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BRK and Ratshag organize a Running of Da Bulls
Many of you might remember that a while back, we organized a Stormwind Stampede, where a bunch of us created a herd of Tauren over on Zangarmarsh, and then had a little footrace all the way to Stormwind. Our friend BigRedKitty is apparently putting something similar together this weekend -- he's calling it the Cinco de Mayo Running of da Bulls, and the final goal appears to be from Mulgore to Hammerfall (which means there's an Org to Undercity zepplin ride in there somewhere).The whole event kicks off this Saturday, May 3rd over on Cenarion Circle. BRK is organizing the thing along with Ratshag of Need More Rage (he's the one who created the route, and it'll be his friend you're hunting for in Hammerfall). He's got more on his blog, including that the race is a tribute to a friend of theirs who passed away, and all the Tauren will be saying "moo" in respect.Sounds like a lot of fun. If you want to join them, meet up in Mulgore on Cenarion Circle at 4:00 server time (which works out to 7:00 Eastern). And make sure to take some screenshots. For the Herd!
WWDC early registration pricing extended
Save, save, save! Deals, deals, deals!An email from Apple is making the rounds this morning with the announcement that early registration pricing has been extended to May 9th. Sign up between now and then and save $300US. Yippee!WWDC '08 will take place between June 9-13 in San Francisco, CA. There are more than 150 sessions scheduled, including the new iPhone track.As usual, anticipation (and rumors) abounds as visions of iPhone 2.0, the App Store and more tease us all. Oh, and if you happen to run into Woz, console him on his recent breakup.
Warhammer Online tours America, unites people
It's not stating the situation too excessively to remark that people are excited about this game. Many are anticipating it with the same fervor mustered by religious zealots. Some use the phrase 'WoW Killer'. And all of this without even having played the thing at all.Well, there's news that might mitigate that last little bit: If you can't wait for the eventual open beta download, you can play WAR at a few events across the country! The list of events, with locations and dates, after the jump!
Second Life through the eyes of Shoshana Epsilon
Shoshana Epsilon, one of Second Life's more renowned photographers is opening an exhibition later today at the Avatrait gallery at 1PM SLT (US Pacific Time). The Avatrait gallery itself, known for its devotion to digital impressionist art has been partly on hiatus for some time while it and the simulator it resides in have been undergoing refits. Avatrait gallery is relaunching their monthly gallery showings with Epsilon's work which will be available for purchase inworld, or as hard-copy, high-quality physical-world prints. Epsilon's work has never disappointed us. It's classy and has range and depth. Epsilon will be at the opening today to meet the exhibition attendees and to answer questions about her work. If you love Second Life photography and art, take the time to go and see Epsilon's work.
SOE promotes player-run events
Socialization is the key ingredient in any MMO, I think we can all agree with that. So why is it we don't hear about more in-game events run by the players in our favorite MMOs? Everquest's Community Manager Lydia Pope has recently made a plea for the players of any SOE game to advertise for their special events and let the world know about them. She also states that if the SOE community runs more events, SOE will find new ways of supporting them. This includes SOE's help in spreading the word for you, and even the chance for someone at SOE to attend these gatherings.If you're interested in doing something like this, but you're wondering what type of event to do, there are many fine examples cited. For example, you could create a scavenger hunt across a wide area of your favorite game map, or hold a performance where players can act out their favorite scene from a play. The possibilities are almost limitless, but no matter what you decide, be sure to check out the EQ guide entitled Tips on Player-Run Events. As with any MMO, be sure to also contact the appropriate community manager for more information or advice on running your very own event.
GuildCafe calls out for DIY event planners [UPDATED]
The true strength of any successful MMO is its player community -- they're the folks who create mods, organize events, cheer/protest loudly whenever something changes that they like/dislike. In that vein, GuildCafe has sent out a call for players who already are, or would like to create and run Guild Wars events events for any and all MMOs, like tournaments, contests, or even (most ambitiously) an ARG.GuildCafe promises to support this endeavor by providing experienced staffers to help plan and effect events, as well as to publicize and sponsor said events. This is a great way to both maintain and strengthen the GW community, and at the same time promote GuildCafe's brand recognition. Everybody wins![UPDATED: changed 'Guild Wars events' to reflect that this offer is open to any and all MMOs -- Thanks, Sam!]
