Hey, all!
Last year, my PVP team and I took this holiday photo in front of a tree that I made in December 2010. This year, I'll take you behind-the-scenes so you can create one of your very own:
Happy Holidays!
Showing posts with label project. Show all posts
Showing posts with label project. Show all posts
Saturday, December 3, 2011
How to Create an In-Game Christmas Tree
Hey, all!
Last year, my PVP team and I took this holiday photo in front of a tree that I made in December 2010. This year, I'll take you behind-the-scenes so you can create one of your very own:
Happy Holidays!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Petnome's Pet Feeding List
The link must be typed in verbatim to this, or else your browser will become lost in the interwebs!
If you'd like to help us out, please visit
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Petnome Calculator 2.0.0 Released!
Right click and select "Save As..." to download it to your desktop, or simply left click the link below to use it through your web browser (Adobe Acrobat 6.0 or higher must be installed):
Friday, November 4, 2011
Test Realm: Zafaria (Day 1)
Review of the new updates released today, and a new extended project for the Petnome Team. A careful look over the new Pet feeding system, and a short glimpse into Zafaria! More to come this weekend!
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Arena Design: "Vacuum" - Part 2
Now that you have "shadow floating" in your skills set and the concept of keeping random guests out of the center, let's take a look at how you would enter your duelists:
The miniature "stable" that I set up on the edge of my Celestial Observatory is reserved mainly for team PVP. There were countless cases when set teams had to restart the Joining Process over and over, simply because eight minds were thinking in different directions, or there were connectivity problems.
If you haven't figured it out yet, you can control the order that teams and players are set up in PVP within a house. Players from opposing teams must join in alternating fashion.
For example, let's say Team A is composed of Adam, Ben, Carrie, and Denise, and Team B is composed of Eugene, Frank, Gertrude, and Henry. Team A wants to have Denise go first, followed by Ben, then Adam, and finally Carrie, and Team B wants Gertrude to lead, with Eugene, Henry, and Frank following, in that order. Thus, for visual simplicity: Team A wants the order of DBAC, and Team B wants the order GEHF.
Since the game will automatically decide on a random turn order for each team, it doesn't matter which team enters first. But, in the process that follows, it does! Let's say that Team B decides to enter first; Gertrude would enter the ring to start the countdown. Since both teams must join in alternating fashion, that means Denise will be the second player to enter. Now each side of the battle circle has an opposing team member, and you technically have a 1v1 going on. Thus, Eugene will be the next to enter, followed by Ben, then Henry, then Adam, then Frank, and finally Carrie. The total join order is G, D, E, B, H, A, F, C.
It sounds elementary, but with a little miscommunication, mistakes can happen...sometimes again, and again, and again. I remember when the Massive Fantasy Palace came out that it took about 6 or 7 tries in one PVP party until we could finally settle with a Fixed Teams match. And still, today, it tends to happen, no matter how familiar the players are with the process!
Thus, the little "stable" thing I created is an attempt at "fool-proofing" the initialization of a PVP match. Let's re-use Team A and Team B in this explanation, but with Team A's lead player (Denise) entering first!
Here's a top-down view of the setup:
Denise and Gertrude would enter the first lane, with a crate separating them from each other. Ben and Eugene will take the second lane, Adam and Henry in the third, and Carrie and Frank in the fourth. Since Team A is going first, Denise, Ben, Adam, and Carrie would occupy the space that's closest to the teleporters (and facing them), while Team B would be facing the crates. So, imagine the top row of players in the picture are labeled D, B, A, and C, and the bottom row are labeled G, E, H, and F, respectively.
When the match is about to begin, all players would AUTORUN forward. Team A should be running into the edge of the Celestial Observatory, while Team B should be running against the crates. The host would then click on the Small Purple Rug (which has the Long Blue Runner "bridge" attached) and place the small rug down behind D. Because there is now a "tangible" area in front of Denise (instead of the boundary of the CL Obs), she will advance forward and into the teleporters. The crate in the first lane is then removed, allowing Gertrude to follow in the same manner. The bridge is then moved to the next lane, where it "shoots" Ben towards the teleporters. The second lane crate is removed, allowing Eugene to follow, and so on.
It sounds a little complex and tedious in writing, but it's a pretty simple (and inexpensive) procedure in the long run. Maybe we'll have to have some PvP parties to show it in action, sometime!
(This set up is appropriately called "Vacuum" since players enact a "force of gravitational pull" by Autorunning towards the orange "black holes," which spits them into "another universe" where the victims must do battle to return home.)
The miniature "stable" that I set up on the edge of my Celestial Observatory is reserved mainly for team PVP. There were countless cases when set teams had to restart the Joining Process over and over, simply because eight minds were thinking in different directions, or there were connectivity problems.
If you haven't figured it out yet, you can control the order that teams and players are set up in PVP within a house. Players from opposing teams must join in alternating fashion.
For example, let's say Team A is composed of Adam, Ben, Carrie, and Denise, and Team B is composed of Eugene, Frank, Gertrude, and Henry. Team A wants to have Denise go first, followed by Ben, then Adam, and finally Carrie, and Team B wants Gertrude to lead, with Eugene, Henry, and Frank following, in that order. Thus, for visual simplicity: Team A wants the order of DBAC, and Team B wants the order GEHF.
Since the game will automatically decide on a random turn order for each team, it doesn't matter which team enters first. But, in the process that follows, it does! Let's say that Team B decides to enter first; Gertrude would enter the ring to start the countdown. Since both teams must join in alternating fashion, that means Denise will be the second player to enter. Now each side of the battle circle has an opposing team member, and you technically have a 1v1 going on. Thus, Eugene will be the next to enter, followed by Ben, then Henry, then Adam, then Frank, and finally Carrie. The total join order is G, D, E, B, H, A, F, C.
It sounds elementary, but with a little miscommunication, mistakes can happen...sometimes again, and again, and again. I remember when the Massive Fantasy Palace came out that it took about 6 or 7 tries in one PVP party until we could finally settle with a Fixed Teams match. And still, today, it tends to happen, no matter how familiar the players are with the process!
Thus, the little "stable" thing I created is an attempt at "fool-proofing" the initialization of a PVP match. Let's re-use Team A and Team B in this explanation, but with Team A's lead player (Denise) entering first!
