Design Notes

December 31, 2010

Happy New Year!

Hellooooooo 2011!

Lim has returned to the frozen north to help is close out 2010 with a BANG! Literally.

Well, that's what he INTENDED but once again he can't get his science all in one bucket and he needs your help to stop the ever hungry Icemaster Yeti from munching on this gizmos and doo-dads.

If you completed the quest last year you'll need to do them all over again this year to unlock Lim's New Year's Shop, but this isn't the same old shop as last year...

I mean, sure it's got all the same items as last year to help you ring in the new year in style and something like class, But we've more than DOUBLED the number of items availble to you, including 2 brand new armors sets with matching weapons and all new 2011 themed weapons, which will go RARE as soon as the event closes... because New Year's Eve 2010-2011 only happens once.

Quibble has also recieved his last items of 2010, Skyline's Moglin Defender set. It's a whole new take on the furry, little things re-rmagined in steel plate and shiny gold! There's even a matching pet!

Quibble WILL be leaving NEXT FRIDAY (finally). I really hope everyone who got ACs or Battleon Points has gotten everything they want out of the overloaded little moglin. We'll be sad to see him go but look forward to his return. I wonder what he's going to bring next time?

NOTE: THE GIFTBOXES WILL NOT OPEN UNTIL SOME TIME TOMORROW, as previously stated.

Lim's House Item Shop

After completing Lim's Quests you will also be able to open his House shop which contains only two items but two very SPECIAL house items.

The Jukebox item that will allow you to make everyone in your house dance but it only works for the owner of the house. Just click it and watch everyone get down wit they bad selves.

You'll also find the Golden Boot Plaque. This unique item will allow the owner of the house to select an unwanted guest and give them the BOOT. Before they know it, your party crasher will land in Battleon and they won't lnow what hit them!

This is your FIRST chance to get these items but you WILL be able to get them in the future!

Frostscythe Item Buff

DragonMaster Frostscythe is recieving the  new items as promised today, as a thank you to the members for allowing the non-members to play in your Frost area. Miltonius has worked all week on these new items including a Frostscythe Axe, Frostscythe Mace and Shield combo item, Frostscythe Daggers, Frostscythe's cloak and even a mini-Frostscythe pet!

Frostval Keep On Moving!

You guys have made this the best Frostval yet for us and we'll be a little sad to see it end but it's not over yet! You still have a week before the road to Frostvale closes again for another entire year. Drink your MogNog, Sing with your friends by the fire and be merry! All good things must come to an end. uh... Next Week.

We hope you guys have all had a great holiday. We all took a little time out of insane production schedule to spend some time with our friends, family and loved ones but we CAN'T WAIT to get back to work on all new AQW adventures in the new year.

We plan on making 2011 our best year yet! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

December 27, 2010

Last Release Of The Year

And What A Year It's Been!

• We started with the end of Yokai and the Kitsune battle.
• Groundhorc's Day!
• The return of the Superbowl Halftime Shop!
• Darkovia!
• Darkovia Brawl PVP map!
• PVP rewards!
• Heroes Heart Day!
• Chinese New Year and the first AC non-member pet the White Chibi Tiger!
• Pancake Day... yeah, that really happened!
• PTR Shop!
• The Shamrock Fair!
• The amazing AQW Wiki's first Birthday!
• Suffered through a LOT of Facebook and Twitter fakes!
• The release and eventual repair of Miltonius' Secret area!
• Grenwog and the Choco-Bunny which would change shape for EVERYONE!
• Member Only Twilight Zone expanded!
• Member Only PTR testing of the new engine!
• April Fools gag, where EVERYONE (except us) got a gold name!
  
  
  
  
• 8 Track Day and Disco Stoopid!
• PTR engine release, finally got STATS in AQW!
• The Rixty Ripper!
• The Portal Site and Master Accounts!
• Planet Day and Captain Lore!
• Mythsong & Chaos Lord Discordia!
• Started adding music to most weekly releases!
• One-Eyed Doll and our awesome LIVE event!
• NEW CLASSES, more than I can even list here!
• Return of Cinco De Mayo seasonal shop!
• Return of the Mother's Day seasonal shop!
• I got married!
• J6 began his amazing zone!
• TONS of awesome contests like the Art contest & Music contest!
• The Member-Only Hollowsoul Castle zone & expansion!
• The birth of HeroMart and all the Calendar craziness which is STILL happening!
• The GIANT SIZED quest chain!
• DragonCon, MetroCon * ShadoCon!
• Rolith and Alina got engaged!
• The J6 LIVE DRAW event where you watched and helped J6 draw a brand new weapon!
• Friday the 13th featuring George Lowe!
  
  
  
  
• Beleen's Stupid Derp Fish
• Korin got married!
• Arcangrove and Chaos Lord Ledgermayne!
• Talk Like a Pirate Day!
• Taco Day!
• The Obridgado Brasil shop!
• The addition of Dage The Evil, Skyline, Yorumi, & Stratos to AQW staff!
• 2nd UPHOLDERS!
• AQW's 2nd Birthday Event featuring Paul & Storm and Jonathan Coulton!
  