GW weekend event: Gaile's farewell party
As we reported last week, ArenaNet's Community Relations Manager, Gaile Gray will be switching roles at the company. So this weekend was her final farewell. She appeared in-game in Guild Wars to celebrate her last days with the players, as did the infamous Frog on his farewell tour as well. Every 3 hours, The Frog appeared in each district of Kamadan, Lion's Arch and Shing Jea Monastery, granting special party buffs for players who attended and performed certain emotes at his request. It was very reminiscent of the Mad King's appearances during the Halloween events, complete with that unique humor we can only find at these events. I'm sure the Sugar Hill Gang would be proud of The Frog's rendition of Rapper's Delight.While this special buff was active, players would earn double the points for using party items towards their Party Animal title. This led to an overall heightened festive mood for the entire weekend with bottle rockets, sparklers and champagne poppers flooding our screens. We wish Gaile and The Frog all the best in the future.
Are MMO communities growing beyond the game?
The whole concept of community within an MMO is constantly being redefined and improved upon, but in a recent article, we take a glimpse into the jobs of a few community liaisons for NCSoft Europe. They talk mainly about some of the exciting experiences they've had during their time with NCSoft. Most of these involve real-world events such as fan meet-ups and contests thrown by the community managers. Martin Kerstein, community team lead on Guild Wars relays a story of a player who brought shortbread villains and heroes for the CoX team during an event. Community manager Jen Bolton describes her appreciation for the high-quality fan art and fan fiction they see from players on a regular basis.A main point of this article addresses the fact that MMO players aren't always those you think of, locked away in their parents' basements, turning transparent from the lack of sunlight. A growing number of people who come to these events are outgoing socialites dressed as Boba Fett or a blood elf, just there for a good time with like-minded people. Just as any event should be.
NCSoft's Ultimate Heroic Weekend
This last weekend, John over at Tabula Blogger was fortunate enough to attend NCSoft's Ultimate Heroic Weekend. Originally created as a CoH/CoV event, there was also a fair representation by Tabula Rasa players and devs as well. Held at Birmingham, UK's Omega Sektor, this "minicon" was great fun for all, with Task Force events, TR Bootcamp, meet-ups and races. NCSoft's European Community Coordinator Tia "Avatea" was on hand to dish out the prizes for this gigantic LAN party. John was even able to get his TR character drawn by the great Andie Tong for the Draw the World Together charity. Be sure to check out more on John's experience as well as a few great pics over at Tabula Blogger.
ABC Island anniversary tonight!
That's the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and not that other ABC in the United States of America. Partner and counterpart to the United Kingdom's BBC, "Aunty" ABC occupies a special place in the hearts of Australians. Oh, she gets some teasing sometimes -- but she's been with us since 1929 with Radio, Television, and the Web and has always excelled at embracing new media and finding ways to integrate old and new media together in new and compelling ways. As public broadcasters go, the ABC sports an impressive catalogue of high-quality educational programs, news, music and entertainment, and isn't shy about finding new ways to deliver them, with an increasing amount of content available on the Web or via Second Life.
NCsoft Europe's Ultimate Heroic Weekend!
UK residents, NCsoft loves you! And to prove it, they're holding a 4-day social gaming event appropriately entitled the 'Ultimate Heroic Weekend'! Starting at 8 PM on Friday, March 21st, and continuing until 8 PM on Monday, March 24th in the capacious Omega Sektor in Birmingham, the UHW will challenge and satisfy gamers of all types with a veritable cornucopia of superhero-related joy.Similar to their recent convention, yet much more -- dare we say -- massive, the fun all starts on Friday with a meet and greet with Melissa 'War Witch' Bianco, who will remain for the entire weekend and provide details on the upcoming City of Heroes expansion, Issue 12! There will also be prizes for Best Heroic Costume and PC and console gaming until midnight.And the event truly kicks off with a bang on Saturday ...
