Design Notes
January 13, 2012
Friday the 13th Card!
Special effect bonus damage today
The card accurately predicted tonight's special event with Voltaire!But, beware, until midnight tonight, the "... on a Friday the 13th" card from the AQWorlds Card Game is EXTREMELY deadly. (and Deady.) If anyone takes advantage of this and destroys their friend in a game with it -- please let us know! As always you can get the AQWorlds card game at our online store www.HeroMart.com or in-store at U.S. based Toys"R"Us stores (in addition to our 2012 calendar and thingies - look for it in the card game isle with yu-gi-oh and magic.)
November 22, 2011
Toys"R"Us
"Dude, where's my car--ds?"
A player from the U.S. messaged me on Twitter last night saying that they went to their local Toys"R"Us and was told that they did not have our card game or mod packs. So, I googled the store at his location and called it up on the phone! Shockingly, they told me it was not in the system. O_O But I know for a fact that EVERY Toys"R"Us in the states now has our card games. So I asked them to go to the area with the Pokemon and Baseball cards. Sure enough... there were 3 card games and 11 mod packs were there. Weird! So, if you are looking for the cards, head to the baseball card isle. Some players have told me that in some stores, the game is up near the cashiers, too.
Oh... and the 2012 Calendar is now starting to appear in Toys"R"Us stores across the U.S., too. There is very limited supply... possibly only 3 to 5 per store! (It will be in the card game section, too!)
What if I live outside of the U.S.?
The card game and mod packs are available now and shipping anywhere in the world at www.HeroMart.com . (We are working on getting in international locations, but it will be a year at least - so HeroMart is your best option right now!)
July 05, 2011
Epic War in DoomWood!
...but attacking SHADOWFALL?
Darkness! Doom! The bones of MILLIONS OF UNDEAD!!! All of this and more are almost in Noxus and Vordred's grasp... IF they succeed in conquering Shadowfall! It is an epic battle for both Light AND Dark this week; only YOU will be able to save Gravelyn's home and undead army - and you'd better, if you want to have any hope of saving Lore.
Noxus and Vordred are on their way to Gravelyn's throne room and you've got a ways to travel from DoomWood to Shadowfall. So grab your most terrifying weapons, equip your highest enhancements, and prepare to /unsheath on a moment's notice because THIS FRIDAY the war for ShadowFall BEGINS!
War rares galore AND a Player Suggestion shop update will have you stuffing your backpack with new loot until it's so heavy you'll need to train your STR in order to carry it!
Paladin/DoomKnight Revamp 2.0 Begins!
Last week we launched the introduction of the re-vamped DoomKnight and Paladin classes. Many of you were really happy with the changes, but enough of you wanted to see MORE! So we're going back to the coding board and seeing how we can fine-tune, rework, and SUPERCHARGE those improvements!
Revamp 2.0 begins this week; we'll keep you posted on details as we work out and change up the numbers!
Chaos Shaper - Shaping up Nicely!
Chaos will recreate you into a completely new form, but not if YOU master it first! This LUCK-based class will have you causing pure havok on the battlefield; your enemies won't know what hit them, only that they're down for the count and seeing stars! (Or skulls, if they're undead.)
Male Chaos Shaper class
Because this is a preview, and because we love teasing you with information, here are the NAMES of the skills:
- Twist Time
- Chaos Fog
- Chaotic Touch
- Death Grip
- Two un-named passives which will deal crit and damage
Yorumi is in a coding frenzy getting the code right. Cysero's given him a list of twisted skills to confound, confuse, and concuss your enemies until they won't be able to STAND against you, let alone attack you!
We're making good progress on the class and hope to have it done soon. We'll keep you posted!
Things we are working on RIGHT NOW!
We had a meeting this morning to go over plans for AQWorlds. They were divided into 3 parts: Immediate, Current, and Future plans.
Projects we are working on for this week:
Shadowfall war: this week's release, with rare items galore and a nifty Suggest Shop update.
Color palette fix: this will NOT get fixed this week, but Yorumi is working with Zhoom on it.
Doomwood being added to the map: on Friday you'll be able to walk to Doomwood!
Projects we are making progress on:
New Tutorial coming:
To make the new player experience the BEST it can be, we're introducing a tutorial! Written by Cysero, this walkthrough of gameplay basics should make getting in-game, gearing up, and getting your BATTLE ON much faster and more fun!
Battle On Battle Cards EXPANSION PACKS!!!
