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Factions Event
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Last week-end, there was a special event in Guild Wars.
People with a valid licence could play the new version called Factions during the whole week-end! They also had the possibility to invite three people of their choice to test the game.
I must admit I had lots of fun.
What I first noticed was the predominant Asian theme. The new environment looks gorgeous and the colours are vibrant, which is a nice change compared with the previous version where most of it is very dark. I guess it's aimed at grabbing Asian players in mind.
The new map is awesome. I liked the fact that everything is much closer now, i.e. you don't need to run for ages to find the quest location. There are lots of new characters, new armours, new quests and missions, etc.
The major new concept in this version there now exist two clans perpetually at war with one another and you must take sides in this conflict by building alliances with other guilds. I am not quite sure I understood the concept properly though. I am part of a guild that is not very active, which is a bit boring.
Although the game has not been fundamentally modified there are some nice changes.
I still don't know if I will buy the Factions version. I would be interested in buying the collector's edition, but for some obscure reason it seems hard to come by in Canada.
Technorati Tags: Guild Wars Factions, collector's edition.
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All by myself...
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It's been a while since I have written, but I have quite a good excuse. I have been trying to revamp my blog, which is quite time-consuming, and the fact that my PC has gone to the repair shop is another factor...
I know the title of my post sounds a bit melodramatic (but I really like Celine Dion though!), but this is pretty much how I have been playing lately. The whole point of playing online is to play with people, at least theoretically...
Lately people I met on the Internet have been pretty obnoxious. I am quite fed up of being insulted by other online players, either because they don't like the way my characters look, the way I play, or because they think that my combination of profession is "stupid". It happened to me two days ago again. I was playing with one of my friends (hopefully I have my online friends to make me laugh!), and we had the same profession combo. As a result of insults and name-calling, we quit the party. Although I feel bad for the rest of the team, I don't regret it. People cannot insult me in real life without accepting the consequences, I don't see why it shouldn't be the case in a virtual world. The downside is that those people don't understand how childish or useless it is to act that way, and within the timeframe and the environment, it is impossible to make a point. Since then, I have been playing alone with NPCs, and I have been doing fairly well. I will for sure start to play with people again, but for the moment, I am pretty much disgusted about their behaviour.Read
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Guild Wars Basics
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Maybe I should have done this before, but today I decided to talk about the game itself. (Many thanks to Soto* for providing me with the topic!)
Guild Wars is a MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game). The current version I am playing costs about USD40 (CAD60)**. The game editor NC Interactive will be releasing at the end of April a new version of the game called Guild Wars Factions. This version of the game can already be pre-ordered for USD45 (CAD60)**.
The major advantage with this game is that it’s all you need pay. There are no subscription fees whatsoever! Therefore, you can play as much or as little as you like without being worried by wasting your money! I think that’s one of the reasons why this game is so popular.
The updates are made automatically on the server when you log in using the software client. Bugs are corrected pretty quickly.
So after installing it, what’s next? The fun starts by choosing your character and his/her profession (Warrior, Monk, Necromancer, Mesmer, Ranger, or Elementalist). Then you begin to play. The learning curve is easy. (Just to make things clear, I would like to say that I am not a proficient player. Guild Wars is the first game I’ve ever played intensively.)
You start with a tutorial (called pre-searing Ascalon) where you learn the basics: move your character, use the weapons, get the quests, talk to other players, choose your second profession, etc. By realizing the different quests and missions, you acquire more experience (which shows in your character's level) and skills specific to your first and second professions. It is fairly easy to level up your character. When you reach Level 3, which can be done in less than two hours, you can leave the tutorial part and go to post-searing (it is though strongly advised to do it when you are above Level 6). The highest level you can reach is 20 (you are then more or less halfway through the game), which is considered low compared to other online games. Depending on how often you play (and how talented you are!), it can be done rather quickly. The fact is that the level cap is so “low” is to “force” the player to focus on their skills and ability to play, and not to the level itself.
I think I told pretty much the basics of the game. The main thing to remember is that it’s only a game and that you should have FUN with it! :-)
* Visit Soto at The Flip Side. You can there read her posts, submit your website, etc.
**Prices to date, before taxes, and indicated for information only.
Technorati Tags: Guild Wars, MMORPG, Guild Wars Tutorial.
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Blackout
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Yesterday, something curious happened.
The Guild Wars server encountered a problem that had an impact on the game economy. For nearly an hour, in-game traders were selling items at unrealistically low prices. To solve the problem, the ArenaNet people decided to roll back the server before the problem began.
As you may understand, it was impossible for us to play.
And as a consequence, all the online Guild Wars forums were invaded by worried players, who wanted to know what was going on. Those servers were at turn overloaded leading to some discontented people.
On my side, to be honest, I missed playing yesterday and also missed chatting with my friends. But I was also wondering: what were the other people doing during all that unexpected free time?
Were they bored? Did they miss the game only? Did some of them realize how addicted they are?
The good surprise for me is that when I logged on to one of those forums there was a thread dedicated to what people did during the rollback! What a gold mine of information! Well, maybe not a mine, but it gave me some insights into the situation. Most of the people played another game (very surprising!) or spent their time catching up with homework (which in my opinion is a very good thing). But some of them (a minority) admitted that they were extremely bored and had the feeling that they had no life. The fact that they couldn't get access to the game left them with a feeling of emptiness.
So does it mean that the game represents the whole life of this person? It seems to be the case... It is very sad to see that.
It reinforces that idea that some people use the game to live a virtual life...
Technorati Tags: Guild Wars Blackout, virtual life.
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Cybersex?
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 The time before, I explained how you select your characters and its possible impact on the relationships. I also mentioned how people would flirt with me easily, which leads me naturally to talk about cybersex...