Upper Deck seeking Spectral Safari Field Journals
The powers that be at Blizzard are really going all out with the Spectral Safari stuff lately -- first Upper Deck announces a series of TCG contests at stores around the country, and then Blizzard announces an official screenshot contest, and now there's a meta contest for the TCG events.Yup, be a reporter for Upper Deck's TCG site, and you could win a Spectral Tiger card of your own. All they're asking is that you go to one of their events next week, bring a camera and a notepad, and the best stories from the event will win prizes, either a Spectral Tiger card or a box of March of the Legion.Pretty cheap way to get someone writing for you, but then again our overlords here at WoW Insider pay us in Savory Deviate Delight and Conjured Glacier Water. So count your blessings, I guess.
Metaverse U conversation: Raph Koster, Cory Ondrejka, Howard Rheingold
We headed to the Metaverse U event at Stanford University this weekend to hear a smorgasboard of prominent thinkers and workers in the fields of virtual worlds and online gaming have a meeting of the minds. Below is a recap (caveat: some paraphrasing involved!) of one of our favorite sessions featuring a conversation with Metaplace's Raph Koster, former Linden Lab CTO Cory Ondrejka, and social media and online community guru Howard Rheingold. Henrik Bennetsen (moderator): (Introduces 3 panelists and asks Raph to kick off with his thoughts on virtual worlds) Raph: From the beginning, virtual communities has never been about the "virtual." All the oddities come from the mediation, not from human nature. We build trellises, and communities are plants growing on them... you get to shape them a little bit, and sometimes in very bad ways if you're not careful. We tend to think we have more power than we do when architecting these things. I wince at the title "community manager" ("relations" would be better) because it perpetuates the myth that we have power to control what users do. Mediation gives us a window into things that in the real world can be hard to see. Virtual communities are an opportunity to see how people tick. Cory: Having spent 7 years building Second Life, the interactions and collisions with the real world are what make it interesting. We had only 400 users at launch and we were ecstatic! Can you imagine that today (especially for companies with big name investors)? I think about virtual worlds as communication technology. I agree there's a need for customer service and arguments about the declaration of avatar rights are important but yet I feel there's something off in these arguments... (he's referring to earlier conversation about declarations of avatar rights) %Gallery-16285%
Love no longer in the Air
Our hearts may return to their regularly scheduled descent into blackness, Azeroth is leaving Valentine's Day behind today. At least, that's what the calendar says.I hope everyone received all they had hoped for in WoW during this event, or you're in for a mighty long wait to try again. I personally received a number of scandalous dresses and fancy baskets over the course of the last few days. I don't have much to complain about this time around, except for the fact that it is always a little disappointing when one of Azeroth's many holidays comes to a close.Even if the Valentine's Day holiday is quite fun in WoW, I still have a habit of wondering what could have been done better for any given event. I think it would have been great if voting for your favorite faction leader actually worked, and had some sort of effect. For example, if Tyrande winning for the day gave those that voted for her a buff. "Tyrande's Thanks" or "Sylvanas' Satisfaction" or somesuch. Even if it didn't do anything, having the buff would be really fun. Of course, I'm a big supporter of spells having extra sparkles just for the sake of having sparkles, so maybe only I would be interested in that. After all, Prayer of Mending turning into a laser gun kept me from quitting my priest early on in The Burning Crusade. Love is in the Air and on WoW Insider. Check out our continuing coverage of the event and our guide to earning the achievement. And you better hurry; the holiday only lasts five days!
The Lunar Festival's greatest prize: Rep!
If you're a human after a saber, troll after a kodo, or any other combination like that, don't let this opportunity pass you by!As most of you know, during the Lunar Festival there are 50 Elders scattered across Azeroth that hand out Coins of Ancestry which you can turn in for prizes in Moonglade. There is another prize, however: Reputation! For every elder you speak to, you earn 75 reputation toward your entire faction. Yes, all five races.If you put the time in to talk to every single elder, some of which might be a pain to reach, you'll net just shy of 4,000 reputation. 3,750 to be exact. For humans, this will come out to about 4,125 rep, give or take a bit. Nerf Diplomacy!This won't drastically lessen a rep grind, especially after the reputation gain changes they put in awhile back, but its certainly more interesting than tearing apart low level quests or farming endless amounts of Runecloth.
