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One Shots: Home sweet home
It's easy to forget that in all of these game worlds that we're adventuring through, some people allegedly live and work in these lands! Even in the very, very scary places! Reader Xexanos found this run-down house in a dark corner of The Secret World and found himself entranced by the mystery of it. "I stumbled upon this place during my exploration of the Shadowy Forest (the name really tells you everything)," he said. "I wonder what the history behind this is." I had just found that last week myself and was wondering that too. If any lore experts want to fill us in, please do so, otherwise head past the jump and check out all of the other great reader screenshots we have in store for you this week!
One Shots: The many lives of Gwen Thackeray
Hey Gwen, how's it hanging? Find that flute yet? Yeah, don't worry, I'm sure it'll turn up around here somewhere. Don't get too near the river there, girl; those skale have a nasty bite! Say, what's that sulfurous smell in the air? And those distant screams that are drawing nearer at an incredible rate? And a sudden looming premonition that the property values around here are about to take a nosedive? Reader Sharvis sent in this Guild Wars picture with a modicum of pity: "Here is Gwen moments before the Searing. Poor girl." Don't feel too sorry for her, Sharvis! She gets an entire expansion, after all!
One Shots: A light in the dark
Reader Andrew is quite impressed with the look of Neverwinter, saying that it is visually "amazing!" Without descending into hyperbole, I have to agree. It's a good-looking title with plenty of interesting details if you take the time to stop and smell the corpses. Corpses? Well, Andrew is standing in the middle of a whole bunch of dead folks here with his spectral flashlight (AA batteries not included). I wouldn't touch that treasure chest if I were you, Andrew. I'm guessing it might be a mimic. Oh no! As we stumble through the dark, what other visions might we encounter in this week's One Shots?
One Shots: The dark night dashes
Just because you have passing familiarity with Superman and Batman doesn't mean you know jack about the real superheroes who do all of the dirty work while the headliners steal the signal light. For instance, have you met this guy? If you haven't, let reader Russell make your acquaintance. "This is my Brawling Juggernaut in DC Universe Online, known by many as Orange Crush," Russell begins with aplomb. "Here he is in pursuit of justice, on the way to laying some Crush down on the villains of our great and beloved Gotham City!" Will Orange Crush arrive in time? Tune in to the rest of this column after the break!
One Shots: Thar be dragons
It would be a rare fantasy MMO that didn't have a posse of dragons roaming the land (or flying through the skies), and Guild Wars 2 certainly does not break that trend. It doesn't mean that going head-to-head with one is any less intimidating, however. Reader Paul sent in this little meet-and-greet with Puff, saying it was when his Asuran Mesmer first encountered a dragon. Let's just hope he remained alive to have a second encounter. Asurans often look like popcorn chicken to dragonkind. It's not just flying lizards in this week's One Shots! What wonders await you, I wonder?
One Shots: Yo ho ho!
There's probably no gulf as wide as the one between historical pirates and the pop culture versions that we venerate. As a guy who had a pirate-themed 30th birthday party, I can't say that I'm against our off-kilter brand of scallywags. Neither is reader Phinneas, who sent in our featured screenshot from Pirate101. "These shots are of the main starting area with my fearsome pirate looking to the horizon for adventures ahead," he writes. Best of luck to ye, laddie! May the wind be at your back, your enemies in Davey Jones' locker, and a bottle of ginger ale in your belly! Yet pirates are only the beginning of today's adventure through One Shots...
The Daily Grind: Are head starts worth the hassle?
We're getting into the spring launch season, what with Age of Wushu, Defiance, and Neverwinter (not to mention expansions and whatnot). It's an exciting time of year, kind of the groundhog coming out of his digital hole to break the cold dry spell of winter. As with any launch, there's usually the question of early access and how much you're willing to jump through hoops to get in a couple days before the rest of the crowd. As a player who's done anything he can to get in there on the pre-launch day, I can attest that it's pretty important for me. I like knowing I'm in there right at the start, that I can reserve my names, and that I don't have to twiddle my thumbs while knowing that other players are enjoying the game. But that's just me. What about you? Are head starts worth the extra effort and money to join? Do those extra few days matter in any significant way? 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!
