in-game-marriage
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Final Fantasy XIV adds weddings with Patch 2.45
Whether you're a roleplayer or just someone who likes planning weddings, you'll be happy to know that Final Fantasy XIV's patch 2.45 has added the option for everyone to get married to a partner of his or her choosing. The Ceremony of Eternal Bond is now available in the game, complete with special outfits, rings, and premium options for those who want a bit more spice to their ceremonies. Because who wouldn't want a moogle officiating the ceremony? Patch 2.45 also includes further developments in the Zoidac Weapon quest chain and a new set of postmoogle quests. Dragoons have also been buffed with the removal of most positional requirements and several shorter recast timers, while Ninjas have slightly increased TP costs and a reduction to damage buffs from poisons. The patch is available now, but for those of you who can't download and start playing right this moment, we've included the Eternal Bond trailer just after the break.
E3 2014: Final Fantasy XIV discusses ninjas and same-sex marriage
The first of two official livestreams for Final Fantasy XIV has just wrapped up at E3. While the stream focused on a variety of questions from the fans, two big points were hit during the discussion. The first was the revelation of a new class slated for introduction in patch 2.4: the Rogue class, which will lead into the Ninja job. This will be a damage-dealing class that dual wields knives and daggers, complete with enhanced movement skills and stealth abilities. Producer Naoki Yoshida also announced that the game's marriage system will allow any two characters to be joined together, regardless of race, nation, or gender. The translated answer explained that in the world of Eorzea, it seemed inappropriate to restrict the system. Players will be given the options of having their characters pledge eternal love or simply eternal friendship, with the possibility of special mounts for the happy couple. Massively's on the ground in Los Angeles during the week of June 10-12, bringing you all the best news from E3 2014. We're covering everything from WildStar and Landmark to Skyforge and H1Z1, so stay tuned!
Age of Wushu updates with World of Contenders
You could have been a contender. Wait, that's not right -- you could currently be a contender. You could be contending right now. After all, Age of Wushu's latest update is specifically titled "World of Contenders," odds are good that you could be one heck of a contender. So get in there and contend! Yes, the latest major update for the game is live, and it offers a lot of ways for players to contend with one another, most notably the Dragon and Tiger Tournament featuring a series of one-on-one duels in large arenas. You can also take part in the weekly battles between schools added with the School Rivalry system. Not really up for contention? There's still plenty to access with the addition of the fourth Internal skill and a new set of skills exclusive to married couples. Get patched up and get ready to contend just as much as you'd like, as it seems Snail Games is indeed looking out for you.
Age of Wushu's Ultimate Scrolls expansion launches November 13
Grab your parkas (or sunblock, if you live in the southwest) because winter is right around the corner! Age of Wushu's Ultimate Scrolls winter expansion is coming in less than two weeks. On November 13th, players will be able to enter Ancient China's forbidden grounds and test themselves in new school-specific instances. Other incoming features include secret scripts (in the form of teachings of the treasured Helianthus Codex and Star Vortex), a new tier of martial art skills with ultimate scrolls, and the new marriage system. You can read more about the expansion in Massively's behind-the-scenes interview. And to help tide you over (or just tease you some more), Snail Games also offers the following expansion trailer.
The Daily Grind: Would you get married in-game if you could?
In-game marriages are largely a thing of the past. Outside of outliers like RIFT, MapleStory and Final Fantasy XIV, most games don't and won't feature the option to tie the knot inside your game of choice. Which might be seen as a bit sad, but it also raises the question of whether or not you'd use the feature even if it were available. Maybe you enjoy roleplaying, maybe you want to have a tongue-in-cheek ceremony, or maybe you play with your spouse and want to be married on multiple levels. Or maybe you think the idea of being pretend married in a pretend game is kind of hopelessly silly to begin with. So today we ask -- if you had the option of getting married in your game of choice, would you take advantage of it? Or do you think it's more or less the apex of unnecessary fluff features in games? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
MapleStory celebrates the magic of marriage and subsequent divorce
Valentine's Day is nearly here, and the best way to celebrate it is to have your pixelated avatar pretend to marry someone else's pixelated avatar. MapleStory allows you to do just that, and the game has thus far had around 28,000 couples tie the knot in-game. It's also seen 15,000 of those couples subsequently divorce, which seems like a staggering number when you realize that the game does not offer any systems to model the crumbling of your emotional bonds and the slow desertion of your childhood dreams. As it turns out, the staff at Nexon keeps track of a lot of interesting little tidbits about the marriage system. The longest marriage in the game is at 1,100 days; the shortest one clocks in at just three seconds. The average isn't too bad at 518 days, but couples that both married and divorced in 2012 wound up with an average run of 107 days. And some poor soul is already on marriage number 13, which implies Larry King-like devotions to remarriage. If you're looking at all of those stats and thinking that you can't say no, check out the wedding trailer past the break. [Source: Nexon press release] %Gallery-16709%
RIFT players set record for most in-game weddings in one day
It wasn't but yesterday that we ran our feature on the gaming achievements of the Guinness Book of World Records: Gamer's Edition 2012, but between then and now, a new MMO-related record has been set. As many of you know, RIFT recently added marriage to its plethora of features, allowing players to make the ultimate commitment in Telara. Well, the ultimate commitment besides joining a raiding guild, at any rate. A press release today announced that RIFT players banded together with the goal of setting the record for the most in-game marriages in a 24-hour span. We're not certain what the previous record was if there was one at all, but RIFT players managed to set the bar with a staggering 21,879 marriages performed between noon on February 14th and noon on February 15th. RIFT executive producer and Trion Worlds CCO Scott Hartsman is pleased with the outcome, stating in the press release that "Ascended Weddings were a great way to lift the veil on RIFT's new 'Gatherings' feature, social experiences that bring players together in new and interesting ways." He goes on to add that "[the studio] looks forward to expanding this great new gameplay element in the always-evolving world of Telara." So congratulations to all of the lucky couples. Enjoy your new ball-and-chain! [Source: Trion Worlds press release]
Enter at Your Own Rift: A RIFT wedding primer
Right now in RIFT, couples are donning their best attire, polishing up their rings, and practicing their vows as they participate in a Valentine's Day wedding challenge. From yesterday until today at noon, players will attempt to set the Guinness World Record for most in-game weddings in a single day. I decided to participate, so I bought the elegant wedding dress and veil from the marriage coordinator and said to my husband, "Will you marry me in-game?" His answer was, "Why?" I can't say I'm surprised because we've been married for the better part of 17 years, and he's never really been into the social part of gaming as much as I have. But he's also a good sport, so he agreed to buy a tux and do the ceremony anyway. In this week's Enter at Your Own Rift, we'll walk you through the process of tying the knot in game, from the pre-wedding prep to the lively celebrations afterwards.
