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Guild Wars 2
Guild Wars 2 News
Guild Wars 2: So You Want to Design Games
Dec 22nd
The official ArenaNet/Guild Wars 2 blog has been updated with a new post called "How To Make It As a Game Designer". Penned by Eric Flannum, the post gives aspiring game designers a bit of insight into how to get started and make it in the business. It's a very realistic portrayal of the career and a good read for wannabes.
A career in game design can be extremely rewarding on many different levels. However, it isn’t all fun and games, and it can be a job that demands long hours for less pay than other comparable industries. The truth of the matter is that in order to succeed and be happy as a game designer, you have to really love making games as much or more than you enjoy playing them.
Read more here.
Guild Wars 2: The PvP Question
Dec 20th
In the latest Guild Wars 2 column here at MMORPG.com, Bill Murphy takes a look at the elephant in the room: PvP and Guild Wars 2. There is very little known about one of the most popular aspects of the original Guild Wars and how it will be brought into its successor. He's got a few thoughts about Guild Wars 2 and PvP so be sure to take a look. Weigh in with a few of your thoughts below.
The original Guild Wars is known not only for its unique and engaging story but also for its highly competitive brand of player versus player combat. It’s odd then that most of the content ArenaNet has spoken of or shown at various gaming shows has nothing to do with PvP. In fact, there’s very little we know about the highly anticipated sequel’s plans for competitive combat. So far, we know that the game will have PvP and that some of it will take the form of Server versus Server (World vs. World) combat. We also know that it will have a structured PvP system where players can come and go in matches as they please, making the system “hot-joinable”. What any of More >
Guild Wars 2: Hall of Monuments FAQ Updated
Nov 22nd
The Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 dev teams have updated the Hall of Monuments FAQ with information about how the Guild Wars 1 HoM rewards will work when Guild Wars 2 goes live.
Q: Do players who obtained the title God Walking Amongst Mere Mortals in Guild Wars get anything special in Guild Wars 2?
A: Yes, the maximum rank of the God Walking Amongst Mere Mortals title will be paid forward into Guild Wars 2. If you have earned this title on any of your Guild Wars characters, you will be able to have any of your Guild Wars 2 characters wear the title as well. GWAMM is completely separate from the rewards that you can see via the Hall of Monuments Reward Calculator.
Read more here.
Guild Wars 2: Silence is Deafening
Nov 22nd
MMORPG.com Industry Relations Manager Garrett Fuller takes a look at Guild Wars 2 and the recent ArenaNet announcement that it will be released "when it is ready". While that statement might cause some to weep, wail and gnash their teeth, Garrett is content knowing that the team is focused on releasing a game that is complete, especially one that has the potential to set the MMO development bar for the next decade.
As we move closer to the holidays the game information machine that is mass marketing starts to grind to a halt. While some games are quietly going into beta, others are simply being quiet with what they share to fans and media. Last week Eric Flannum, Lead Designer on Guild Wars 2, released a blog about why the game is sharing some information, but for the most is keeping quiet through the holidays. In Eric’s address to fans he paints a clear picture on what developers are up against when releasing a title with this much anticipation.
Read more Guild Wars 2: Silence is Deafening.
Guild Wars 2: Dynamic Content
Nov 15th
In MMORPG.com's latest Guild Wars 2 column, Managing Editor Jon Wood takes a look at Dynamic Content. Dynamic content, as Jon suggests, is content that should make the game world feel alive, that the actions players participate in make a difference in the way the world looks and feels. Check out Jon's thoughts and then let us know what you think about dynamic content on the forums.
To me, dynamic content should speak to game elements that actually make the persistent world feel “alive”. In today’s “traditional” MMORPG , it isn’t the world that the developers try to make feel alive so much as it is your particular character. Somewhere along the line, someone at some point decided that MMOs needed to make each and every character feel like they were the star of the show, the only one capable of growing strong enough to defeat the big what’s-it-called-of-great-EVIL, often multiple times, grinding for one particular piece of uber loot… but I digress. The bottom line is that most MMORPGs are designed so that, while the character’s (and by extension the player’s) experiences change as they progress through the game, the world itself remains static.
Read more here.
More >Guild Wars 2: My Life in Tyria
Nov 8th
The Guild Wars 2 team has promised many amazing things for the game, things that have fans excited in ways they haven't been for a long time. Among these promises is the idea of story. Players will have a "personal story". In his latest Guild Wars 2 column, MMORPG.com's Bill Murphy takes a look at the personal story and offers some insight into what it all means. Check it out and then jump into the discussion on our forum.