Here's a top-down view of the setup:
Denise and Gertrude would enter the first lane, with a crate separating them from each other. Ben and Eugene will take the second lane, Adam and Henry in the third, and Carrie and Frank in the fourth. Since Team A is going first, Denise, Ben, Adam, and Carrie would occupy the space that's closest to the teleporters (and facing them), while Team B would be facing the crates. So, imagine the top row of players in the picture are labeled D, B, A, and C, and the bottom row are labeled G, E, H, and F, respectively.
When the match is about to begin, all players would AUTORUN forward. Team A should be running into the edge of the Celestial Observatory, while Team B should be running against the crates. The host would then click on the Small Purple Rug (which has the Long Blue Runner "bridge" attached) and place the small rug down behind D. Because there is now a "tangible" area in front of Denise (instead of the boundary of the CL Obs), she will advance forward and into the teleporters. The crate in the first lane is then removed, allowing Gertrude to follow in the same manner. The bridge is then moved to the next lane, where it "shoots" Ben towards the teleporters. The second lane crate is removed, allowing Eugene to follow, and so on.
It sounds a little complex and tedious in writing, but it's a pretty simple (and inexpensive) procedure in the long run. Maybe we'll have to have some PvP parties to show it in action, sometime!
(This set up is appropriately called "Vacuum" since players enact a "force of gravitational pull" by Autorunning towards the orange "black holes," which spits them into "another universe" where the victims must do battle to return home.)
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Arena Design: "Vacuum" - Part 1
Ever tire of asking guests, "Please don't stand in the center," "Please move," or "GET OUTTTTTTT!!!" when they refuse to budge from the center of your residential battle circle? I know I have.
At first, I tried to combat the issue by placing scrolls around the "inner ring" to create a collision barrier that would keep people out of the middle while allowing potential duelists to still join future matches. However, it turns out that a player using the "ledge jump" bug (where you play in Windowed Mode, run forward, and click and hold the window "pane" or Wizard101 logo on the window; the bug is visible only to others looking at you, but you will "fly" through walls into space and infinite) can glitch themselves through the barrier.
So, my next idea was to create some kind of one-way ramp...but I was too lazy at the time to want to execute such a time-hoarding plan.
Welcome to the age of Wysteria's debut, and you know what that means: Teleporters!
This will be a two-part post; one will detail what "shadow floating" is along with a video demonstrating its use, and the second will show how to utilize "shadow floating" to your teleporters' advantage. So, let's get started!
"Shadow floating" was discovered on accident while I was working on the barrier scrolls. You can click on the link above, but if you're not able to hear the audio (or have 'Tube-phobia), I can elaborate what it is here.
Assuming you know the basics, "shadow floating" is a miracle in itself. When you create a platform (small rug attached to a larger rug; the larger rug will be known as the "platform") and place the combined rugs/platform down, you have created "shadows." (click on the pictures below to zoom in)
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| Red line = perimeter of "shadows" | Blue line = perimeter of "no placing furniture here" zone |
The blue hashed line shows where you cannot initially place objects within. The Small Purple Rug and Chessboard have now created a temporary "shadow", which expands the "tangible" terrain. In other words, this is what happens to the blue line when the platform is set down and then picked up by the Small Purple Rug:
 |
Placement of the rug and chessboard increased the area in which I can place objects down into. I can click on the Small Purple Rug as this point and create a "leap frog" effect by moving the rug into the space where the chessboard just was:
The Small Purple Rug is now sitting in the chessboard's FORMER shadow. Once you place the platform down into its previous shadow, that shadow disappears, and a NEW one is created, denoted by the red outline in the above picture. Let's do it again:
And again...
And one more time...
Still unclear? Check out this video where I demonstrate how to float the barriers and teleporters close to the battle circle:
Click on the bottom right corner of the player to enter "Full Screen" mode
(to be continued in Part 2)...
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Arena Design: Introduction and Debut
Well, there is a case where I've found a love for a design that isn't revolving around PvP. Puzzle houses can take hours and hours of brainstorming, planning, executing, and testing, however. Just being able to float things in the right places without altering something else can be tedious to a point of exhaustion or frustration.
My January Battleblood Castle is a physical representation of when my true interests (regarding housing) began manifesting. Comparing the amount of items around the arena circle versus anywhere else, I think it's a closed case to my otaku-ness with the battle circle. I blocked off the interior from being accessed by visitors, which funneled the focus down to the PvP Ring. This was portraying an ancient battlegrounds where wizards have dueled for millenniums and centuries, causing the field around them to stack up with Fizzle Soot. There is so much magic within the sedimentation that even mystical life forms could exist within; an Elder Honey Sickle is growing out of one of the "rocks."
However, I realized that my aestheticism created a bothersome imbalance: players and spectators had minor inconveniences when utilizing the battlefield. Slowly, I began removing items one by one in hopes of maintaining user-friendliness simultaneously with design. Eventually, most of the rocks were removed, and I felt an evolution was due for this scene.
Fast forward many millenniums later, when the world itself becomes unstable. The February version is a complete transformation of January's arena scenery, changing the battlegrounds into the turf of Mother Nature's wrath: molten lava. Think of it as the opposite of the Christianity's Flood. Actually, the overall theme was to express "love" in a symbolic and eccentric way: February as the "month of love," my passion for PVP, and my notoriety for Defender Pig "farms." The lava was representative of "burning heat," whether it be for a Piggle BBQ or some other context.
This revision of the ancient battlegrounds also took on a more "functional" evolution, where the design also focused on how well others could use the PVP area. That's where the metal platforms came in. Instead of limiting viewers to surrounding the duelers on equal ground, I integrated the "lifted platforms" to imitate the Colosseum "feel" Dragonspyre's arena gives. More visibility options, like low, medium, and high!
Through the PVP Parties, commentating battles from the side, and receiving feedback from friends, I reconstructed my arena further to try to optimize the battle circle aesthetically and functionally. I haven't really had time (or the spirit) to make a behind-the-scenes video or to call it the "March" edition, especially when it required about two months to design, but here are some pictures to introduce the context. You can click on the pictures for a bigger view:
 |
| Out from the lava of February comes a bustling explosion of human design and creations. While Cassandra Hexthorn's MFP design was focused on the darker side of man's inventions, I contrasted with the appreciation for culture and innovation. Welcome to "The Globe." |
What humans have imagined and designed has always fascinated me. I mean, take a look at Wizard101, and then try to convince me that Homo sapiens aren't fascinating and clever. This product is an example of our (again, that word...) culture. References to movies, music, philosophy, history, games, books, and values passed down through the generations exist in these files -- records of our creativity, in other words.