If you enjoyed the card game, you'll LOVE these two expansion packs featuring ALL NEW cards!
PaladinSlayer Pack:
This will feature a doom-filled deck of darkness and destruction! The featured card-game class will be... PaladinSlayer! (NOT the same as UndeadSlayer, which is an in-game class which will come in Doomwood!) You'll get cards like "...On a Bonemuncher!" and "Vordred's Sword"!*
Chaos Pack:
Chaos consumes ALL! And with this chaotic card-deck you'll be able to completely chaorrupt your friends! The featured card-game class will be... Chaos Lord! (NOT the same as an in-game Chaos Lord class. That doesn't exist.) You'll get cards like "Yokai Dexterity" and "Chaorrupted"!**
We do not know what the in-game items attached to these will be. But we will think of some! We're working hard on the expansions, but do not yet have a confirmed release date. We will keep you updated on when that will be!
* Card names are subject to change. These are just examples.
** These are examples too, and will change if we can come up with something more AWESOME!
Forum question: What cards would YOU like to see in the Paladinslayer and Chaos card decks? Let us know and your favorite weapons, pets, armors, counters and traps might end up in the expansion pack!
May 25, 2011
AQW Action Figures!?
Because Paladins cannot keep secrets
I posted this to my friends on Facebook and Twitter... but, um, it did not remain very secret. So we wanted to let you all in on it the news. We have officially begun work on AdventureQuest Worlds action figures. They are planned for release during the 10th year anniversary of the original AdventureQuest this October. What you are seeing below is a behind the scenes look at how an actionfigure is sculpted from wax. The sculptor is going to widen the chest and then make the arms. I guess... currently.... some monster has "dis-armed" him. This one should be finished in a few days and then work on Sepulchure will begin! (Shhhh.... keep it sorta secret ok?)
Chaos Lord Kimberly is signing her Card for fans
We were just sent a video from Kimberly, lead singer of the band One-eyed Doll (and also surprise-twist AQWorlds Chaos Lord). She took a silly video of herself going into Toys-R-Us and buying our card game! You can get the link to the video on the official the "AQworlds Battle On Battle Card Game" webpage She also has instructoins on how to mail her the card with a stamped, self addressed envelope -- she will sign your "...While rocking out" card and send it back to you.
DoomWood this Friday!
It has been a while since I wrote a zone.... and as everyone predicted I got super carried away with all of the things I wanted to see in this first part of the DoomWood saga. We are in super crunch mode, racing to create as much of it as possible before the release. We are making some very interesting types of quests and some very story heavy cutscenes. I really like that Alina is helping write AQWorlds now -- she is bringing the deep, rich story telling style of DragonFable into our MMO. Nulgath is here at the lab working on the characters, J6 is almost done with the new backgrounds, Cysero is working on the cutscenes, Samba is animating monsters, and Beleen is... at college. Getting smart. Funny story... one of the most impressive brand new characters in DoomWood has A LOT of skulls on his armor. I jokingly told Nulgath that he needed more skulls. Nulgath said.. really? I said, still joking. YES! I just found out that for the past several hours he has been adding several hundred additional skulls to the characters armor O_O. For lag reasons... we might ease back on the skulls... but we will post the full skull version to go for the WORLD RECORD OF ARMOR SKULLS!
April 25, 2011
4 Days Until HEROSMASH!
I Want To Be A HEROSMASH FOUNDER!
I've been getting a LOT of mails, Tweets and in-game comments asking how players can become Founders in HeroSmash when it goes live for the first time this Thursday.
Some of you are asking "What's a founder?!" or possibly "WatS a F0undr!" so let me tell you.
Simply put, a Founder is someone who helps support an AE game (buy purchasing a membership or Coin package) right after it is born to help kick it into high gear and get it moving. It usually comes with some perks like the way that AQW Founders get a new rare pet EVERY YEAR on AQW's birthday for the life of the game. Other perks could pop up at any time.
It also comes with crazy "I was there when that game started" bragging rights, and AQW Founders can prove it by showing you the Founder Achievement Badge on their character page. HeroSmash Founders will ALSO get a badge on their HeroSmash character pages proving that they were there.
Once 30 days have passed, you will never be able to become a HS Founder ever again!
HOW CAN I BECOME A HEROSMASH FOUNDER?!
Easy, either become a HeroSmash Member or buy at least $20 USD worth of SmashCoins (like AdventureCoins for HS) within the first 30 days of HeroSmash's online life!
I Heard That AQW Members Get A HeroSmash Membership As A Bonus, Is That True?