A while back I wrote a column about Guild Wars 2 and its approach towards fostering role-play through the options players are presented with when questing about the game world. This week, I’d like to revisit the most important facet of how this could be accomplished by talking a bit about ArenaNet’s approach to “personal story” in Guild Wars 2. More succinctly, I want to talk about how the developers are promising to bring story back to the forefront of MMO gaming and how each player’s experience will be different from the next. It’s a tall order, and ArenaNet isn’t the only company on the block trying to make story an important aspect of MMOs, but if they can actually pull off More >
Guild Wars 2: Dungeon Running Differently
Nov 1st
In his latest Guild Wars 2 article, MMORPG.com's Community Manager, Michael Bitton, takes a look at the dungeons in Guild Wars 2. Mike starts the discussion by stating that he didn't really expect the dungeon system to see major changes from GW1 to GW2 but after reading an article in PC Gamer, Mike has been pleasantly surprised to see that dungeons will be receiving love too. See what Mike found out about the Guild Wars 2 dungeon system and let us know what you think.
Guild Wars 2 features an overarching storyline involving the rise of the Elder Dragons and the need for the player to reconcile Destiny’s Edge, the game’s signature heroes (who have split apart,) in order to defeat them. This storyline mainly manifests in players’ “personal storyline”, which is typically instanced away. However, the game’s dungeons (one for every 10 levels, more at endgame) will all feature a “Story Mode”, which provides a bit more of a directed story experience that centers on at least one of the members of Destiny’s Edge (who will accompany you and fight by your side). Instead of just tossing players into a labyrinthine maze populated with boss encounters, each dungeon will serve More >
Guild Wars 2: Official Response to "Dungeons" Article
Oct 21st
Earlier today, a PC Gamer article was released titled, “Guild Wars 2 will sell you more dungeons". The title seems to have caused some confusion among some fans and we contacted Guild Wars 2 developer Eric Flannum for some clarification. Here is his response reassuring players that no decisions have been made as of yet and when they are, they will be based on player feedback:
Hey there, after reading the PC Gamer article I wanted to make sure that we clarified a few things. First, we haven’t decided on what exactly we are or aren’t going to offer for money post release. My answer to the dungeons question was meant to say “we’re open to whatever our players seem most interested in.” If after release you guys would like more story content, more dungeons, more events, more maps or whatever it’s something that we have to consider because ultimately making you happy is what makes us successful. Whether we release that in DLC (like the bonus mission packs in GW1) or whether we do it through expansions (Like Eye of the North) is yet to be determined. As to whether or not there are going to be items like XP More >
Guild Wars 2: Cinematics and You
Oct 5th
The Arena.Net Guild Wars 2 blog has been updated with an article about cinematics in the game. The goal, according to Audio and Cinematics Programmer James Boer, is to personalize cinematic for players. Interestingly enough, Boer also let out that cinematics will be controlled completely client side–that's right, from the player's computer rather than on the game server. Those who love nuts and bolts of development will definitely want to check out this article!
We’ve also incorporated some other interesting features, such as dynamically branching cinematics. For instance, a cinematic might start the same for all players, but based on certain criteria—let’s say the choices a player made earlier in a mission—the scene might end in several different ways. This means that we’ll be able to provide a cinematic experience tuned for a specific player’s character. The cinematic engine can do something as simple as swapping out a single line of dialogue, or as complex as branching the entire scene. And of course, because we’re rendering these cinematics in real-time, you’ll see your character inside the cinematic, as an integral part of the story.
Read more about cinematics here.
Guild Wars 2: Loot, Looks and More
Oct 1st
In the latest update to the Arena.Net Guild Wars 2 blog, Rewards & Item System designer John Hargrove has a detailed look at what drives many to play the games they do: LEWT. In the post, Hargrove outlines the main principles that the team used when considering the reward system: Rewards for all; worthwhile rewards; a player's look; customization; and upgrading gear in a meaningful way.
In the case of distributing general monster loot or opening dungeon end-chests, this principle means that each player gets their own roll, so it’s alright if you are soloing and someone begins fighting alongside you. This won’t cause the loot you would receive to degrade in any way, as long as you actively participate in that combat. Likewise, when you get to the end of that big dungeon with your group, you each get to individually open the chest and receive your own personal reward.
In the case of gathering materials from things like ore nodes, plants, and the like, this means that when you gather from that resource you use it up for yourself, but not for others. In Guild Wars 2 there is no need to race to beat other people to the same resource node. More >