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Thrash down a mountain on an Elder Scrolls Online snowboard
When you're about to stomp that pickle-reaver on a double-black diamond, you want to make sure that everyone around you knows exactly what video game you support. That's why Bethesda is selling a limited edition snowboard for The Elder Scrolls Online. MMOs need all the slope cred they can get these days, we suppose. The Ebonheart Snowboard will cost you a cool $500, and that's if you're able to secure one of the only 50 boards being made. The art on the board is done by former ArenaNet artist Kekai Kotaki, and the board itself is an all-terrain, all-condition model. And yes, before you ask, the RDS 2 Damping System is included. Currently the Bethesda Store is accepting pre-orders for the snowboard, promising to ship it this December.
ArenaNet concept art lead Kekai Kotaki announces departure
"All things must eventually come to an end." Thus writes Guild Wars 2 artist Kekai Kotaki on his Facebook page. The long-time ArenaNet employee announced his departure from the studio after eight years of working on the Guild Wars franchise. The award-winning Kotaki used his farewell message to reminisce about his journey with the studio: "This comes with a certain amount of sadness as this was my first job in the gaming industry. I first started doing ground textures for the original Guild Wars and I end it being the concept art lead on Guild Wars 2." Kotaki thanked Guild Wars fans for their support and said that he's leaving to embark on "new endeavors." He does encourage the faithful to stick around to see how Guild Wars 2 turns out. "This game will be awesome and will be a success," he writes, "and I look forward to seeing it being released."
ArenaNet's Daniel Dociu wins award for digital art
Guild Wars 2 has had a distinctive art style ever since it was first announced, helping to solidify the game's image in the minds of fans. A big part of that has naturally been the vision of Daniel Dociu, art director for ArenaNet and overseer of the visuals for the project. So it should come as no surprise that Dociu has been awarded the Grand Master Award for Exposé 9, Ballistic Publishing's digital art annual for 2011. Both Dociu and concept artist Kekai Kotaki were featured in the pages, with both praised for their expressive and immersive artwork for the game. It might be a surprise to the readers of the magazine, but it's no surprise to the players who have been enjoying the work of these talented figures for years. Congratulations are in order for the award, one well-deserved considering the visual treat that Guild Wars 2 promises to provide.
ArenaNet on designing the Charr: "A fire-worshipping race of hell cats"
Guild Wars 2's Charr week continues today with a look at Designing the Charr. Artists Katy Hargrove, Kristen Perry, and Kekai Kotaki sat down for this round of information to talk all about the past, present, and future of the Charr race and the process of designing it over a period of years. We won't keep you waiting: Follow along after the jump for all the latest on Charr week!
ArenaNet reveals new Guild Wars 2 blog and image
It's that time in the Guild Wars 2 information cycle again: just as we are beginning to despair of ever getting new information, the floodgates open. ArenaNet's been dropping some very broad hints over the past few weeks, most recently sending out a couple of very mysterious images. Today dropped a couple of significant new pieces of information. First, one of the figures in the image (by the incredibly talented Kekai Kotaki) changed to reveal itself as what is almost certainly an Elementalist. Hopefully this is the first in a pattern, and we'll get a look at the other figures still waiting in the background. Our excitement over the new image barely had time to register when ArenaNet dropped a second bomb: a Guild Wars 2 blog. Talk about starting off with a bang: this first blog entry -- accurately labeled a manifesto -- takes the main points of GW2, things that we already knew, and expands upon them in a big way. Many points that we've wondered about are clarified, and the blog entry is easily the biggest piece of information we've gotten from ArenaNet since the last trailer. If you're one of the many waiting for Guild Wars 2, this blog entry is a must read, and be sure to check out next week's Flameseeker Chronicles as we go over all the new information in detail.
Digital arts workshop to feature Guild Wars artists
Guild Wars fans and aspiring game art designers will be descending on Bellevue, WA at the end of the month to attend FUTUREPOLY's sold-out digital arts workshop. FUTUREPOLY focuses specifically on video game development and offers a series of regular classes ranging in length from one to six months, but this is their first one-time workshop, and was obviously a big hit. The workshop will be five hours long, and feature demonstrations from the regular instructors, some of the top names in the field: Daniel Dociu, Chief Art Director at NCsoft North America (currently focusing on Guild Wars 2.) Jaime Jones, digital artist for titles such as Halo, Guild Wars, Wizards of the Coast and many more. Kekai Kotaki, lead concept artist for Guild Wars 2. Richard Anderson, ArenaNet artist for the past seven years, currently creating cinematic illustrations for Guild Wars 2 Matthew Barrett, creature and environment concept artist Horia Dociu, cinematic director for Guild Wars 2. The artists will present a start-to-finish demonstration of the creation process and discuss their technique. More information about the event as well as FUTUREPOLY's regular course schedules can be found here.
Guild Wars 2 concept art spotted
Guild Wars has some fantastic concept art. We've mentioned this in the past, particularly in the context of the work of ArenaNet art director Daniel Dociu and concept art lead Kekai Kotaki as seen at Spectrum Fantastic Art. In fact, the last thing we asked was, "Does this give some hints as to what we'll be seeing in Guild Wars 2?" It turns out, it does. In fact, Guild Wars 2 concept art is now appearing in other places as well. Ravious at Kill Ten Rats hunted down more GW2 art by Dociu and Kotaki, as confirmed by ArenaNet's Regina Buenaobra. Check out the post on GW2 concept art by Ravious over at Kill Ten Rats, which features some examples of what he's found along with some background on what they may show of the next game's setting, "250 years after the original Guild Wars."
ArenaNet artists win Spectrum honors for Guild Wars concept art
Some of us at Massively are quite taken with the art of Guild Wars and it looks like we're not alone in this respect. The ArenaNet artists were recognized at Spectrum last year, an annual showcase of some of the best artwork in fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Carrying on in that tradition, ArenaNet's Art Director Daniel Dociu made this year's Spectrum 16 list for "Mole Tunnels", taking the Gold Award in the Concept Art category. ArenaNet artist Kekai Kotaki took the Silver Award for "Snow Battle". The work of both artists is stunning, and we urge you to check out the images found at Spectrum Fantastic Art to see what we mean. Given that the Guild Wars images seen at Spectrum are concept art, does this give some hints as to what we'll be seeing in Guild Wars 2?