YES! We are calling it the V.I.P (Very Important Player) Membership!
It has always and will always be VERY important to us that we give you MORE than what you paid for in all of out games. In that spirit we have tied the AQW and HeroSmash memberships together into this V.I.P Membership that gets you member access to BOTH AQWorlds and HeroSmash!
If you're already an AQW member, that means that you are ALSO already a HeroSmash Member!
Pretty cool, right?
I know it's a little confusing to some people so I made this diagram for you.
I'm Already An AQW Member. Does That Mean That I'm Already A HS Member Too?!
Yeah, that's exactly what I just said.
Literally, it's 5 lines above this line not counting the diagram.
Ok... Does That Mean That I'm Already a HeroSmash Founder Too?!
Good question!
No, you are NOT already a HS Founder.
If you are already an AQW Member you will be able to enjoy all of the HeroSmash Member benefits like member-only powers, items, areas as well as FUTURE member-only benefits as the game grows BUT In order to become a Founder you MUST either buy $20 USD (or more) worth of SmashCoins OR Upgrade for 3 months (or longer) IN HEROSMASH starting THIS THURSDAY.
V.I.P Member Thing Is Kind Of Confusing Too. More Diagrams Plox!
Gladly, I can make these things all day long.
There are 2 ways to become a V.I.P Member.
- Upgrade in AQW.
- Upgrade in HeroSmash.
No matter which game you upgrade in, you will be a member in BOTH games but you will only get the ACs if you Upgrade in AQW, and you will ONLY get the SmashCoins if you upgrade in HeroSmash.
For Example:
If you purchase a 3 month membership to AQW, you will be upgraded in BOTH AQW and HS, but you will only get 1000 ACs, (no SmashCoins).
On the other hand, If you purchase a 3 month membership to HeroSmash you will be upgraded in BOTH AQW and HS, but you will only get 1000 SmashCoins, (no ACs).
Pictures make everything awesome.
I Agree. So When Can I Become A HeroSmash Founder.
THURSDAY, April 28th, HeroSmash goes LIVE for EVERYONE! As soon as we are live you will be able to become a Founder, but remember... you only have 30 days from the live release date to become a HeroSmash Founder or you miss out foerver! This chance will never come around again.
Unless you've got a time machine.
Then, technically, it's YOU who will be coming around again so my original point remains valid.
Have You Seen AQW Battle Cards In The Toys R Us Flyers?
NO! Do you have a picture, disembodied player voice?
Oh Awesome! People must really like the AQW Battle Cards game if it made it into the flyer. Only the big-name stuff gets in the flyer!
We really want to thank you guys for making us look good. Several stores across the U.S. have reportedly sold out of the game entirely and more are flying off the shelves every day.
I really hope that you think the game is as fun as we do (I am still playing it just about every day with Nursey and my other friends) and hope that you are enjoying the CardClasher Class that comes with it. I've gotten some feedback from players who have mastered the class and say that it really is one of the most powerful AND FUN classes in AQW!
We still have LOTS more in HeroMart, so feel free to buy some. It would be nice if Faith (Head of HeroMart) could walk around that area of the Secret Underground Lab without swimming through a sea of boxes.
I've Already Got My Box Of The AQW ANything-Goes BattleOn Battle Card Game.
Ok, so buy one for a friend. Never too early to shop for the holidays, amirite? Who knows, we might be sold out by Frostval!
Good Point. I'll Go Buy A Few More.
That's thinking ahead!
April 15, 2011
FEAR CHASER EVENT!
Fear Chaser Event & Event Rare Shop are now open!
The Fear Chaser event featuring the music and voice talents of Ayi Jihu, is now LIVE! As usual we Event Rare Shop with TONS of items, several voice-acted cutscenes, an achievement and a bunch of great drops!
I should warn you that the Fear Garb is one of the laggiest armors that we've ever created but that is the price for having animated spiders crawling all over your body and in and out of your rib-cage and having animated lava pouring out of your eye sockets!
By request, we've increased the room size to 10 to hold more of you and your friends. Ayi asked me to pass on her thanks to everyon who logged in and asked her all of those fantastic questions! You really made her day by just showing up to the event!
Remember, once the event closes, it will become Member Only! Members will still be able to get the monster drops and the achievement anytime they like by accessing the event re-run in their Book of Lore but the Event Rare shop closes with the event and takes all of these items with it!
To learn more about Ayi Jihu or the Fear Chaser project, check the Fear Chaser event page!