  
  
  
• The rerelease of the Canadian Thanksgiving seasonal shop!
• Mogloween!
• Quibble visits and brings some great AC items and rares!
• Member only ALPHA testing for our new MMO, HeroSmash!
• Battleon Games again becomes a Platinum Sponsor of Child's Play! (Thanks!)
• Cornycopia!
• I hit the BIG RED BUTTON and turn off the entire game. Smooth move, me!
  
  
  
  
• Frostval (still going on!)

I'm sure I missed some stuff, and sorry for that, but I could keep writing this post all day!

Thanks to everyone for making this AQW BEST YEAR YET! Special Thank You to the Members for keeping us going. I know that not everyone can support the game with a membership, and every AC, AExtra and ad helps keep AQW running but Members are really the fires that keep the AQW engine running and we are SO grateful for your support. We promise to keep AQW Memberships the best value in gaming, keep listening to your ideas and suggestions and try to get as many of them in the game when and where we are able!

So What About This Week?

This week, we've got the return of the New Year's event with Icemaster Yeti and Lim! We will be re-releasing as many of the new-year's seasonal rares as makes sense (the 2010 New Year's Hat would NOT make sense) but we're also adding LOTS of brand new items!

House Items that DO STUFF!

Yorumi has been working his code magic and we're going to try and release a few MEMBER ONLY house items in the New Year's release! These items will ONLY work for the owner of the house. One will make everyone in the house dance, one will allow you to kick unwanted guests back to Battleon and if we can get it working we will add an item that will lock everyone out of your house except you and the people on your Friend's List (and mods, of course).

Speaking Of Members...

As promised, to make up for having to unlock Frostscythe for all players, we will be adding several new MEMBER ONLY seasonal rares to Frostscythe.

Speaking Of Adding Items...

I did say that Quibble would be staying until the new year and this Friday is still in 2010 so you will STILL be able to get his items for this week AND Next week. Quibble is leaving NEXT Friday, but THIS Friday we will be adding a few MORE new items! 

If he doesn't sell his entore stock he's going to break his spine carrying those items out of town after new year.

Speaking Of The New Year...

This Saturday is January 1st, 2011... that means that all the gift boxes from Tinsel and the Big Red Bag in Battleon will open sometime on Saturday, the day after this week's release. It could happen at ANY TIME during Saturday (based on the server clock, which is Eastern Time) so don't bother flooding the forums and my Twitter with "What Time Do They Open?!".

However, It's perfectly fine to flood Beleen's Twitter! Heh.

Reminder!

AEXtras is still a great way to get FREE ADVENTURECOINS and even FREE BATTLEON POINTS! 

 Just CLICK HERE to get started!

Or, You can jump onto your Master Account and start earning free BattleOn Games Points using AExtras and use those Points to get stuff in ANY of our games!

December 23, 2010

Happy Frostval!

Tis the season for... ADVENTURE

Frostval is finally here friends! ...and you know what that means? Presents! New adventures! DOOOOOM? An infamous super villain has just returned to destroy the spirit of Frostval. Will you draw your weapon and open your spellbook to save this magical season? (What if we told you that your presents were at stake?) To make this adventure unique, you must choose whether to be naughty…. or nice… on your quests. Different “Good” and “Evil” options will present themselves as you help save Frostval from a very, very, very naughty not-so-little boy.  

Showing the spirit of Frostval.... literally!

New Quibble Items

Everyone’s favorite traveling sales moglin is in Battleon—and he’s staying put until the new year! He’s got 3 new RARE lunar eclipse-themed weapons in addition to his 27 Frostval goodies. No one knows if Quibble’s items will ever return, so make sure you get his gifts while you can!

Holly Knight? ... where is the Silent Knight?

Gifts in Battleon!

It looks like Santy Claws came early this year! Members: get your 5 wrapped presents from the giant red bag in Battleon! These presents will magically open at the start of the new year… including a CLASS. That’s right—not an armor, but an actual Class! The Frostval seasonal shop has also made its way to town, loaded with 2010 Frostval Seasonal Rares!

Make sure to talk to that little adorable purple Moglin in Battleon too. That’s Tinsel and she has 2 quests you can go on to get 3 additional presents! These too will open at the start of the new year.

Gingerbread House and new House Items

Get your very own seasonal rare Gingerbread house in Blizzy's House Shop after you have saved Frostval! He…she… well I don’t exactly know what gender Blizzy is… but Blizzy also has a few festive house items to decorate your humble abode with.

Don’t forget that there are seven new houses in the Centaur 21 Realty shop, too. Visit Penny the Centaur by joining the buyhouse map. Here is your chance to upgrade your current home to the Skyguard Cruiser, the Volcanic Cave, the Cloister Tree House, and more!

Creative Cookie Winners 

Yum! This has been our tastiest contest yet! The winners to the 2nd Annual Creative Dessert Contest have been announced. With so many delectable entries, it was too hard to pick just one winner… so instead we picked A BUNCH. Congratulations and thanks to everyone who participated!
Check out the winners!