Trion releases RIFT wedding trailer
A couple of weeks ago Trion announced its plan to get RIFT in the Guinness Book of World Records for hosting the most virtual marriages in a 24-hour period. Today the company has released a new video designed to show off the matrimony mechanics and give fans a sneak peek of what's in store for the Valentine's Day record attempt. The festivities begin at 12:00 p.m. EST on February 14th, and Trion says that "any two RIFT players who get hitched in-game will be counted in the Guinness World Records title attempt and will receive 'The Avowed' in-game title." Don't forget to check out the video after the break. [Source: Trion press release]
Trion attempting virtual marriage world record in RIFT
Want to help Trion set a Guinness world record? You'll need a copy of RIFT and a significant other, as the firm is aiming to make video game history by setting the record for most virtual marriages in a 24-hour period. The event will take place on February 14th at noon eastern, and there are no restrictions with regard to character race, class, or sex (opposing faction nuptials are a no-no, however). Trion is also offering up an exclusive Valentine's Day character title (Tier of Knots) to each wedded character. RIFT's marriage mechanics will go live in the 1.7 update in early February, and they include rings, a wedding planner book, and wedding instances that support up to 200 friends. More info is available on the RIFT forums. [Source: Trion press release]
RIFT's 1.7 patch filled with content, coming soon
What's next for RIFT? Well, the 1.7 patch, for starters. The update is called Carnival of the Ascended, and if it sounds a bit festive, it is. Telaran weddings are in the offing, as Trion is introducing a marriage mechanic to its fantasy MMO. There's also the new River of Souls Chronicle, which the official forums bill as an "undead adventure for two." A new master mode dungeon is coming too, as is an expert dungeon overhaul with more options and better loot for endgame avatars. Finally, there's a free weekend coming your way on January 19th, and you can return to Telara (or check it out for the first time) for no charge through January 22nd.
75% of MapleStory's marriages suffer the heartbreak of divorce
Monogamy isn't in the cards for most MapleStory players, and neither are faithfulness, silver anniversaries or alimony-free lifestyles. You see, MapleStory boasts an incredibly high rate of divorces with its marriage system, as a whopping 75% of players who get married in-game end up getting those unions annulled. MapleStory's marriage system is fairly popular, with 26,982 such events occurring last year in North America alone. Each marriage costs $25 for the couple, but it seems that the initial investment wasn't enough to keep a majority of the players together for long. Within a year, over 20,000 of those marriages broke up. Due to the high divorce rate -- much higher than the real-world version by far -- Nexon investigated individual stories of in-game divorce trying to figure out why these virtual marriages aren't sticking. One player named Seth realized that his "Maple spouse" was merely using their relationship to bum free items off of him, which led to their break-up. Marriage in MapleStory is a detailed process involving an official engagement, two rings, real-world cash, and a spiffy in-game item that gives the happy pair a big boost to stats. However, if a marriage is annulled, each partner has a 10-day cooling off period before he or she can remarry. [Source: Nexon press release]
The MMO Report: In-game marriage is for losers edition
This week's MMO Report finds Casey Schreiner in a celebratory mood, and why not? After all, G4TV's massively multiplayer-focused video blog has been entertaining work-bound slackers for four years now, and it's his birthday tomorrow. The show hits all the MMO news highlights for the past week including DC Universe Online's new content pack, Minecraft's new adventuring trailer, The Secret World's sub-plus-cash-shop business model reveal, and Star Trek Online's foregone conclusion of a free-to-play announcement. Casey has a bit of fun with fans of the F2P model, saying that STO is "answering the call of thousands of underpaid comics and collectible store employees who can't afford 15 bucks a month." If that's not enough for you, consider that Casey also spends a bit of time talking about the merits of in-game marriage, and more specifically, why so many of MapleStory's pairings end in annulment. Seriously. Check it out after the break.
Zentia pushes patch 1.2 live
If you've been looking forward to the big expansion patch for Zentia, you're in luck. The patch has recently gone live, giving players a chance to enjoy a plethora of content -- including the marriage system, a rather apropos addition that allows players to have both a ceremony and a reception to commemorate the happiest in-game day of their characters' lives. And if you're not quite feeling in the spirit of Valentine's Day, the newly increased level cap should still offer you plenty to work toward. East Island, a level 70-80 zone, has also been added to the game, complete with mounts and pets to locate. There's also a new Discipline system in place to allow players to focus on new class-based combat skills, helping to distinguish characters and focus specialization. Between that and a variety of new items (including some additions to the cash shop, as could be expected), Zentia players have more ways than ever to enhance a character and plenty of new content to enjoy.