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| Smoking columns float along with Mooshian flags to signify an active dueling grounds. |
The items within here have a theme that blend Mother Nature and mankind together. Stone columns were crafted out of rocks by humans. The barrel in this picture was formerly a tree that was cut down and sent to a lumber mill for carpentry. Wooden boards with cryptic writing display our unique ability to communicate through systematic languages.
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| Scrolls and trophies surround the casting field. |
Due to the high frequency of spectators and duelers asking other players to remove themselves from the center of the dueling circle, I began to hone my floating techniques into designing some kind of "barrier" that would (1) prevent others from trespassing through, but (2) allow visibility for both the audience and participants alike and (3) allow accessibility for potential participants (i.e. allow people to join the battle circle after a duel has ended). I ended up creating a video on how to float items into the PVP ring. Trophies were placed along the barrier of scrolls to give it a more aesthetic feel.
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| Minigames and wooden boards above the seating platforms. |
There were a few hilarious glitches to the design itself...one being that if a player ran directly below a minigame kiosk that was situated on a raised platform, that player would find themselves encased within the kiosk! The columns were also floated to ensure that visitors could traverse the area without the inconvenience of collision. These were all late revisions to, again, enhance user-friendliness. The wooden boards also serve a very special purpose:
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| The view from riding a mount and wearing a Life Amulet. |
One pet peeve that I have with Wizard101 is the lack of the ability to zoom your camera in for a first-person view; your wizard's always in the way! However, you can force the camera to zoom further in, simply by placing your character's back to a wall, and looking straight ahead, as demonstrated in the picture above.
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| A first-person view, without the mount, weapon, or amulet. |
Five boards were placed on platforms that were perpendicular to one another to allow spectators the freedom of watching a match without their body obstructing some of the view. With a raised view, they also provide for some awesome visibility all around. Here are some other views from the other platforms:
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| "South" view |
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| "East" view |
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| "North" view |
One guess I could make about why I become so excited about designing an arena ring: Wizard101 is on the focus of plot development through a series of card battles. Your wizard develops a reputation with the teachers after completing quests and defeating monsters and bosses with the use of cards. Word of mouth, supposedly, brings your name to other characters and other worlds, and eventually you become an influence to their world or their culture. Purses are returned to their original owners because you pulled out a blade or a trap card. Thus, to me, what appeals the most is where you're using the cards. The team positions, cards, decks, weapons, and pets may all look the same, but there's a noticeable change in what you feel when your battle takes place in a strange or unfamiliar area. You're either excited, intimidated, distracted, or visually stimulated in some way, shape, or form.
So, welcome to yet another personal Battleblood project: Arena Design, where ideas and plans are executed, floating and housing mechanics are dissected, and other works within the community are appreciated.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Petnome Submission Form 2.0 Is Out!
Many of you asked for an easier way to submit data...
...or wanted it to be faster...
...or commented that the form was confusing to use for reporting information to the Petnome Project.
Well, here's proof we're listening :) Please enjoy the new, Petnome Project Submission Form 2.0!
Friday, June 24, 2011
BUN: LampNome, Petnome, Ravenwood Ball, and Latest Happenings (or lackthereof)
Hey, all!
It's been a long, long time since I've sat down and ticked the keys away into this digital journal. Thanks to my new job and the beginning of summer school (get this, I'm taking a "truncated" class, so not only is a regular class condensed to a summer schedule, but this Political Science course is even shorter than the regular summer classes; think "honors"), I've been crowded with obligations and responsibilities and duties all around, inside AND outside the Spiral.
But, I'm still staying creative and active... Hexy and I just come up with the nerdiest ideas, eh? We became curious after doing a lot of lamp runs, noticing some patterns between our various characters. Her young Level 1 Thaumaturge kept getting gold only, usually under 5. So, we decided to test out a theory: the higher level you are, the wider your window for different prizes of various quantities and qualities; the lower level you are, the smaller your opportunity becomes. However, being Legendary doesn't mean you'll be exempt from receiving "Level 1 loot."
And thus, the Lampnome Project (not to be taken as professionally as Petnome) was created. Hopefully through this project, we'll be able to grasp an idea of what certain trends we'll see in all wishes granted by the Genie.
Speaking of the Petnome Project, check this out:
Between the Petnome Staff and some close friends, we're creating some "Epic" contests to held within July. Just for my blog audience, I'll leak a little info...
Think...Olympics...for the mind, body, and spirit...of you...and your pets.
Derby? Yes. Puzzles? Yes. Lucky drawings? Absolutely.
Heck, if you've ever made a submission into the Petnome database (before the ability is revealed on our page) and have your name listed on the Pet Page, you've got a chance to win an awesome Promo Pet! All submissions up to the day of that special drawing will be counted...but remember, we double-check entries vigilantly! False entries may be subject to disqualification for the entire month!
Because we're still drafting out the rules and dates for these series of events, we aren't making it an entire public announcement, yet. But, @Petnome will announce more over time, so keep an eye on that feed!
Last, but not least: Ravenwood Ball. This Saturday...I can't wait! Hope to see you there ~ bring your kicking outfit -- Hexy and I have a neat theme going on, so be sure to find us every 10 minutes!
Heading out to catch up on some sleep~ See you in the Spiral!
It's been a long, long time since I've sat down and ticked the keys away into this digital journal. Thanks to my new job and the beginning of summer school (get this, I'm taking a "truncated" class, so not only is a regular class condensed to a summer schedule, but this Political Science course is even shorter than the regular summer classes; think "honors"), I've been crowded with obligations and responsibilities and duties all around, inside AND outside the Spiral.
But, I'm still staying creative and active... Hexy and I just come up with the nerdiest ideas, eh? We became curious after doing a lot of lamp runs, noticing some patterns between our various characters. Her young Level 1 Thaumaturge kept getting gold only, usually under 5. So, we decided to test out a theory: the higher level you are, the wider your window for different prizes of various quantities and qualities; the lower level you are, the smaller your opportunity becomes. However, being Legendary doesn't mean you'll be exempt from receiving "Level 1 loot."