Remember guys and gals, this was a contest. We had over 300 entries to go through and we really wish we could have made everyone a winner. But it is a contest afterall! But... you know what? You still won something: you got to eat your own delish creation =D And we look forward to seeing your participation in future contests! There is only one way to win--and that's to keep on tryin'!

HeroSmash: Special Holiday Items

If you are a Member of AQworlds, you can partipate in the Alpha of our new MMO, HeroSmash! While still in testing, the guys working on the new game added new Holiday themed hero-items (rare?) that you should grab while you still can.

Happy Frostval and a Epic New Year!

On behalf of the entire AQWorlds team we would like to wish you and your family a warm, fun and safe holiday. We would also like to thank you for making this, and all of our other weekly releases possible. The team and I are very grateful for the opportunity to pour all of or love and passion into AdventureQuest Worlds. Whether you became member, viewed ads, purchased AdventureCoins, raided HeroMart, or aided other players in-game and on the forums... thank you.  If you liked what we did this year, we are taking it to a whole new level next year! (which is just a few short days O_O)

December 23, 2010

K is for Kookie

2010 Cookie Contest Music & Video!

The Kookie, Monster Cookie Hork returns with a song about this years player-made AQWorlds cookies! (Note: This was totally unplanned... we got so inspired by your cookies we fired up the amps and even made the extremely deep, sophisticated, and intellectually challenging lyrics on the fly as we recorded it live!) The pictures are in random order (Sorted by Chaos!) My apologies for any missing pictures -- crazy editing may have eaten a few. Everyone did a great job -- I am so impressed with all of the entries! WARNING: Video will make you HUNGRY for COOKIES!

YouTube Challenge: Can you sing cookie more times in 15 seconds than the Cookie Hork? Make a video and link me on Twitter.

Contest Winners

The contest has been judged... it was the hardest thing we ever had to do. Honestly, everyone who entered in this contest deserves to win. One of the most interesting was Beowolve's Cookie sword. At first glance it may look like a poorly made sword cookie with some sprinkles... but next to it is the actual in-game sword Cysero drew last year. That is right -- Beowolve perfectly re-created it placing each and every dot with the right color in the exact same spot. The other entires had simliar level of incredible detail -- study each one closely! ... and congratulations everyone, GREAT JOB!
Contest Winners Page

December 22, 2010

HeroSmash NEW Release

Wait…it’s still in Alpha…and already there’s a new release? WHAT?

Yup! It’s true! I didn’t believe it either. But just LOOK!

And now go play! Keep an eye out for the little elves Hermie and Doodie. (Heh… Doodie is a funny name…) They’ve got some new quests for you. One’s been nice… and one’s been naughty!

I better start playing too. I’ve had waaay too much to eat today and I could use the cardio. How many calories do I burn when flying?

Play HeroSmash and start toning those thighs!

December 20, 2010

Choices.

Oops

This weekend we encountered one of our most frustrating bugs to date. For you guys AND for us.

Blizzy was limiting non-members from completing his quests in the Toy Factory, and Major Moglin was directing you to speak to someone who hasn't arrived yet. It was a total mess.

We've fixed it. Non-members now have access to the "Shadow Figure" quest, and the "Frost" map to do battle against Dragonmaster Frostscythe! From there you will be able to continue with last year's quests.

Sorry!

This Year's Frostval!

Now that everyone can actually COMPLETE the previous year's quests, we are free to move forward with THIS year's adventure, which will require you to make some choices.

One of my Tweeps asked "What happens if we are neutral?". All I can asy to that is follow your heart and pick the answer that best represents your true feelings during your adventure. Actually, do that all the time.

This will allow you to decide the tone of your own tale. Are you the noble, kind and incorruptable hero, or the dark, greedy and dangerous hero? Are you someone to be respected or someone to be feared?

Don't stress about it, though. You can go back through the adventure and play it the opposite way, or even mix and match your responses. You might go about it a different way and learn different things, but you're all after the same goal... to SAVE FROSTVAL!

We will also be adding a bunch of new holiday treats to this adventure AND 2 brand new items will be added to Quibble as well!

Cookie Contest Results!

The Holiday Creative Cookie Contest is OVER! You guys REALLY stepped up your game this year. Some of the entries really blew us away. Beleen and Ai No Miko are about a meter away from me, going over the entries and I'm going to jump in and help as soon as I've posted this Design Notes.

To everyone who entered... AMAZING job. I wish I could shake every one of your talented hands, claws, tentacles and flippers. Picking winners out of this group will be the hardest thing we have to do this season.

Beleen will post the winners on THURSDAY (when we release the rest of this week's update!)

See ya then!

