all gifts, Spring Eggs are free to give away, but you can only give them once a day. The Spring event is for a limited time only, so deploy your basket if you haven't already. Otherwise, the basket will disappear from your inventory and you won't be able to use any of your gifts. How many eggs do you have already on your Farmville farm?
April Fools: Smell your PS3 games with PlayStation Scent
Move over Move, Sony's taking gaming into an all-new dimension: scent. Remember Smell-O-Vision? Of course you don't -- you're not that old. Well friends, the crack technology featured in the 1960 film Scent of Mystery is the future again, as Sony has announced "PlayStation Scent" with OXYtracking -- head past the break for the video press conference. Just affix the PlayStation Scent to your nose and start playing. At key moments, scent information embedded in the Blu-ray game disc will be transmitted to your nose! The "Odorama" begins with a re-issue of Naughty Dog's Uncharted 2. Finally, you can smell the tucked in part of Drake's half-tuck. Then, experience all the sweet nose candy of upcoming releases Gran Turismo 5 (burning rubber) and SOCOM 4 (burning flesh!) -- now with PlayStation Scent support. Order yours today from Webhallen.com!
Time Is Money: AMG Farmville!
New Note, New New Editor: Sorry for the recent, uh, Madness. Let's get back to online games, shall we? And what better way than Farmville Insider! Wait, guys, don't go! We have the lewt guidez and cheatses! The new Farmville Insider is proud to present Time Is Money, Farmville! This column is now dedicated to the art of making virtual coin and building virtual farm in the massively successful Facebook game, Farmville! Go get your parents' credit card, sit down, and be prepared to be grounded until you're 18, because here we go! Playing Farmville is far more entertaining than watching paint dry. It's in fact much closer to watching grass grow! There are several important features you should know about, so let's get started! Mohawk > Not Mohawk Purple is, of course, better than green, however you are free to choose either. WARNING! Do not click on any other hairstyles, as they are not mohawks.