And thus, the Lampnome Project (not to be taken as professionally as Petnome) was created. Hopefully through this project, we'll be able to grasp an idea of what certain trends we'll see in all wishes granted by the Genie.
Speaking of the Petnome Project, check this out:
Hey!
The Petnome Project's BIRTHDAY is coming up, on Tuesday, July 19th!
We're gonna celebrate with some AWESOME contests, giving out prizes. courtesy of KingsIsle Entertainment! We'd like to give the Community some time to prepare for some of these events, so here's what you'll need to do:
2. Set your email inbox to ALLOW messages from petnome [at] hotmail.com.
Be sure to check out Diary of a Wizard for an exciting event coming up!
Think...Olympics...for the mind, body, and spirit...of you...and your pets.
Derby? Yes. Puzzles? Yes. Lucky drawings? Absolutely.
Heck, if you've ever made a submission into the Petnome database (before the ability is revealed on our page) and have your name listed on the Pet Page, you've got a chance to win an awesome Promo Pet! All submissions up to the day of that special drawing will be counted...but remember, we double-check entries vigilantly! False entries may be subject to disqualification for the entire month!
Because we're still drafting out the rules and dates for these series of events, we aren't making it an entire public announcement, yet. But, @Petnome will announce more over time, so keep an eye on that feed!
Last, but not least: Ravenwood Ball. This Saturday...I can't wait! Hope to see you there ~ bring your kicking outfit -- Hexy and I have a neat theme going on, so be sure to find us every 10 minutes!
Heading out to catch up on some sleep~ See you in the Spiral!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Transcription: Ravenwood Radio Episode 37
Just click the title above to be forwarded to the collection!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Audio Log (ALog) #2: Battleblood Updates and News (BUN) (6/8/11)
Discussing about what I've been up to lately, in-game and off: projects, life, work, surprises, and guest-speaking later tonight on Ravenwood Radio! Plus, some game updates to look out for!
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Audio Log (ALog) #1: Thoughts and Advice on "Official" Status
My deepest thoughts, perspective, insight, and reflection on the "Official" status ordeal that's been going on lately. It is 1.5 hours long, but this is dedicated to the roots of our great community, to official sites, to non-official sites, to those annoyed, to those hurt, and to anyone else who is interested in what I have to share.
Thank you to Ronan Dawn for his friendship and support in encouraging me to get involved with the community back in April 2010.
Thank you to The Friendly Necromancer for his insight, advice, and background stories in-game, and support.
Thank you to Prophet Feik for the inspiration to contribute to any community, gaming or real-world.
Thank you to "KT" for their support and conversations as many of us dealt with current issues.
Thank you to Ronan Dawn for his friendship and support in encouraging me to get involved with the community back in April 2010.
Thank you to The Friendly Necromancer for his insight, advice, and background stories in-game, and support.
Thank you to Prophet Feik for the inspiration to contribute to any community, gaming or real-world.
Thank you to "KT" for their support and conversations as many of us dealt with current issues.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Vlog #14: Summer Battleblood Updates and News (5/23/11)
Topics: Blogging/Vlogging, PVP Videos/Commentary, secret projects, self-improvement, and a future "offer" from TPC.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Perfect Catch Wallpaper
Created a new image to use for PvP videos for when the team and I are taking on Ranked Opponents:
Sunday, February 20, 2011
BUN: Responding to Friendly's "After Legendary" Post
(in response to Friendly's post):
Each day, without a new update to explore around in the Live Realm, the game does seem like a personal sandbox. Actually, KingsIsle does a great job with providing enough patches and features to continually spark interest and create new adventures. Though, after attaining optimal gear and pets, killing thousands of monsters for badges, and mastering features like PVP, Gardening, and Advanced Pets, room for more personal accomplishments runs dry. Thankfully, such a world like Celestia and dungeons like Briskbreeze and the Warehouse were released. Players are encouraged to step out of the realm of individuality and into the uniform shoes of teamwork, adding a new dimension to RPG gameplay: social interaction, and success by cooperation. In group play, each player is given the chance to contribute to a team goal, and the incentive given is the larger rewards and -- sometimes -- bragging rights. It feels exhilarating to help others, partly due to the fact that a playerbase has grown by means of increasing someone's interest in the game. That feeling broadens even further, as you mentioned, when one starts contributing to a community. The truth is: I realize that there's only so much that can be contributed.
Your blog -- which is miraculous to me (probably because my writing style is too skewed towards formality that I become more serious than fun, and forget to loosen up) since there's at least a blog post a day -- inspires creativity, both in the game and outside. You not only share achievements and news to hundreds of people, but also provoke creative thought via mind-opening ideas and suspicions. As readers' minds roll, there come the birth of many blogs detailing their own writer's adventures and ideas. The more that players can relate with one another, the more exciting that new players' goals seem. "Oh, I want what they have!" "I also want to achieve that!" Passion for the game is developed furthermore.
As you know, I happen to be one of those inspired readers, and I take those passions and dissect it a bit further, into information, tips, and explorations of detail. YouTube is the visual presentation of my thoughts; Blogger, a textual one. Petnome is the "physical, virtual" embodiment of a specific passion in pets, while Mistblood is the embodiment of my creativity in an alternative lore. Modding the Ravenwood Radio chatroom is an extension of the depth of commitment to the game and community, and transcribing is another active way of expanding that extension to another branch of our Wizard101 population. And finally, there are the PVP parties, along with writing and discussing about it, aimed to redeem the image of a widely notorious activity.
I admit, it's a lot, and I wouldn't be surprised if people looked at me and thought I was crazy or lost. Maybe "too addicted?" Perhaps. But, I think of these projects as more of a "higher plane" of what can be done in Wizard101. For example, in Guild Wars, I grew tired of the Post-Searing environment, and decided to create another character. Given how long it takes to complete that game, I decided on another route: get to max level before changing from Pre-Searing to Post-Searing. Perhaps this would bring some long lost entertainment. It did, but I ended up staying there forever, due to its peacefulness. Eventually, I began to give away free items and gold in exchange for correctly answered trivia questions, and that sparked more login activity as people participated in the quizzes and games. We all had an escape from the expected route of questing and bartering.