December 20, 2010

A Game in 48 Hours

My entry... DOOM CAULDRON

This past weekend I entered a competition where the goal was to make a game in 48 hours, by yourself, from scratch. Rolith talked me into it. He created a game for it too! The theme of the game competition, "Discovery", was announced on Friday at 9pm when the competition started. You might be wondering why on earth I would go home after a intense 5-game release week and immediately jump into 48 more straight hours of game making? (Well, probably not -- you guys love games just as much as I do) Truth be told, most of what I do now is leadership... not hands-on production. Zhoom, Minimal, Captain Rhubarb, Rolith and the other programmers are all so much better than me that I do not get to code any more. J6, Thyton, Ghost, Miltonius, Cysero, Tomix, Oishii are all such incredible artist/animators that I do not get to draw any more either. So when Rolith told me about this contest something sparked in my heart. I WANTED TO MAKE A GAME!  So I streamed my screen so people could watch and used a program to take pictures of my screen every minute. I created a game called... DOOM CAULDRON

The most difficult part was that I was running a fever of about 100F Friday and Saturday. Honestly, I would have announced where I was streaming my screen so you could watch me work to everyone except I did not want you to see me fail if I became more sick and had to stop. (I think Beleen's ultra pink Birthday infected me) I created everything in the game during the 48 hours... the Art (mostly photos... my house has an usually high weapon/armor to room ratio... and some pictures I even took of myself using the cameras timer! Note: It is amazing how quickly a Bathrobe and a little creativity can create the "Necromancer" look!), Sound FX (mostly of my toilet), Music (I only had 15 minutes and had to play something on the guitar FAST.. better than nothing!), and of course the code (Any real programmer would cringe in horror... horror!) I feel the games hits the theme of "Discovery" dead on. You drag and drop items into the cauldron and hit create to see what it makes. The ultimate goal is to create... THE DOOM KNIGHT. If you are wondering... why would Artix make a game about a an evil undead conjuring cauldron? The answer is: You know Daimyo and I love battling the evil forces of the undead. I am training Necromancers on how to create undead armies so you can send lots and lots of undead for me to battle on Frostval! (Santa always says no.) Well, are you ready to play... DOOM CAULDRON

Play DOOM CAULDRON
Artix's Entry

Play Code Monkey Trials
Rolith's Entry

December 17, 2010

Frostval Begins!

Happy Frostval!

My favorite time of year has finally arrived! Today we are being visited by the Ghost of Frostval Past (You may have watched in horror as Artix exorsized said ghost in DragonFable's Frostval event a few years ago. The position has been filled.)!

Once again the Frost Moglins of Frostvale are opening the snow-covered gates of their town to all of Lore as they prepare for the merriest of all of Lore's holidays... Frostval! If this is your first year with AQW then you get to play through all of the previous adventures leading up to NEXT WEEK's ALL NEW FROSTVAL ADVENTURE (where a old foe returns with vengence in their heart) and the return of the Battleon Seasonal Frostval Shop (with Holiday Jester 10!). You are welcome to all of the great Frostval seasonal rares and the heart-warming Frostval stories.

If you've played through these adventures before then you can visit your frieds Robina and Blizzy!

But you'll notice that we made a few changes to the old stuff for this year! We've added a few all new rewards to some of the repeatable quests in and around Frostvale and we've added the classic Frostval Theme to all of these ares. You might also notice that Yorumi has added a gently wafting snow to much of the event!

Major Moglin has had some changes too!

Last year, quite a few people had trouble figuring out the Frostvale Tale adventure. You had to read parts of it in your Book of Lore and run all over Lore looking for hidden clues which were far too well hidden. We've pet a lot of effort into stream-lining the adventure this year! The chapters of "Twas The Night before Frostval" have been removed from the Book of Lore and added to Major Moglin's dialogue box, sparklies have been added to the pick-up items to make them eaiser to spot and we've made the clues within the tale a lot eaiser to find. Hope this helps.

Quibble is STAYING (for a while)!

One of my wonderful Tweeple suggested that it might be nice to keep Quibble up for a while, so the folks who get AdventureCoins as holiday gifts might be able to get what THEY want. I asked the rest of my Tweeps what they thought and it seemed like a great idea. So, as per player request, Quibble will remain in BattleOn until after the new year begins. We'll even add a few new items each week! 

Miltonius is working on a new Santa Outfit right now, and Dage has offered up an amazing, new holiday weapon!

Thanks, EvokerSoul, for your great suggestion! It's really great to see someone thinking of others but that is what Frostval is all about!

New Houses!

Penny over at Centaur 21 will have several new houses in stock.

We've got 7 new additions with stuff for members and non-members alike.

• Skyguard Cruiser
• Volcanic Cave
• Imploded Cathedral
• Safiria’s Castle
• Creepy Cabin
• Tree House
• And the Candy Corn Cottage

These are permanent additions to the game and will NOT go rare. Artix mentioned some new house functionality coming soon and it's STILL coming... in a while. Not today.

Dage's Legion Update!

Dage will get a teeny, tiny update today including a new villianous weapon and a new stackable, mergeable currency which will come in handy in future updates for upgrading his already very difficult to obtain items. If you're a fan of Dage The Evil and his wicked items, start collection Dage's Legion Tokens today!

Earn FREE stuff for the holidays!

The holidays are here, along with the best BattleOn Games events of the year, like the awesome George Lowe "Lowe Down Throw Down" at EpicDuel! (if you're keeping track, George has now appeared in AQW, DF and ED. 3 games down, 3 to go!). There are SO MANY great events and so much awesome gear to get but during the holidays you might find spare ACs hard to come by. FEAR NOT!

