Along with locations and events.
Tag: Campaign
Destiny 2 Faces Launch Day Server Problems
Beyond Light brings servers beyond capacity.
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Square Enix Stay Home & Play Campaign Raises $2.4 Million
For coronavirus relief.
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Arenanet Talks: Guild Wars 2 Friend/Ship Campaign
Last month Arenanet held a Guild Wars 2 campaign called Friend/Ships, asking players to send in their stories of forming friendly relationships in the popular MMO. The campaign brought in tons of stories from gamers who made new friends and even some who went on to tie the knot.
This week I managed to get in touch with Elisabeth Cardy from Arenanet for a quick Q&A regarding the Friend/Ships campaign. Let’s see how it went.
Q. How did the name “Friend/Ships” for the campaign come about?
Elisabeth Cardy: When we first started brainstorming around this campaign, it was based on stories we’d heard of people who had met their significant other in game, but we really wanted to recognize that it’s not just romantic relationships that can have a deep impact on our lives. To that end, we were looking for a title that encompassed relationships of all sorts. Especially in English, the word “relationship” can have some hefty connotations of romance, so it didn’t feel right on its own. “Shipping” is a fandom term that has to do with primarily romantic relationships (“ships”), so when we were taking some early notes, we started using “Friend/Ships” as a shorthand to kind of indicate both platonic and romantic relationships, and the whole team liked it so much that when it came time to think of the final title for the campaign, we all decided that we wanted to keep this one around.
Q. What was the inspiration for this campaign? There are countless stories of people forming friendships in MMOs but developers are often hesitant to acknowledge them.
Elisabeth Cardy: We built Guild Wars 2 with the idea in mind that it should be good to see other players. We regularly see the success of that in the stories that we hear from guilds, couples, and BFFs about their in-game and out of game adventures. Hearing stories like these is incredible rewarding and heartwarming and we wanted to share some of that joy with the world!
Q. Guild Wars 2 centers a lot of its content on drop-in cooperative group play with strangers. Do you think that forms stronger bonds between players than those that are primarily competitive?
Elisabeth Cardy: Certainly the casual grouping and reinforcement that seeing other players in Guild Wars 2 is a good thing helps people meet others that they might not have normally. But, I think people can bond a lot of ways! Some of my fondest memories are of cooperative content, like running into people repeatedly at open-world boss fights, but I know plenty of folks who have stories of their own of friendships forged in the fires of a particularly fierce rivalry, or facing off together against a common enemy.
Q. What kind of response did you receive from the community compared to what was expected?
Elisabeth Cardy: We got absolutely flooded with stories from players from all over! It was a real delight to see so many people sharing their memories of people and moments that are special to them and how Guild Wars 2 has had a positive impact on their lives.
Q. Is this a one-off event or will it come around again next year?
Elisabeth Cardy: The in-game Friendship Tonic will be available to players in February in future years, and we certainly aren’t done celebrating and appreciating the Guild Wars 2 community.
Q. And finally, do you refer to friends met online as “online friends” to more local, in-person friends?
Elisabeth Cardy: Personally, I don’t tend to draw much distinction, and if I do bring it up, it’s normally as a way of giving context to how I know a person. Just like I’d say “a buddy I met in college,” as a lead-in to a story, I might say “a friend I met in Guild Wars 2.”
RuneScape Celebrates 250 Million Accounts
As Runefest draws to a close, Jagex has announced a new milestone for their popular MMORPG RuneScape. Since its release fifteen years ago, more than 250 million accounts have been created.
In its 15th anniversary year, this month RuneScape hit a new and massively impressive milestone with its 250 millionth account created. Over its lifetime, RuneScape has seen real-life player weddings, united families that are spread across the world, and been an escape for discovery seekers. The 250 millionth account joins the ever-growing band of adventurers in Gielinor, which means it must be time to expand the game world significantly…
At Runefest, Jagex revealed upcoming plans for content release over the next couple years including massive expansions to be released every three months.
RuneScape Expansions will deliver a new sense of discovery and exploration more frequently with each expansion as big as 2014’s Lost City of the Elves, arriving on a single day, four times a year. It’s like Christmas coming every three months and it begins in June 2017 as the city gates of Menaphos are finally opened.”
Big plans are in store for the world of Gielinor over the next year, from gameplay-affecting dynamic weather to the release of the second part of the eastern lands, raids in Old School and campaign mode coming to collectible card game Chronicle: RuneScape Legends.
(Source: Jagex Press Release)
Neverwinter’s Next Expansion Announced For August
Perfect World Entertainment has formally announced the release of Neverwinter’s next expansion: Storm King’s Thunder. Set for launch next month, Storm King’s Thunder introduces a new end-game campaign as well as a new dungeon tier and new stories based on the upcoming adventure from Wizards of the Coast.
Similar to the Storm King’s Thunder adventure coming to Dungeons & Dragons later this year, Neverwinter’s new expansion sees giants invade Neverwinter. Adventurers will travel north to Bryn Shander – the heart of the Ten Towns – to investigate the sudden presence of Frost Giants in the region. In order to fight off these colossal invaders, players must team up with popular characters from Dungeons & Dragons lore, including Catti-brie, Wulfgar and Harshnag.