Overall, Wizard101 became very exciting to me, not just because of its content, but also because of the opportunities this game provides. I could wake up, head to work or school, and come back (due to a minimal budgeting plan, props to tuition fees and the college lifestyle) to any of the above mentioned projects, these "spiderwebs" of interest. They give me something to do after hitting Legendary, Warlord, Grandmaster Artisan and Gardener, etc.
Want to know the ironic twist? Even these projects can lose their effect overtime, not due to decreasing interest, but admittedly due to the small, overwhelming feeling. I used to blog every other day at least, and now it's around every other week. Sometimes I'll have something to write about, but I hesitate because I feel like working on something else. Mistblood has been neglected. YouTube projects are still pending and halfway complete and scattered all over my desktop in the elements of music files, pictures, movie clips, and movie project shortcuts. I'm still very active in moderating the chatroom, hosting and broadcasting the PVP parties, transcribing as soon as an iTunes episode is released, and updating the Petnome Project with the team. Basically, the environment of my projects have shifted from long-term to short-term; the projects mentioned in the previous sentence are usually done "on the spot," dependent on some other element other than my creativity. In other words, I've become more reactive than proactive, in terms of contributions.
Along with this interesting twist, I've been spending more time in-game. It's like I've boomeranged from questing, leveling, and accomplishing to contributing in an overdose, then returned to questing, leveling, and accomplishing. Nowadays, I've become more passionate in participating in the gaming itself, rather than expressing my excitement for it. It's as if the "sandbox" effect switched over sides of the fence.
So, my point -- based on personal reflection -- is to pursue deeply in contributing to the community, or finding a niche or project that can prolong one's interest to a specific aspect of the game. Indulge in that enjoyment, and try to keep a balance between gaming and maintaining something related to it. If there isn't a balance, perhaps someone will fall into the same pattern as I have, which, ultimately, recreates the excitement all around.
To Chase Skullmask: Based on the above "essay," dive into something that hasn't been done before, and try to carry it out to its fullest extent, with the attitude of a winner ("winners never quit"). Stephen Spiritcaller had many of us #twizards hooked on his fictional narrative "Courting Yeva." Looking back on those days, I now feel like hunting her down for the infamous hat. Cassandra Griffindreamer's Diapermancer comics (fictional, visual stories about Friendly's baby's surroundings) inspired me to create Mistblood. She is also expanding into a wider variety of stories, each of which I suspect to have some influence from the style of Anime. Alric Ravensinger created Fame at a Price, a story with reality -- for a well-known player and community member, Thomas Lionblood -- in a nutshell, mixed with a ficitional plot. I hear he's creating another "issue" very soon. Sometimes, relighting interest in the game requires thinking outside of the box, or looking at the game differently. Once you've got an idea, approach it. Take it head on, and I guarantee it'll be a new Spiral everyday.
Each day, without a new update to explore around in the Live Realm, the game does seem like a personal sandbox. Actually, KingsIsle does a great job with providing enough patches and features to continually spark interest and create new adventures. Though, after attaining optimal gear and pets, killing thousands of monsters for badges, and mastering features like PVP, Gardening, and Advanced Pets, room for more personal accomplishments runs dry. Thankfully, such a world like Celestia and dungeons like Briskbreeze and the Warehouse were released. Players are encouraged to step out of the realm of individuality and into the uniform shoes of teamwork, adding a new dimension to RPG gameplay: social interaction, and success by cooperation. In group play, each player is given the chance to contribute to a team goal, and the incentive given is the larger rewards and -- sometimes -- bragging rights. It feels exhilarating to help others, partly due to the fact that a playerbase has grown by means of increasing someone's interest in the game. That feeling broadens even further, as you mentioned, when one starts contributing to a community. The truth is: I realize that there's only so much that can be contributed.
Your blog -- which is miraculous to me (probably because my writing style is too skewed towards formality that I become more serious than fun, and forget to loosen up) since there's at least a blog post a day -- inspires creativity, both in the game and outside. You not only share achievements and news to hundreds of people, but also provoke creative thought via mind-opening ideas and suspicions. As readers' minds roll, there come the birth of many blogs detailing their own writer's adventures and ideas. The more that players can relate with one another, the more exciting that new players' goals seem. "Oh, I want what they have!" "I also want to achieve that!" Passion for the game is developed furthermore.
As you know, I happen to be one of those inspired readers, and I take those passions and dissect it a bit further, into information, tips, and explorations of detail. YouTube is the visual presentation of my thoughts; Blogger, a textual one. Petnome is the "physical, virtual" embodiment of a specific passion in pets, while Mistblood is the embodiment of my creativity in an alternative lore. Modding the Ravenwood Radio chatroom is an extension of the depth of commitment to the game and community, and transcribing is another active way of expanding that extension to another branch of our Wizard101 population. And finally, there are the PVP parties, along with writing and discussing about it, aimed to redeem the image of a widely notorious activity.
I admit, it's a lot, and I wouldn't be surprised if people looked at me and thought I was crazy or lost. Maybe "too addicted?" Perhaps. But, I think of these projects as more of a "higher plane" of what can be done in Wizard101. For example, in Guild Wars, I grew tired of the Post-Searing environment, and decided to create another character. Given how long it takes to complete that game, I decided on another route: get to max level before changing from Pre-Searing to Post-Searing. Perhaps this would bring some long lost entertainment. It did, but I ended up staying there forever, due to its peacefulness. Eventually, I began to give away free items and gold in exchange for correctly answered trivia questions, and that sparked more login activity as people participated in the quizzes and games. We all had an escape from the expected route of questing and bartering.
Overall, Wizard101 became very exciting to me, not just because of its content, but also because of the opportunities this game provides. I could wake up, head to work or school, and come back (due to a minimal budgeting plan, props to tuition fees and the college lifestyle) to any of the above mentioned projects, these "spiderwebs" of interest. They give me something to do after hitting Legendary, Warlord, Grandmaster Artisan and Gardener, etc.