ION Game Conference to address social networking on consoles, PC
Game industry types looking for yet another reason to flock to a central location and gab about the business while getting liquored up at the open bar should take a moment to block out some time for this summer's Ion Game Conference, taking place from May 13-15 in Seattle. Known as the Online Game Developers Conference in a previous life, organizers Evergreen Events note that the re-dubbed conference will feature an expanded focus, with panels covering topics such virtual worlds and social networking on home consoles.While few details concerning specific panels have yet been revealed for this year's event, last year's topics included "Xbox LIVE on Windows and 360: Are Your Games Dead or LIVE?," "The Future of Games and Entertainment Resides Online," and "Dirty Secrets of Episodic Video Games," among others. Early registration for the Ion Game Conference is now open, and event organizers note that as they are expecting a considerable turnout by attendees across the globe. Those interested in taking part in the event should register early.
One of CoX's P.E.R.C.s
Whether you're feeling valorous or villainous on Virtue, you're in good hands. In fact, whichever server is your home du jour, you'll find plenty of P.E.R.C.s in asking for assistance. The Player Event Resource Committee is here to help you plan, support, and run events, whether they're server-specific or game-wide.Need some help setting up a raid in City of Villains? They're here to help. Want to build a cross-server smackdown of evil in City of Heroes? They can assist with that, as well. They've brought together players from each server, and they're focused on enhancing the CoX experience by making sure your events run smoothly. So far, it sounds as though they're doing a bang-up job of making sure they're meeting the goals stated in their charter.
New Year's Eve in Azeroth
Just in case you aren't headed out to a party this evening, let this serve as your reminder that it's New Year's Eve in Azeroth this evening as well. As usual, there will be hourly fireworks in all the major cities after sunset, free drinks in public areas, and revelers aplenty (make sure to blow them a /kiss). Additionally, while it's not listed on Blizzard's official page, there are two quests available (one for each faction), and tradition says that the guards in Booty Bay will get drunk and pass out, which means PvP is going to be welcome in the neutral port town (usually, attacking someone there will get you beat up).Wherever you are this evening (in Azeroth or the real world), here's hoping you have a safe and happy New Year's Eve! Thanks for all you've done for us at WoW Insider in 2007, and we'll see you in 2008!
Blizzard's holiday contests
It's the time of year for goodies and cheer, and all of Azeroth is celebrating Winter's Veil. The good folks at Blizzard have kicked off two contests that will let you tap into your creative and festive self, as well as giving you a chance at some nifty prizes. The Royal Photographic Society of Azeroth has hereby declared that they are in need of top notch screenshots featuring your WoW holiday celebrations. If you would like to brush up on the fundamentals and technicalities of in-game photography, check out our tips for taking screenshots, or read through Blizzard's guidelines. If cooking and baking are more your style, then whip up a batch of something delicious and festive, take a photograph (or have a friend do it for you) and submit it. As I will be preparing holiday goodies this year, I would send in my own photographs, except that the contest is only open to (most of) the United States. I will have to settle for merely munching on them, and perhaps posting one or two Well Fed Buffs, instead. Make the jump to learn about the prizes you could win, and what sorts of entries are likely to be picked.
Second Life users support the WGA strike
As you may be aware, the Writer's Guild of America, the folks who write our TV and movies, have been on strike for the past month-plus over (among other things) getting paid a cut of revenues for internet play of episodes. Check out our own TV Squad and the excellent Deadline Hollywood Daily for more on this important strike. But what is TV news doing on your Massively? Some inventive Second Life residents have found a way to show their support for the WGA without trekking to LA or New York, where the picket lines are: they held their own hour-long virtual picket on NBC 1, NBC Universal's main Second Life presence.While this probably won't catch the same kind of media attention or get the network's notice the same way the physical picket lines have been, it's still a great way for people who can't easily get to LA or NY to show their support for the scribes. The organizers of this event say "Expect this to be a regular weekend event. All are welcome!", so consider stopping by next weekend if this is an issue you care about, and stop by the original LiveJournal post for more pictures.