One Shots: Soggy beginnings
Dungeons and Dragons Online newcomers and veterans alike are quite familiar with the waterlogged Sahuagin and all of their wacky antics. Basically think "level 1 mermaids from hell" and you're right with the rest of us. It's a good thing that the game doesn't have smell-o-vision because the tutorial would be reeking of a fishery, that's all I'm saying. Reader Sharvis photographed his initial journey through the game and delivered this familiar image of an odd cellar. "Oh great, the Wavecrest Tavern's basement has flooded," he writes. "And who let the Sahuagin in? They're making everything look tacky again!" We'll get the sump pump working while you check out the rest of today's player-submitted screenshots!
One Shots: Paging the burn ward
It's a little amazing, when you think about it, that all of these magic-users who prance around in extremely flammable robes don't suffer from third-degree burns more than we see. Or maybe the game is hiding the awful, scarred truth from us. In any case, our opening screenshot this week should have resulted in a quick trip to the ER for both parties. "This is a simple yet fun battle in Vindictus' early levels," reader Carolina says. "I love the detail of the damaged shoe on my spellcaster character." Forget the human element; now the shoes are the ones suffering for our casual disregard of fiery magic! If you can get past the misery of the moment, we've got plenty of other great one shots this week for you to admire.
One Shots: Winning is half the battle
If knowledge is half the battle, what's the other half? Winning, duh. It's certainly not flaky pastries or erotic roleplaying. You got to win the game's face off, and when you're done, you should pose for a commemorative photo like Reader Ralph here: "This shot was taken just minutes from the end," he wrote to us. "After several fierce battles, our team of AFS soldiers succeeded in taking over the last Bane encampment! The Earth was ours again! WE WON! And then our universe winked out of existence, and Tabula Rasa was no more." You won and you lost? Ralph, you officially broke the universe with that. Read on for more exciting player screenshots in today's edition of One Shots.
One Shots: ???
There's a lot going on in our lead picture here. There are question marks, a fungus person, a pointedly staring frog, and enough colors to give Crayola a run for its money. But what is it about? What does it mean? Reader Stacy helps clear things up: "That's mah frog. This was around April Fool's last year (those question marks are fireworks from that in-game event and are amazing in motion). This was my first house; I got it for free from the EverQuest in-game card game, so I did not have much decoration. I bought a bunch of pets from a man down the street and set them loose, then set off all my fireworks and partied the night away with frog and friends." See, if we did most of these activities in real life, we'd be in jail. Aren't MMOs grand?
One Shots: Views from a beta
It's hard not to turn into a total tourist when you're checking out a new beta. Out comes the fanny pack, the giddy delight of a new world, and most importantly, the camera. Reader Michelle kicks off this week's One Shots column with a screenshot of the first Neverwinter beta weekend. It's a shot of her character Nora overlooking the edge of aptly named Neverdeath Graveyard. We're guessing that the caretaker down there has his hands full. Would you go into such a place if you saw it in real life? I guess that's why we have our avatars to be bold where we would flee! Let's take a look at a few other places where angels fear to tread.
One Shots: Dancing with my homies
First of all, thank you guys so much for responding to our One Shots rallying cry and absolutely flooding us with screenshots! My cup overfloweth, and that's a delightful change of pace for this column. Even though we're quite literally set for months now, please keep sending in your favorite old or new screencaps! To kick us off this week is Jerry, who's showing off how Anarchy Online can party down with the best of them: "This is Yardsale, a level 220 Trader, dancing with his trader pets in Borealis." At first glance, I almost thought we were in the Matrix. But even with polygons so sharp that you can cut yourself on them, this title definitely has a style all its own. Hit the jump to see this and other wonders of the screenshotted world.
One Shots: Back in the day...
A few weeks ago I asked everyone to send me in screenshots of pre-2004 MMOs... and only Brad delivered. Seriously, people, you've been shown up by Brad. Brad gets the gold star. Brad gets the golden ticket and can come on a once-in-a-lifetime visit to see the fabled Massively word factory. Brad is my hero. Brad (if you didn't catch his name) sent us in this shot of Ultima Online: "So much fun with vendors! This is a shot of Angelica's on the Chesapeake Server -- a popular shopping spot in Felucca to grab gear on the go. It was one of the few player-owned vendor spots in a protected zone near Lord British's Castle. This would have been taken around 2002. Notice the detail of the fish tank made from stacked cloth and the flowers made with an onion and two cooked eggs!" Yes. Notice Brad's eggs, people. In them you can see the reflection of your failure. Aw, just kidding!