AExtras is a great way to earn free stuff while saving holiday cash!

You can use AExtras special offers system to earn FREE AdventureCoins in AQWorlds or Varium in EpicDuel, as well as Nova Gems, DragonCoins, Z-Tokens and EVEN FREE BATTLEON POINTS for your Master Account! Just CLICK HERE to get started!

Or, You can jump onto your Master Account and start earning free BattleOn Games Points using AExtras and use those Points to get stuff in ANY of our games!

Happy Holidays from BattleOn Games!

December 14, 2010

I Leveled Up IRL!

Today I turned another year older… and turned Moglins PINK!

Thank you everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday on my Twitter =D It was SOO nice of you all and it made me feel so wonderfully warm on the inside… which was LOVELY considering it was 29 degrees outside! Burrrrrrrr!

I have such awesome friends! <3 <3 <3 <3 And I wanted to give you all something special for making me feel equally special ^___^

So here you go! I added 4 pink-a-licious items to Quibble’s Shop! Here’s your chance to get the Totally Pink Moglin Morph armor, the Hangin’ Around Pink Moglin cape, Cute n’ Cuddly Moglin Helm, and the Super Adorable Pink Moglin pet!

I priced these items in a very certain way. Can you figure it out? Hehehehe!

Oh yeah! Since my Bday kinda fell mid-week, I’m having Quibble hold on to my items until Friday =3

*Due to popular demand, I'm letting Quibble hold onto my bday items until the new year! After that, they will go PERMA RARE! Thank you everyone for making my birthday the best one yet! ^_____^ 

December 10, 2010

I Believe in Quibble

Deck the halls with Armors and Weapons!

You asked for him! And Quibble Coinbiter is back in Battleon just in time for Tonight’s Release! He’s brought a sleigh-full of Frostval-themed items with him too!

There’s actually A LOT more items in his shop. But there is only SOO much I can fit in a 350 pixel wide JPG, you know? It doesn’t really matter if you’ve been naughty or nice this year… Quibble’s got something for everybody. So stock up on some AdventureCoins and get shopping!

• Randolph the Red Nosed Reignzard (RARE Non-Member Pet!)
• Arctic Dragonslayer Armor Set (Completely Color Custom)
• Chaos Claws Suit Armor and Helm
• 9 Frostval Weapons
• Santa Cutie and Santa Hunk Hats
• 3 more Color Custom Frostval helms

If you have been keeping a tally… that’s a whopping 21 NEW Quibble Items! Someone’s in the Frostval spirit this year =D

Enter The Void

After you’ve stuffed your inventory with Frostval trimmings, head back to the Frozen Northlands and speak with Adak in the blinding snow forest. He’s come up with a theory on how to get you into the Void... but he’s left the saving Nythera part up to you!

I refuse to give out any spoilers as to how the storyline will play out. I already gave you hints in my last post (which was only like 12 hours ago), so if you REALLY would rather read than play through the awesome release, scroll down a bit and get your pink font fix on =3  

The NPC in the Void will enlighten you on everything you need to know about the Void. EVERYTHING. This little guy is very insightful. He even has an impressive Shop stocked with some DF-Classic Void Items and New Void Items… if you can afford his high prices.

The monsters in The Void have a nice collection of items that they drop, too. A Void Larva Pet even drops from one of the baddies… but I’ll leave that up to you to guess which monster drops it =p

The Void in AQWorlds was created entirely from DragonFable’s Void. Map, monster, and weapon art was borrowed from DF in order to recreate the epicness that is The Void with a completely new storyline twist!

Please Note: If you haven’t already played through all of the Frozen Northlands quests, including Old King Coal’s quests (which come directly after defeating Queen Aisha) and finding Nythera in the blinding snow forest, you will NEED TO do so in order to play tonight’s release!

I truly believe you guys are going to have a BLAST with this release =D

December 10, 2010

Knight Owl

The Early Bird may Catch the Worm, but the Night Owl Catches the Sneak Peak.

I know it’s late. TRUST ME—it’s Thursday night (well, technically, Friday morning) and it has been a non-stop adventure since Monday. With soooo many exciting things going on, from planning out this week’s release to HeroSmash alpha’ing (is that a word?) to drooling over the cookie contest and preparing for the BattleOn Holiday Sweepstakes, there just hasn’t been enough time for the heavily-caffeined Beleen to make a proper Design Notes post.

So let’s fix that right now =D

BattleOn Holiday Sweepstakes: Winners Picked Tonight!

If you haven’t already entered the BattleOn Holiday Sweepstakes, now is your last chance! On December 10th, 2010 (that’s today!), Artix Entertainment LLC. will randomly select FIVE winners for our Holiday Sweepstakes. Each winner will be contacted via e-mail and be allowed to select ONE item of their choice from our new AE Store, HeroMart.

All you have to do to enter is start a free Battleon Master Account on our portal site!  So what are you waiting for? Hurry up and enter the Sweepstakes before it’s too late!