In addition to the new Frost Giants story content, Storm King’s Thunder also introduces a brand new end-game campaign and new adventure zones for high-level players, including Bryn Shander, Cold Run and The Lonelywood. The expansion also marks the debut of a new dungeon tier with the addition of the new Tier 3 dungeon, Fangbreaker Island. With the release of Storm King’s Thunder,adventurers will also be able to score new high-level equipment to equip their characters with the latest gear.
Storm King’s Thunder hits PC on August 16 with console release coming at a later date.
(Source: Press release)
Hero’s Song Campaign Cancelled, Funded By Investors
Backers of Hero’s Song, all three thousand of you, were surprised this morning by the sudden news that the campaign was being cancelled. Backers were all sent an email explaining that the campaign would be closed due to predictions showing that the funding would not reach its necessary levels. The campaign had lasted for six days and had raised approximately $136 thousand of the intended $800 grand.
After looking at our funding levels and the reality that we aren’t going to reach our funding goals, we’ve decided that the best thing to do is to end the Kickstarter. We sincerely appreciate all of the support we got from the backers and the Kickstarter community.
The good news is that the game isn’t gone, in fact just the opposite. Pixelmage Games has been able to get the game fully funded by investors, without bringing publishers into the deal and hopefully allowing the developers the freedom to make their vision a reality. The Kickstarter campaign expected a delivery around October 2016, so we’ll have to see if the game continues on track.
Pixelmage Games is the new home of John Smedley, formerly of Daybreak Game Company, formerly Sony Online Entertainment.
(Source: Kickstarter)
Crimecraft To Add Persistent Territory Control
I love Crimecraft, even if the Bleedout campaign mode often makes me want to punch a small kitten, but the trailer for the upcoming Gangwars update carries a lot more gore and dismembered body parts than I remember seeing in-game, to which I say: Kudos! Set following the Bleedout campaign, Gangwars sees the rise of player gangs out of their usual role of ragtag drug addled thugs shooting one another in the street, and takes the fight to a persistent territory control system.
You can find details on the expansion here. The update also brings with it new all sorts of new stuff. This almost makes me want to join a decent gang. Almost.
Crimecraft: Of Course There's A Story!
I love Crimecraft. Not as much as I should, and certainly not as much as the folks over at Vogster have shown love to me (my last article was featured on Crimecraft’s Twitter) making me feel like a neglectful spouse. One thing Crimecraft has always been somewhat light on is plot, other than the basics of the government has been replaced by gangs and we’re in a post apocalyptic system after a war over limited resources, minus the zombies (for now).
Vogster announced Bleedout, in which they hope to expand upon the storyline. Coming tomorrow, Saturday the 4th at around 4pm Eastern, Vogster is launching episode 1 of an episodic series that will explain the storyline behind the game. Not unlike a television series, each episode releases once a week, free to VIP and premium players, and at a pretty low cost to free players (40 gold bars, or around two dollars). The first episode is free to all players.
There are a few restrictions, if what I understand is correct. First off, you can only complete one episode a week, so if you come in halfway through the season you’ll be on a lag from other players. Of course, Crimecraft is a cash shop system after all, and you’ll be able to buy a fast forward ticket allowing you to skip the seven day limit, although of course you won’t be able to play unreleased episodes (which should be a given, don’t ask me why it was deemed necessary to note).
Here is the trailer for Episode 1. Vogster has hired some major talent for this series, and has even opened a second server in anticipation for the rush of players, and Bleedout looks to be the start of a major investment in the game’s lore. The campaign missions are 100% PvE, as far as we know.
Crimecraft: Of Course There’s A Story!
I love Crimecraft. Not as much as I should, and certainly not as much as the folks over at Vogster have shown love to me (my last article was featured on Crimecraft’s Twitter) making me feel like a neglectful spouse. One thing Crimecraft has always been somewhat light on is plot, other than the basics of the government has been replaced by gangs and we’re in a post apocalyptic system after a war over limited resources, minus the zombies (for now).
Vogster announced Bleedout, in which they hope to expand upon the storyline. Coming tomorrow, Saturday the 4th at around 4pm Eastern, Vogster is launching episode 1 of an episodic series that will explain the storyline behind the game. Not unlike a television series, each episode releases once a week, free to VIP and premium players, and at a pretty low cost to free players (40 gold bars, or around two dollars). The first episode is free to all players.
There are a few restrictions, if what I understand is correct. First off, you can only complete one episode a week, so if you come in halfway through the season you’ll be on a lag from other players. Of course, Crimecraft is a cash shop system after all, and you’ll be able to buy a fast forward ticket allowing you to skip the seven day limit, although of course you won’t be able to play unreleased episodes (which should be a given, don’t ask me why it was deemed necessary to note).
Here is the trailer for Episode 1. Vogster has hired some major talent for this series, and has even opened a second server in anticipation for the rush of players, and Bleedout looks to be the start of a major investment in the game’s lore. The campaign missions are 100% PvE, as far as we know.
MMO Fallout 