imagination
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Optimistic speculation about expansion number two
The lack of information about the next expansion continues, and so does the fabrication by fans hungry for info about new content. This time Tobold lays out what he'd like to see in the next expansion, which he is calling, as a parody of the Burning Crusade, the Freezing Jihad.He's got some of the usual suspects in there, including the long awaited hero classes. But his biggest suggestion is probably that the expansion focuses on adding oomph (technical term) to the midlevels of the game. In his imagination, there is no new level cap, but rather a complete reworking of everything between 1 and 70, including an all new neutral faction with four new races, and a new continent of quests for players from beginning to end. I doubt we'll get anything near that comprehensive, but it's true that players want more midlevel content. While this is probably beyond their wildest dreams, hopefully Blizzard will at least hear their pleas.In other places, Tobold is just plain wrong-- we're going to see guild housing before we ever see player housing, and Blizzard has consistently said they want their armor to look like what they say, not what players say. But he's dead right on the new professions-- woodworking and the ability of players to make arrows and bows would both fit perfectly with the lore, and fill a nice hole in crafting that's been there for a long time.
Don't have a Wii? Use your imagination
Who needs a Wii when you have friends that are willing to make asses of themselves? That seems to be the message of this video, in which a depressed would-be Wii owner uses a TV remote to "control" real life versions of Tennis, Golf and other games. We especially like the scene where our hero controls Punch-Out! on the NES by jumping around and calling out "left" and "right" to guide a friend holding an actual NES controller. How's that for intuitive controls? While the video is hilarious, it's also a good reminder that playing the Wii is no substitute for real life activity. Why not put down that copy of Zelda and pick up a friend for a fake sword duel. If you're tired of Wii Tennis, why not go out and, y'know, actually play some tennis. There's a great big world out there just waiting for you to make an ass of yourself, so go play.
Imagination beats everything
RetroBlast's Motivational Poster Contest has come to a close, and the winning Zork entry is pretty spectacular. Simple, but spectacular, we'd love to order one if we could. Infocom's games always took place inside your head, because they were just text on a screen, but they were some of the best games ever written.Check out the winners and all the other entries. Have a favorite that didn't make it to the top? Still want to design your own? Let us know about it.
Totally awesome E3 games that everyone missed
Lore Sjöberg of Wired took a look at the games from his imagination this year's E3 that no-one wanted to play. In his own words, all these games contained the best mini game of all "not standing in line." So did he find any gems in his mind at E3? Here's a selection of what he imagined saw: Sandbox -- playing off the popularity of open-ended GTA style games comes Sandbox, a game that's 100% true to its genre. Sandbox exposes children to the delights of a real life sandbox, sans the real life sand. The developers told Sjöberg that they'd like to include a shovel and bucket in the final game, "but that may not be a realistic goal." Mission: Marketplace -- this game progresses the demand for downloadable content and episodic games to its climax. Mission: Marketplace's innovation is that it requires players to purchase all the content separately -- alternatively you can just plunk down $200 and watch the credits roll. We can't wait for this one. That's not all: he also discovered Pac-Man Boulevard, a game that demonstrates the continued advantages of sequels over original franchises and Casual Game: The Game, a game so casual that engaging your brain (or even possessing one) reduces your overall enjoyment. We're like, totally hyped about these completely revolutionary games, so get your arse over to Wired and read all about 'em.[Image credit: art.com]