Quibble is Coming to Town!

Your favorite traveling sales Moglin is finally making his way back to Battleon! And what goodies does he have for you in his sleigh  treasure chest? It doesn’t really matter if you’ve been naughty or nice this year… Quibble’s got something for everybody!

As usual, most of Quibby’s items cost AdventureCoins, but as an EXTRA SPECIAL BONUS for the holidays, this little guy has a RARE NON-MEMBER PET that will also be selling for ACs. This will be your only chance to get the rare Randolph the Red Nosed Reinzard pet for non-members!

Low on AdventureCoins? Here’s a buncha ways you can stock up for the Holidays:

• Purchase an AC bundle here
•  Visit Ballyhoo up to 10 times a day for a chance at winning free ACs
• Earn ACs by completing third-party offers
• Enter (and win!) the Creative Cookie Contest
• Membership packages come with bonus ACs!

What’s really cool about these AC items (besides the fact that they’re Frostval-themed) is that all of them can be stored in your Bank for FREE and FOREVER. This is especially helpful since no one knows if—or when—these Quibble items will ever be offered again!

Enter The Void: Nythera Saga Concludes Tonight!

This is it, guys and gals. We’ve come a long way in the Frozen Northlands. You helped defeat Queen Aisha’s ice army, saved Guwio Village, aided Old King Coal in his time of need, and braved the wintery wilderness in order to find Nythera.

You found her, all right. But she’s found something else… Chaos. And now she’s vanished into The Void.

Adak Amaroq has a theory on how YOU can get to the Void! Talk to him later tonight and see if the two of you can create a portal of some sorts that will take you into The Void.

DragonFable players are going to LOVE this place. Actually, everyone is going to love this place—especially me, since it’s all pretty and pinkish ^_______^

No Artix, I didn’t come up with The Void color scheme—talk to Alina and Geopetal about that.

Anyhoo, back to what I was saying. What was I saying…? …something about something….

Oh yea! The Void in AQWorlds was created entirely from DragonFable’s Void. Map, monster, and weapon art was borrowed from DF in order to recreate the epicness that is The Void with a completely new storyline twist.

You will meet a new friend when you stumble into The Void. Luckily for you, your new pal is incredibly insightful and will enlighten you on everything you need to know about The Void. He even has an impressive Shop stocked with some DF-Classic and New Void Items… if you can afford his high prices.

I really don’t wanna spoil the storyline, so I’ll just give you a teensy teaser: the Great Void Dragon summoned Nythera into The Void because she is willing to lose everything in order to gain anything!

The Great Void Dragon lives in the heart of the Void, protected by a magical door that requires 4 Void Spheres to unlock. But the Great Void Dragon is not foolish; he has hidden the 4 Spheres somewhere in Lore!

And as if THAT’S not a high enough security measure, even if the 4 Void Spheres are found and placed within the door, then the only way to unlock it is by successfully completing a three-round “simon-says” style minigame.

Is Nythera too far gone? Has Chaos chaorrupted her beyond saving? Will you be able to find the 4 Void Spheres? What will happen if you get inside the Void Dragon’s lair? What IS The Void and its connection with Nythera, anyway?

So many questions! And guess what—they will all be answered tonight =D

ZzzzZZzzzzZZZzzz….

Oh boy… it’s late. Getting sleepy! Someone once told me that sleeping is the best cure for sleepiness.

I’m going to test this experimental remedy now.

Zzzzzz Zz!

December 07, 2010

HeroSmash Alpha TODAY!

Are YOU going to help us Alpha Test?

Which is another way of asking "Will you help us break this thing?".

Artix has already begun his Play-By-Play, which you can read over at HeroSmash.

Later today we will be opening the server (remember, the server will have LIMITED SPACE... you might have to wait to log in).

As I said yesterday:

If you have ever upgraded in any BattleOn Games (AdventuerQuest, DragonFable, MechQuest, EpicDuel or AQW) OR ever purchased Z-tokens, Dragon Coins, Nova Gems, Varium or AdventureCoins... and you have that account tied to your BattleOn Games Master Account... then you will be able to create a character and claim your HeroSmash name today!

If you are a CURRENT MEMBER of AQWorlds... and have that account tied to your BattleOn Games Master Account... then you will be able to log in and play as soon as HeroSmash goes live.

Either Way you will need your Master Account to log into the game (just like EpicDuel). Keep your eyes on http://www.HeroSmash.com. That is where you will log in.

Artix has said that the server will open to character creation around sundown here in Florida.

Thanks in advance for helping us test Alpha test, and remember that the game will probably be opening to everyone NEXT SUMMER.. so I guess Alpha Testing is another AQW Member perk! Have fun breaking stuff.

December 06, 2010

Quibble And HeroSmash

Quibble Arrives Friday!

As promised, Quibble Coinbiter the traveling sales moglin will return THIS friday with his chest (or large red bag, in this case) of never-before-seen-slightly-used items and rares!

As usual most to all of his items will cost AdventureCoins, but as an EXTRA SPECIAL BONUS for the holidays Quibble also has a RARE NON-MEMBER PET that will also be selling for ACs. This will be your only chance to get the rare Randolph the Red Nosed Reinzard pet for non-members!