CardClasher Arrives MONDAY!
Monday, Arpil 18th, the AQW Anything Goes BattleOn Battle Card Game arrives in U.S. Toys R' Us Stores! it comes with the Color Custom CardClasher Class, Card Cape, Card Blades and we're working on a special bonus item!
It also comes with a special achievement badge on your Character Page and inside your Book of Lore!
If you live outside the USA, have no fear... the AQW QW Anything Goes BattleOn Battle Card Game will come to HeroMart early next month! Keep your eyes on the Design Notes and we'll give you a date very soon!
HeroSmash Founder Coming April 28th!
Finally, your chance to become a Founder in HeroSmash!
As AQW has AdventureCoins, HeroSmash will have a micro-currency called SmashCoins! To become a founder all you have to do is buy $20 worth of SmashCoins in the first month and bingo... you are a HS Founder!
We will be making an announcement about HS Memberships later this month, but for right now all you need to know is $20 or more of SmashCoins ensures that you are a Founder in HS. If you missed out on being an AQW founder, please don't miss this!
Reminder!
AEXtras is still a great way to get FREE ADVENTURECOINS and even FREE BATTLEON POINTS, and with new Inventory, Bank slots and Preimere Event rares to buy there's never been a better time!
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!
April 08, 2011
THIS IS WAR!
Strange Monsters Sighted Marching Toward Battleon!
It's that time again! I was out collecting dirt for my dirt collection and I noticed some creatures that look like they've escaped from someone's nightmares. Needless to say I went back to collecting dirt for a few more days then immediatly headed back to Battleon to let everyone know that an army was marching on town.
While i was out there I counted heads. It looks like there are about 3 MILLION waves headed this way. Artix naturally assumed that they were undead. He was so excited that I didn't have the heart to correct him.
You will find War Rares in the War Chest, but you will need to defend Battleon and earn Fear Trinkets to obtain them. The war will be over next Friday, whether we win or lose it and when the war is over, the items go rare. Items like Dage's Knight Terror set.
All of this is just a prelude to the Fear Chaser musical Event NEXT FRIDAY.
There will be AC Event Rares in the pre-show swag shop during the Event but those items will also go rare once the Event is locked for non-members (members will be able to play replay the event and earn the Achievement badge whenever they like).
Rather Massive Suggestion Shop Boost!
Another TEN items have been pulled from the pages of our Suggestion Threads on the AQW Forums and added to Yulgar's Player Suggestion Shop!
You have probably noticed that we have been getting CRAZY with the Player Suggestion cheeze-whiz lately. I want to thank all of the contributing AQW Artists for helping make some of the players ideas come to life on the screen. Want to see your creation in AQW? Head to the AQW Forums and make a suggestion.
AQWorlds Battleon Battle Card Game Comign April 18th!
This week we recieved a TRUCK full of boxes of our Card Game! We had to move all the Ebil Corp Board-Room Skeletons out of the board room to make room for card game storage.
I'm totally serious about that last sentence.
You guys should pop over to the Battle Card Page and check out the web commercials that Artix and Xyo built while Xyo was visiting the Underground Lab!
CARD GAME RELEASE DATES:
- April 18th - AQW Battle Cards released to EVERY U.S. Toys R Us store. Only stores in the United States will recieve the card game.
- Early May - HeroMart begins selling AQW Battle Cards to the rest of the world. Check HeroMart.com to see if we deliver to YOUR country!
The Card game will cost $19.95 USD (Plus Shipping which depends on where you live) from HeroMart. Toys R Us stores will probably be selling them for close to the same price, but they may mark it up some. We do not control their pricing of the game.
Reminder!
AEXtras is still a great way to get FREE ADVENTURECOINS and even FREE BATTLEON POINTS, and with new Inventory, Bank slots and Primere Event rares to buy there's never been a better time!
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!
March 31, 2011
In Stores on Monday! (April 18th)
The AQWorlds Battle Cards Game!
It is OFFICIAL! Our card game will be in-stores at TOYS-R-US on April 18th! ...and we made you a video!
Visit the AQWorlds BattleOn Battle Cards Website for more! I am so excited about this card game... it is hard to believe this is really happening. ...and yes... that is my dentist. ...and sushi chef. You can imagine the fun Galanoth and I had running around taking all of that footage, LOL. Xyo and I are working on a card fight video that should be posted for you tomorrow!
Other Awesome News!
- HeroSmash has begun PHASE III of Alpha... and it has a shiny new website too!