Want to know the ironic twist? Even these projects can lose their effect overtime, not due to decreasing interest, but admittedly due to the small, overwhelming feeling. I used to blog every other day at least, and now it's around every other week. Sometimes I'll have something to write about, but I hesitate because I feel like working on something else. Mistblood has been neglected. YouTube projects are still pending and halfway complete and scattered all over my desktop in the elements of music files, pictures, movie clips, and movie project shortcuts. I'm still very active in moderating the chatroom, hosting and broadcasting the PVP parties, transcribing as soon as an iTunes episode is released, and updating the Petnome Project with the team. Basically, the environment of my projects have shifted from long-term to short-term; the projects mentioned in the previous sentence are usually done "on the spot," dependent on some other element other than my creativity. In other words, I've become more reactive than proactive, in terms of contributions.
Along with this interesting twist, I've been spending more time in-game. It's like I've boomeranged from questing, leveling, and accomplishing to contributing in an overdose, then returned to questing, leveling, and accomplishing. Nowadays, I've become more passionate in participating in the gaming itself, rather than expressing my excitement for it. It's as if the "sandbox" effect switched over sides of the fence.
So, my point -- based on personal reflection -- is to pursue deeply in contributing to the community, or finding a niche or project that can prolong one's interest to a specific aspect of the game. Indulge in that enjoyment, and try to keep a balance between gaming and maintaining something related to it. If there isn't a balance, perhaps someone will fall into the same pattern as I have, which, ultimately, recreates the excitement all around.
To Chase Skullmask: Based on the above "essay," dive into something that hasn't been done before, and try to carry it out to its fullest extent, with the attitude of a winner ("winners never quit"). Stephen Spiritcaller had many of us #twizards hooked on his fictional narrative "Courting Yeva." Looking back on those days, I now feel like hunting her down for the infamous hat. Cassandra Griffindreamer's Diapermancer comics (fictional, visual stories about Friendly's baby's surroundings) inspired me to create Mistblood. She is also expanding into a wider variety of stories, each of which I suspect to have some influence from the style of Anime. Alric Ravensinger created Fame at a Price, a story with reality -- for a well-known player and community member, Thomas Lionblood -- in a nutshell, mixed with a ficitional plot. I hear he's creating another "issue" very soon. Sometimes, relighting interest in the game requires thinking outside of the box, or looking at the game differently. Once you've got an idea, approach it. Take it head on, and I guarantee it'll be a new Spiral everyday.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
BUN: Connections and Commentaries
While starting yet another semester at college this week, I've already begun some deep enlightenment in a few classes. One thought is that the people we look up to in artistic professions (Shakespeare, Mozart, Beethoven, Van Gogh, etc.) are really just ordinary people like you and me. "If Shakespeare were alive today," my professor ponders, "he would be just a television writer. People would find it difficult putting up with [the arrogance of] Beethoven; he was anti-social, and some people felt he was 'riding' them." When these names come across our mind, "...we shouldn't put them on a pedestal, and distance ourselves from them. We are them." It's true; we tend to exaggerate the amount of credit we give to the sources of our inspirations, in terms of talent or creativity. When this happens, we create this invisible scale...an invisible ruler, if you will...in our minds. We end up measuring ourselves against our heroes while we set them high up on the meter. Self-esteem then becomes impacted, partially due to the imaginary bar that we (ourselves) create, and we make the mistake of comparing our work of inexperience to the works that were (actually) deemed inexperienced in their debut, such as Van Gogh's "Potato Eaters." Understand that while a lot of the classical artists are praised in this era, most of them were looked down upon in their lifetime, simply because they did not fashion their creations after what was called "popular" or "mainstream."
So what exactly am I trying to say? Though you may look up to someone, don't set standards too high for yourself that you fall out of your own style and stumble upon something unfamiliar and uncomfortable. Your personality is yours; the same goes for your vision, your style, and your interpretation. This thought reminded me of Mackenzie Lifebreeze, a new Blogger who's also an active Diary of a Wizard member, and her active search in finding an interest in a Wizard101 project, such as house decorating, blogging, etc. She is especially impressed with Paige Moonshade's creations--which are just incredible, I must say--but she was having trouble finding motivation to carry on decorating her own house. So, I suggested she try every aspect of Wizard101 out, then look into writing about her endeavors, and see what she liked doing best. That's probably the most important key to have to an environment that can sprout up a wide variety of projects: finding something you can do on your own, whether or not other people like it, as long as no one is harmed, of course. Once you manage to grasp onto a hobby that you can become lost in for hours on end, you've found your calling. At that time, comparing your work to others' is more of an educational experience than a competition; everyone has a different style, remember? Paige's recreation of "Pandora" from Avatar cannot be ranked against a setting from Harry Potter or SpongeBob Squarepants. True, you can compare talents in terms of how well a player understands the floating bug and decorating tricks, but this type of experience can be gained by anyone. And thus, anyone can become just as talented as their inspirations, assuming there is passion, dedication, and an open mind.
With that said, I present my current Massive Fantasy Palace in video form, below this paragraph. Keep in mind that a lot of it was based on accidents and instantaneous brainstorming. In other words, the decorating came first, and then the stories behind it.
And here is yet another hobby, one that I really enjoy a lot: PVP Commentaries, done at Fallon Deathslinger's Wizaversary and last night's "Last Minute PVP Party":
So what exactly am I trying to say? Though you may look up to someone, don't set standards too high for yourself that you fall out of your own style and stumble upon something unfamiliar and uncomfortable. Your personality is yours; the same goes for your vision, your style, and your interpretation. This thought reminded me of Mackenzie Lifebreeze, a new Blogger who's also an active Diary of a Wizard member, and her active search in finding an interest in a Wizard101 project, such as house decorating, blogging, etc. She is especially impressed with Paige Moonshade's creations--which are just incredible, I must say--but she was having trouble finding motivation to carry on decorating her own house. So, I suggested she try every aspect of Wizard101 out, then look into writing about her endeavors, and see what she liked doing best. That's probably the most important key to have to an environment that can sprout up a wide variety of projects: finding something you can do on your own, whether or not other people like it, as long as no one is harmed, of course. Once you manage to grasp onto a hobby that you can become lost in for hours on end, you've found your calling. At that time, comparing your work to others' is more of an educational experience than a competition; everyone has a different style, remember? Paige's recreation of "Pandora" from Avatar cannot be ranked against a setting from Harry Potter or SpongeBob Squarepants. True, you can compare talents in terms of how well a player understands the floating bug and decorating tricks, but this type of experience can be gained by anyone. And thus, anyone can become just as talented as their inspirations, assuming there is passion, dedication, and an open mind.