The rest of his items will also be Frostval themed to help you gear up for our yearly Frostval celebration. Next week we will re-release all of the previous years Frostval adventures, then the following week we will add an ALL NEW Frostval holiday adventure to AQWorlds and adding a load of BRAND NEW HOUSES to AQW!!

This week, you will be following Nythera into the Void. The Chaorruption has reached deep into the core of Nythera and this is your last chance to bring your friend out, if you can. Either way, nobody with her power can be allowed to remain in the clutches of Chaos and you will be dragging Nythera out of the Void... dead or alive.

HeroSmash Alpha Test Begins Tomorrow!

BattleOn Games' newest MMO, HeroSmash opens its doors to character creation and Alpha Testers tomrrow.

If you missed out on Alpha testing AQW, you DO NOT want to miss out on Alpha testing our newest game!

There are some pretty reasonable limitations to character creation and Alpha Testing as Artix mentioned is his earlier post.

You will need a BattleOn Master Acccount to create your character and/or Alpha Test. Without a Master Account you won't be able to do anything.

You will be able to create your character AND claim your name if you have ever spent a SINGLE DOLLAR on ANY BattleOn game account that you have tied to your Master Account. If you don't have that account tied to your Master Account then you will not be able to create your character.

If, and only if, you have a current, active AQW MEMBERSHIP tied to your Master Account then you will be able to enter HeroSmash and help us Alpha Test.

Please keep in mind that this is just a bare bones version of HeroSmash. We have a long way to go before we event get to Beta Testing and we NEED your feedback to lead us unto Beta phase and make the game great, but keep your expectations reasonable, and above all else have fun.

As Artix mentioned, we will only be Alpha Testing on ONE server which means that only about 1500 people at a time will be able to play. If the server is full, KEEP TRYING! You may be the next to enter the game as soon as someone logs out or lags out.

We have some great and horrible stories from AQW's Alpha Phase. We expect huge disasters in the HS Alpha. HS isn't scheuled for full release until NEXT SUMMER so Alpha Testers will not only be the first ti test HeroSmash, they will be the ONLY people to test it for a long while.

I'm sure there will eventually be treats in HeroSmash for those who help test, but who knows what they will be. Maybe you can tell US what to give to Alpha Testers as soon as we get our HeroSmash Forums up and running!

The BattleOn Holiday Sweepstakes

It ends THIS FRIDAY, and with HeroSmash on the way there is NO REASON to not have a BattleOn Master Account. Get one. Friday we will have the drawing and (if we can) we will announce the winners here on the AQW Design Notes!

December 03, 2010

Nythera Continued

Everyone's Favorite half-Dragon is BACK!

Just about a year ago we introduced Nythera to AQW in her first storyline in the Frozen Northlands! Finally, we return to the frozen north and continue where we left off!

Spoiler: We are ALSO building up her legend before the REAL Nythera gets married next year and we tie her wedding into AQW with a special in-game wedding event. 

Man, people around here are getting married like... ducks?

Cause they mate for life, ya see.

.....and we're carrying on.

If you haven't been to the Frozen Northlandss, just look for the snow-covered area on the top of the map and begin your quest! This is the first of a two part quest continuation which picks up where we left off!

Pay special attention to the constantly mutating wolves. Chaos... is there anything it CAN'T DO?!

There are three amazing Cutscenes written by Beleen and animated by Miltonius, and tons of great gear brought to you by Dage, Skyline and yours truly.

This week's item list:

Stark’s Ice
Longclaw
Shimmering Flakes cape
Hearthside Axe
Champion of the North armor
Glacial Guard helm
The Frosted Falchion
Chaorrupted Mountaineer Hood
Chaotic Headsman’s Axe
Chaorrupted Northland Blade
Chaotic Crystal Glaive
Gravitating Chaos Crystal
Cloak of the North Wind
Serrated Chaos Edge
Tannenbaum Trimmings Cape
Chaotic Winterror Sword
Tannenbaum’s Tinder

It should be a pretty awesome pre-holiday haul!

Holiday Cookie Contest!

START YOUR OVENS!

Since Beleen did such a great job with her post, I'm just going to COPYPASTE it here!

Last year’s winners did SUCH a great job creating totally scrumptious works of art and we cannot wait to see what you come up with this year. Check out last year’s Creative Cookie Contest winners for some delightful inspiration.

Have Your Cake and Eat it Too: The Prizes

Along with an endless amount of internet fame, the Grand Prize Winner(s) will receive 5,000 AdventureCoins AND a one-of-a-kind weapon created by Dage the Evil!

Additional AC prizes will be awarded for other super sweet desserts!

Fun fact: last year, the 6 grand prize winners received the ultra-rare Confectioner’s Slayer sword. When taken into consideration that there are over 20 Million registered users in AdventureQuest Worlds, being one of the verrrrrrry few to have such a one-of-a-kind weapon is truly remarkable.

Will you be a Grand Prize winner this year? One way to find out!    