One Shots: Standing room only
I love Bards and Bard-type classes. Always have, always will. There's something wonderfully against-the-typical-fantasy-grain about them in how they prefer a good solo on a harp to cleaving things in two with axes. Reader Rebecca sent us in her Bard doing an impromptu woodland concert: "Here my Bard Rozily is strumming a tune in Northern Highlands as the snow begins to drift down. Sometimes in Vanguard you have to stop and enjoy the scenery." Absolutely! Also, you may want to look into the fact that the lute seems to have severed your forearm. Check out the full picture and so much more after the jump!
One Shots needs your... shots
Do you love your printscreen key? Do you have a hankering for some weird or antique game that just doesn't get enough coverage? Do you possess a picture of your drunk BFF dancing naked on a mailbox? If so, then we need you! One Shots, Massively's weekly feature dedicated to showing off your MMO screenies, is lacking in submissions to keep it going. A quick look at our inbox shows one Runes of Magic image, a vintage 2002-era Ultima Online pic, and approximately eighty billion Guild Wars 2 snaps. We're not too interested in turning One Shots into Guild Shots, honestly, and we don't want to retire the feature again and bring about #oneshotsgate2013. So please, help us out, keep the feature going another year, and show off your gamer photography skills! Send your favorite MMO screenshots to oneshots@massively.com, and don't forget to include your name, the name of the game, and a description of the scene. Large, colorful, UI-free shots that tell a story and really show off the game make for the best images. We especially love pics from rare/oddball games, older games, and even closed games (like the one above from Star Wars Galaxies) -- stuff that doesn't make the headlines very often anymore. Thanks guys!
One Shots: Middle-earth cowboys
The recent Riders of Rohan expansion in Lord of the Rings Online has brought out the cowboy and cowgirl in a lot of us. Must be the emphasis on horseback riding over scenic plains while savage attacks are waged on settlements. It's here that we begin our journey through snapshots in MMO life this week. Reader Binklewyst sets the scene for our first One Shots: "Riding over a low hill on the plains of Rohan, I stopped my warhorse to admire a view of the Faldham fortification. In the distance to the right is the evil Nink-hai warcamp." Saddle up, pard'ners. The frontier awaits us after the jump!
One Shots: Bring out your dead
Ah, nothing like a pile of rotting stiffs to start your day off right, I always say! So nice of considerate readers to send me such pictures in my email. Maybe it's a somber commentary on the fragility of life and the tragedies that go unnoticed around us daily. Maybe it's somebody trying to gross me out. I'm good either way. Reader Volska clues us in: "Talk about morbid. Here's a screenshot of some piles of corpses from the Guardian starter area in RIFT. No happy welcoming party here." With a start like that, what other pictures will we have to share? It's a wild and wooly One Shots, and it all starts after the jump!
One Shots: 100% Guild Wars 2
Yes, we know that Guild Wars 2 is a gorgeous and popular game. Why do we know this? Because week after week, One Shots has been swamped with GW2 submissions, far outstripping almost every other game submission put together. That's not a bad thing, as I agree that it's a lovely title that has an immense amount of eye candy. It just makes it difficult when I'm limiting One Shots to one-picture-per-game-per-column. So you know what? We're throwing out the rule today. Today's all about Guild Wars 2 as we dig through the growing backlog of photos. Reader Jacob kicks us off with this awesome pose of his toon: "This is my Charr engineer pretending to be a statue in the hidden strawberry patch in Diessa Plateau. Rather angelic looking for such a fierce race!" There's more where that came from, so leapfrog over the jump and let's get moving!
One Shots: Slumbering death
Reader John's going to get me to actually say something nice about TERA. Are you ready for it? Because this doesn't happen often. Here's my compliment: It's a beautiful-looking game. Really. I can't deny that there's a special level of polish and eye when it comes to its visuals. Anyway, John sent us in this captivating picture of a place that might look pretty in the daylight, but you probably don't want to be loitering after nightfall. "I just started playing TERA upon hearing about the F2P conversion. This is my Amani Berserker traveling through the low-level Valley of Titans and stopping behind a pair of rock giants. These rock giants are all over the place here -- I wonder what will happen if they ever wake up?" Dance party? That's my guess. See John's full-color photo in all its glory after the break in addition to other terrifying vistas.