With that said, I present my current Massive Fantasy Palace in video form, below this paragraph. Keep in mind that a lot of it was based on accidents and instantaneous brainstorming. In other words, the decorating came first, and then the stories behind it.
*you can click "Watch Ad Now" a couple of times to stack uninterrupted viewing time; otherwise the ads come every 15 minutes*
Fallon Deathslinger's Wizaversary
Last Minute PVP Party (1/22/11)
Monday, January 10, 2011
BUN: Ringing in the New Year
I know, it’s been a long, long while since I’ve sat down and shared some updates or tips. I have to admit, Twitter’s been serving as an activity recorder, but there’s only so much that can be expressed within 140 characters. Procrastination, taking advantage of my new real-life situation, and projects have been factors with priority that dominate over “The Chillanthropologist,” and I’m unsure of what should be introduced first.
One thing I’ve been meaning to write about is a personal New Year’s resolution. This isn’t exactly the typical vow that gets lost halfway through the year, because it’s something we all could use and work on annually, if not daily, weekly, or monthly: communication. The more we open our minds to expand beyond dichotomy (which is the system in which there is only two possibilities, such as “black” or “white”, without any possibilities of “grey”), the more productive we can become, on many different levels. This is a topic that will continue on a future post, in some more detail, but with this exercise as a resolution, there are sure to be many more exciting outcomes over time.
Today, I managed to complete two main tasks: reveal the winners of the first Petnome Project Contest (PPC1), and complete a transcription of Ravenwood Radio’s last episode.
The PPC1 was definitely an exciting contest to hold. About 91 people registered, but only 48 sent in their entries, which was in a way, a blessing, because setting up and locking in the 29 stories that followed the rules took at least half a day. There were so many great stories that had to be dropped due to an infraction, and there were some mediocre ones that made it to the final stage. But, I’m wholeheartedly glad that every featured author (Rowan Lifewhisper, Sierra Dragonbright, Isaac Mistheart, Natalie Jade, SorceressMiklai, Kane Mooncaster, “Jack,” Scarlet Moonblood, and last but not least, Sean Lightheart) rightfully earned their spot, opposed to someone “defaulting” into a winner slot. If you’ve yet to see the Special Notes below each story, check them out by clicking on the authors’ names. These are brief analyses on why these 9 stories were chosen over the others. My personal favorites were those by Rowan Lifewhisper and Natalie Jade, due to the depth that their stories stretched to. Rowan’s “Death-Giver the Leech” received just as many nominations (and nomination points) as Natalie’s “First Flight” for different reasons:
- Rowan’s execution was unique in that she used 101 pet abilities to create her story (see the screenshot below; I used Excel to ensure no abilities were used more than once, and found that cool Easter Egg), but it was not a collection of pet powers randomly aligned within her text. She demonstrated strong vocabulary skills: the adjectives, when compounded to a subject, were synonymous and relative to the topic. It was certainly a risky approach to splice so many abilities within the assignment of a short story, but the plot was explained clearly and creatively.
- Natalie’s was certainly one that stood out from the rest by a long shot, with very descriptive imagery and textual illustration. Many judges (whom are to remain anonymous; I would be happy to have them all help out again!) left comments within their score sheet pointing her story-telling skills. I truly felt that I was taken along for the flight that the two characters indulged in.
I had the honor to meet both of them in-game today to pass along their prizes: the Sea Dragon to Rowan, and a Phosphorescent Maul and two King Parsleys to Natalie along with her 2500 Crowns. Many thanks go out to KingsIsle (Professor Greyrose!) for sponsoring the contest via the supply of prizes and website announcement, to Petnome contributors for helping us develop the overall project, and to our contest volunteers!
~
As for the transcription, I received a nice message over Facebook from Kelsey Fireheart who asked if Ravenwood Radio had any way to provide text for the show, for those whose hearing are impaired. This was probably the first message that struck and stuck to me, as I realized that “hey, there are some fans of the show who aren’t getting the full experience, only abridged or shortened summaries from friends who could hear.” So what if there was a way to allow them to enjoy the show the way that I did and do? Sure, there are some programs out there that can “listen” and write out text, but it just doesn’t capture the personalities of Leesha or Stephen…let alone, misspell some words that are only recognized by those of us from the Spiral. So, I decided to give the manual way a shot for the live portion of the show, and this is what it turned into:
Ravenwood Radio 32 – 2010 in Review – Transcript.
I downloaded the episode to my iTunes so I could have free range and control over the file; the stream made it tedious having to rewind back a few seconds if I missed or misheard a word. But, it was managed, and I had some fun with interpreting tones and emotions into text form so that other Wizards could receive at least some of the experience that those of us without restrictions have. For example, down on Page 13, the “drumroll” that Leesha asks for when announcing a contest winner can’t genuinely be replicated by a speech-to-text program, and doesn’t help provide imagery when needed. So, with that, I’m wondering if there are any Wizards out there, who can type at least 80 words per minute (I’m an average 98, and drafting this live portion [lasting just a little over 30 minutes] took about 4-6 uninterrupted hours alone) who are interested in volunteering some time to help out with transcribing older episodes with me. We could break it into “parts,” where, if we have enough helpers, we could take 5-minute portions of the show and type it out, and then splice them into a full document. Or, if you aren’t a speedy typist, you can help pass along the word, or maybe even give it a shot if you’re up for it! Feel free to let me know if you’re interested in the Comments below.
~
In addition to “The Arena” series, the team and I have been randomly holding evening PVP parties for anyone to fool around in, or take an effort to pick up on some interesting playstyles for the real deal, as a way to spark interest in dueling. Generally, these parties happen around Friday or Saturday evening, with start times ranging from 4 PM PST to end times as late as 10 PM PST. Whether you have no experience or are a Warlord yourself, you’re all welcome! The general idea is to create an environment where players do not feel judged based on their playstyles, and are actually encouraged to practice or ask questions if they have them.
As for personal training, I’ve been sparring a bit with Kayla Emeraldheart (Fallon Deathslinger’s “munchkin”) and Jasmine Stormblood to help amp their game. There’s also a third (who is actually my first trainee) player whose identity will be private for the time being, just as a surprise, who is indirectly helping me structure what I want to write next for the series. All of them have been improving greatly, and I can’t wait until they’re playing at super-advanced levels!