How the Cookie Crumbles: The Rules

This contest will range from NOW until 11:59pm EST on Sunday, December 19th. The winner(s) will be announced on the Design Notes Thursday, December 23rd!

The rules and guidelines are short ‘n sweet but MUST be followed accordingly for your edible entry to be eligible. I repeat, in boldface and in red font, ‘cuz a lot of people miss this: YOU must follow EACH rule if you want your entry to be considered eligible.   

The easiest way to make sure your hard work gets judged: Read all of the rules before submitting your entry!

• Your dessert MUST be created by YOU. Do not copy someone else’s hard work. That my friend is called cheating, and you will be disqualified for it.

• Include an index card/piece of paper/ icing signature that says your AQW Character Name alongside your tasty treat. This way we really know it’s made by you! And NO, photoshopping your name onto your picture DOES NOT COUNT, and you will be disqualified if you do.

• Your dessert MUST be created in some sort of Artix Entertainment theme. Create anything you want from AQW, EpicDuel, BladeHaven, DragonFable, MechQuest, AdventureQuest, and WarpForce!  If we cannot tell what it is from our games, you will not be qualified.

• Your canvas must be a cookie, cake, pie, or any other form of holiday dessert. Mmmm, get creative!

• The photo of your dessert should be of the Highest Quality. The more clear the picture, the better and tastier it will look, upping your chance at the Grand Prize!

• Remember to post a VALID link to your dessert photo! Uploading your photo to your Facebook does not allow us to see the photos via the Forums. Also, if you upload your photo to your LOCKED photobucket account, we cannot see it either. So make sure your link is valid and isn’t locked to the public!

Preheating The Oven: Enter the Contest!

Now that you are ready for the 2010 Creative Cookie Contest, it’s probably a good idea to know WHERE to post your delectable desserts!

Submit your yummy creations on the official Creative Cookie Crafting Competition twitter account or AQW Facebook post.

The team is really looking forward to seeing all of your wonderful ideas and delicious cookie creations! There is only one way to win—and it starts by entering this contest! 

Best of luck to you all =D Eeeeeeeep

What Else Is Going On?

• HeroMart is getting the 2017 Calendars in the lab today! We began shipping them out this week. 
• Beleen's birthday is next week! Even though our favorite, pinkest Loremaster has gone on to new adventures, we'll still celebrate her day with a few pinkified items to show her we care!

December 02, 2010

To the victor go the Spoilers

Sneak Peek at Friday’s Release!

A few days ago, Cysero posted a little teaser at what was coming in this week’s release. And I say “little,” I really mean it—he wrote like three sentences.

Pffffft, what kind of a spoiler is THAT?

Now that my Finals are over (yaaay!), I can dedicate my time to filling you all in on what’s going to happen tomorrow night. If you want it to be a surprise, I suggest hitting the Back button as fast as you can as to not catch a glimpse of tomorrow’s totally cool release.

And yes, ‘cool’ is a pun—you caught me!

Nythera and the Frozen Northlands

If you are up to speed on the Frozen Northlands chain, then you will recall helping Nythera take down that cold-hearted Ice Queen Aisha. Here’s a quick little summary to refresh your memory:

Rooooaaar! Nythera uses Chaos Gemerald to transform into crazy dragon!

But then… oh no!

Don’t do it Nythera! It’s Chaos! It’s not worth it!

And theeeeeen……

Overly dramatic DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUN!

If you haven’t already witnessed this for yourself in game, and if you haven’t already played through Old King Coal’s quests (which come directly after defeating Queen Aisha), you will NEED TO do so in order to play through tomorrow’s release. That poor King has been sick for awhile now…

Anyway! Tomorrow (and right now, since this IS a spoiler) you will discover that Nythera has vanished! Adak Amaroq, the Guwio Village Messenger, has traced her footprints and found them leading into the uncharted Northlands Forest.

So much snow falls here that no one has ever been able to find a straight path through. And we mean NO ONE. Not even the Mods know the “correct” path, because there is NO correct path.

It’s just like getting lost somewhere in real life. No matter which direction you choose, you never seem to end up where you just were. I ended up upside down once. Don’t know how that happened….

So bundle up in something warm, because in order to “find your way out,” you will have to get lost!

Since Nythera has meddled with Chaos, you will have to collect Chaos Crystals in order to forge some sort of Chaos Positioning Spell… like a GPS, only more magical (and one that doesn’t tell you a million times to make a U-turn if you miss the path you were supposed to turn down). There are 10 Crystals hidden throughout this snowy terrain that you will have to find and collect, and then take them to George Forge-man in Guwio Village so he can do his thing with them.

Only when you have the Chaos Positioning Spell (the C.P.S.) will you be able to find out where Nythera is hiding!

Well what happens when we find Nythera?!

AH HA! That, my friend, is a surprise! I can’t give you all the juicy details because… well… when you do play through tomorrows release, and get to the end, you are going to be sooooo incredibly surprised and excited that whatever is within the vicinity of your computer may be knocked over from your flailing cheering arms.

But here’s a little hint to leave you off on: DragonFable players are going to scream with anticipation!