Cyber-sex seems to be common. Ok it might be a “big” word, but sometimes, it comes pretty close to it. One of the men I met found my monk to his taste. He was friendly at first, and I was pretty open to meet other people and maybe to become friends with them. One of the first questions was related to my gender and age. He really wanted to make sure that I was not an underage girl. At first, I found it quite normal. It was not the first time a relationship would start that way. The second time was a bit different. He didn’t remember my name nor my age, and so he asked me again. Suspicious as I am (!), I asked him this time why. He replied that he didn’t want to get in trouble, or even worse, that I get in trouble.
Maybe I am a little naive, but as far as I know, we are playing an online game, so how is it possible to get in trouble (unless you are a scammer and you don’t respect GW rules)?
The answer was that he plays using adult themes. My suspicious mind became very agitated and I couldn’t help asking for more information. He meant that he is “trying to emote sexual interactions with the available game actions" (sic). To be honest, I found that attitude disgusting. I replied by saying I was not interested at all and I didn’t know if I really wanted to pursue a relationship with him. The reply was “Let’s start playing together and you will decide later”. As I wanted to give him a chance, we started playing (with my warrior instead). As we were only the two of us, my character died pretty quickly. Then he starts asking me questions about my experience about the game, if I am good enough to survive, etc. He was pretty patronizing. I left him quite quickly and since then I don’t have any news from him.
Maybe my reaction was extreme, but how would you have reacted?
Also, the main question that remains unanswered is what is the point? I know for fact that the Internet allows you to act as you like, and you can lose your inhibitions quickly. There are no barriers and the rules in this virtual world can be broken without hardly any consequences.
Technorati Tags: Guild Wars emotes, relationships, cybersex.
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International Women’s Day
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Yesterday was the International Women’s Day. Yes, I know what you’re thinking: boring, another feminist, out of topic, etc. But I allow myself here to open a parenthesis about that subject.
Well, not so much…
Yesterday, I played as usual my favorite game (Guild Wars for those who still don’t know!). I was in one of those outposts when a girl asked out loud for some help. Before I could ask what she needed, a guy replied by stating that girls don’t play computer games… Why? The reasons are multiple and simple: because girls are bad at it (this is of course the toned-down version), they are not made for that, implying that it is only a guy thing. They started to argue and I couldn’t help sticking my oar in. The situation became worse because some other guys intervened too, supporting that first guy.
The positive point is that some guys supported the women’s side, but it was the minority. I had the feeling to be back at the Stone Age.
I know it is a little incident, so why am I making such a big fuss out of it?
Because we are now in the 21st century, and this male chauvinistic behavior still arises.
Whatever the political situation of the country, women have still to defend their rights.
I agree the latter is different according to the country you live in, and the cost of their defense can be very expensive too. In more developed countries, you have disparities in terms of incomes. But in some less-developed countries, women don’t even have the right to be …women (for more information, you can have a look on the Internet, or read that recent article about women in Bangladesh. Be careful before jumping, for sensitive people, it can be harsh to stand). And the price they pay is losing their life.
To come back to my little incident, I would like to say that I know it was probably some kids who wanted to be a bit provocative, but even if it is the case, isn’t it sad somehow? Children represent our future, and if we, as adults, don’t help them to change the mentality, who will?
Technorati Tags: International Women’s Day, female players.
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How to choose your character?
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 It is fairly straightforward to create a new character. You can choose to be a male or a female and according to your profession, you will look different. And that will also determine your relationship with others, not always the case, but most of the time.
The majority of players are male. But you would notice that you can meet lots of female characters, which I’ve always found very weird. All my characters are females because they reflect a part of me, or the person I would like to be or how I would like to imagine myself (!).
These are only assumptions of course, but it seems that some guys don’t really like how the male characters look like, hence their preference for a female character… As I think it is a minority, then what about the rest?
That’s simple: most of them find the female characters sexy… For the rest, I really don’t know and I could write pages on that topic without finding a decent solution.
But what surprises me the most is that your choice of character will determine you relationship with others. My second character is a female monk. One of the best armors for that profession are tattoos, meaning that your character’s body is covered by tattoos, and therefore, pretty much naked. I must admit that the graphics designers made a really good job with the characters. She looks awesome, and really sexy! Suffice to say that I got chatted up with several times!!! I could hardly believe it myself, because for me, sex in a virtual world is impossible… Obviously, I was quite mistaken, as I recently read an article about virtual sex amongst Canadian students. And it seems it is much more common than I had previously thought.
Technorati Tags: create a new character, relationships, female monk, virtual sex.
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What is Guild Wars?
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Guild Wars (referred to later as GW) is a massively multi-player online role-playing game (also known as MMORPG), i.e. a game played over the Internet. Hence, it has the big advantage of being very interactive by attracting as wide an audience as possible. You choose a character at the beginning and you develop it by completing quests and missions. To do so, you can play alone (almost impossible at higher levels), either with henchmen (non-playing characters a.k.a. NPCs), or in a group made on the moment or with people of your guild.
The latter is the basis of GW. It is a hierarchical group including a leader, officers and members. This group is made mainly to organize Guild versus Guild (GVG) battles to gain points and ranks.
Technorati Tags: Guild Wars, MMORPG, role-playing game.
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Introduction
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First of all, I would like to say a few words about my background, which will explain much about the context.
I am a woman in her late twenties playing Guild Wars. Yes, I know, I don’t fit in the presumed category of the game…
Anyway, I would like to share my experiences I’ve found virtual environment very interesting from a sociological perspective. I would also like to add that I am not a sociologist, so everything here is only the product of my own brainstorming.
I might also talk about the relationships built over the Internet, and some phenomena such as online dating.
Technorati Tags: Guild Wars, GW, relationships.
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