~
I’ve been taking up some other games at the same time as Wizard101. Sometimes you just have to escape from a sigil and kill a zombie, up close and personal, with combos, like my Riftstalker Battleblood in RIFT. To sum up what that is, it’s a rogue that’s a tank. A beefy ninja. No, not like a Samoorai. Someone who can bend time and space so they don’t get hit as much, while striking out of nowhere themselves. And then there’s Atlantica Online, where I wield a guitar and expose my opponents’ weaknesses with riffs and melodies. If you happen to play AO as well, let me know; I’ve established a guild named “Wizard101” out of pride for this one ;).
~
And last but not least…I’ve been doing some crazy things with my Massive Fantasy Palace:
Cheers, thanks for reading!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Beyond the Spiral: One Year Later…
An amazing revelation hit me on my drive home from class tonight. My group and I had just blown away our Group Communication class as we tackled our project and presentation. A few weeks ago, as our deadline approached ominously, I decided to amplify my lead role on coordinating our team, and analyze our needs. Between a group of six of us, none of us are close to being experts at art, yet we took on one of Van Gogh’s most favored and seldom known pieces, “Potato-Eaters.” Here’s what it looks like:
It was a grueling challenge to dissect this piece and describe why we saw this as “art.” To me, it was trying to answer how this picture is “beautiful.” Yet, we managed it, and even went above and beyond, I believe. The professor even mentioned to me, “For an ‘engineer’ type, you communicated really well in your speech.”
I would have never expected to evolve from an introvert into someone who was able to direct, manage, and speak to a large classroom effectively. I give credits to the class and professor for helping me understand and grasp a lot of leadership concepts, but the true kudos for my “evolution” goes to my experience with Wizard101 and its community.
My in-game friends (Missy, Cheryl Fire, and Ronan) all played a monumental role in supporting me as I took my interaction with the game to a higher level. Instead of having a sardonic attitude when they learned about my proposed projects for a Youtube channel and comic series, these three whole-heartedly jumped up to help whenever I sought for aid. Because of this, I did not end up shying away from expressing my interest in the game. Again, I mention that I come from a highly competitive gaming scene; the thought of creating videos or fan fiction for a family-friendly genre would have never come to my mind.
Of course, a lot of inspiration did come from the existence of our very own Friendly Necromancer. The fact that a family man is dedicating his gaming interests into a decently-created MMO that’s not as widely played or known as some other games was just enough of a spark. If he can blog about this fantastic game for two years straight, producing a new article almost every day (during the time that I discovered Tom) to share and express himself while motivating others to “think outside of the box,” there’s no reason that I can’t record my adventures proudly, or develop my own storyline.
Eventually my projects spanned out to also include blogging, which is still a textual representation of my thoughts, rather than an online journal. To be honest, I was hesitant on creating “The Chillanthropologist.” I admit I wasn’t a very decent writer to begin with, especially when I have a stronger passion in communicating through numbers and equations (math major). Heck, even to this day, I notice that I have run-on sentences here and there which may create awkward messages from time to time. Secondly, I initially believed that the words and thoughts of Thomas Lionblood would naturally overshadow anyone else’s, so putting time and effort to sound coherent and organized seemed pointless. Third, I had only been playing for a few months at the time. I considered myself a “newbie” even if I managed to reach Grandmaster, but I was relatively new to the Wizard101 culture and community. I didn’t think anyone would notice.
So, I was shocked when Fallon Shadowblade from Diary of a Wizard featured my post about the community. That was enough motivation to continue writing and exercise my communication skills. Before I knew it, I was putting more time and thought into explaining details, playing Devil’s advocate with myself, and spending hours drafting my posts before they went public. Even to this day, especially when I’m writing for the “Arena” series, I would invest a few hours to produce up to four paragraphs.
I put more thought into whether my message was clear enough for any reader, and if what I wrote allowed for a continuous flow of interest from an audience. It became a strenuous mental effort to put myself in a reader’s shoes and try to interpret my sentences in a multitude of ways. By doing this, though, I managed to catch myself from being misunderstood or misinterpreted. As a result, writing coherent and “readable” essays came more naturally to me. I am now spending less time outlining, and am jumping into developing full, first drafts off the bat. This is all thanks to having my textual voice on the spot on every post, and I needed to have such diligence.
Around the time that I picked up on Twitter, I was also becoming more involved with Ravenwood Radio, and even became an off-air guest in Episode 14. I was so nervous about my performance in that interview that I even apologized to Leesha after the recording, for my accidental interruptions (which were edited out by her, of course). So, even with a headset and computer screen between me and the other speakers, I still could not quench the jitteriness at the time. Even with notes in front of me, I wasn’t confident in my voice and message. Nevertheless, the reoccurring theme of a supportive community eventually helped me out in this aspect.
I forget which episode it was in, but my Gobbler Drop guide for the show took hours before a successful recording was completed, and then a few hours of editing; it was completed over two consecutive days. True, there wasn’t a visible audience to make me nervous, but the greater challenge was trying to find a presentation format that would hold interest while being informational. I really lacked personality and energy in that one, IMO, and that is the main reason I felt disappointed, regardless of the positive comments shared with me. But, because there were many opportunities to be on-air (“coached” the Death team in the Warehouse run; guest interviewer for Death Study hall; Petnome segments; and, more recently, Star Study Hall), I slowly stopped feeling as nervous as I used to be.
The positive environment that I found in this game and in all of you was my main driver for self-improvement. My privileges and experience in working around Wizard101 directly benefitted me in becoming a stronger individual, and with that newfound energy, I delivered quite a punch in my portion of the presentation tonight. Transitions were smooth, I stayed calm and steady, and though I stuttered a few times, I never lost eye contact with the audience. Even the cute ladies smiled back!
Interestingly enough, today is also Kevin Battleblood’s Wizaversary. One year ago, I was more kept to myself, shy, and hated public speaking. One year later…well, that’s definitely a different story. Thank you everyone, for all that you’ve directly or indirectly done. This change in me couldn’t have happened without your interest and support in what I enjoy doing, whether it’s writing strategies and stories, managing a large pet project, or playing this game. I’m proud to be where I am today, and am looking forward to another year of contributions, contemplations, and conquests.
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