- All day tomorrow - a very special DragonFable release! Rolith announced that the DF team will be doing a new release EVERY SINGLE HOUR starting at Midnight (EST) tonight
- You may remember helping to vote for One-Eyed Doll online a month ago.... well congratulations to you all and to Kimberly & Jason for being voted Austin, Texas' #1 Punk Rock Band! They also released a brand new music video for the song "Fame & Loathing" on their website!
- Yesterday Cysero confirmed that the "Chinese Madonna" Ayi Jihu will be appearing in our next LIVE AQWorld's special event!
- Voltaire, who is curently composing a new album "
This collector's class features never before seen card-type skills!
February 14, 2011
Love Is In The Air!
Babies and Weddings for everyone!
Happy Heroes Heart Day, guys! It's really good to be back. If you weren't aware I've been gone for the last 2 weeks. On February 2nd at 7:50 AM server time, my second (and final) son was born. We named him Jetson.
Jack and Jetson.
Since Jet's birth I've been at home helping my wonderful wife as much as I can and helping Jack get used to having a new family member, and generally being a very attentive husband and father.
My first son, Jack is now a big brother. He's got a 13 month head start but i'm sure that he'll teach Jet everything he needs to know about being my kid like: Which buttons to never press, Where daddy keeps his secret stash of socks, Which of his parents knees are the tastiest to chew on, How to sense when Mom and Dad have just drifted off to sleep so he can wake up and start fussing, How to eat, drink, spit-up, burp, fart, poop, pee and cry all at the same time, and many other fun talents.
For those of you following me on Twitter, Nursey and I were completely blown away by the number of very nice messages flooding in washing over my happy family, blanketing us all in good vibes. You're all far too kind, but I humbly accept those kind wishes and pass them on to my family. Thank you.
But Wait... There's More!
Nythera is getting MARRIED!
She is the half-dragon who recently lead us into the void (and head of AE Player Support) and she's finally tying the knot with her long-time fiance'. We're happy to let you take part in her wedding in a special ONE-TIME ONLY wedding event on Friday March 4th. (Not this weekend, I'm just leading with this because it's exciting news and because Heroes Heart Day is a day to celebrate Love)
We'll have more details on that special event as we get closer to it, but for now please join me in saying a big GRATS to our favorite snarky half-dragon!
But Wait... There's STILL More!
We just found out today that AQW/HS super coder Llussion just asked his long-time girlfriend to marry him and she said YES! No date has been set and we may or may not have an in-game event but we're all VERY happy for those two crazy kids. Llussion has saved my bacon more times than I can count so I'm going to have to build him a truly excellent wedding present.
CardCaster Is Now CardClasher!
Very soon we will be releasing our Artix Entertainment Battle Cards card game, which comes with the exclusive in-game CLASS, CardClasher!
We had to change the name from CardCaster to CardClasher due to an unforseen copyright issue with another game.
The Class will be for everyone who purchases the card game, but we also plan on releasing a Member-Only CardClahser area to give you some backstory on what a CardClasher is and provide the AQW Members with some additional content to really trick out their Class.
There is still no set release date for the card game but we WILL be selling them on HeroMart, which currently delivers to 57 countries and we are adding more ALL THE TIME! Is your country on the list?
As soon as we have a fixed release date for the card game and Class, I will let you guys know.
This Week: Back To The Sandsea
This Friday we will be continuing the Sandsea Saga we you and Zhoom head to the Sek-Duat Dynasty Pyramids to track down the immortal mummy, Sek-Duat. It will also feature a brand new mini-game and lots of new Sandsea gear, both in the release AND in the Sandsea Rep Shop.
Don't forget that the Chinese New year event will be leaving this Friday, as well as most of the Heroes Heart Day content and rares. The Heroes Heart Day Limited Time shop will be closing tomorrow at NOON, server time.
I've also heard a rumor that Black Market vendor will be returning on Friday.
GAMETASTIC
The GAMETASTIC challenge is over and we have a handful of great new mini-games which you can find HERE. A winner will be decided soon and Artix will announce the winner here on the Design Notes. As I was out, and on none of the design teams I will be a fair and impartial judge who doesn't want to get fired by his Boss who i'm told has an EXCELLENT mini-game.
HeroSmash Heroes Heart Day Items
Dumoose literally just PMd me to let me know that he will be releasing a number of new Heroes Heart Day items in HeroSmash in just a little while. Remember, right now you can only Alpha test HeroSmash and get these items if you are an AQW Member.
February 11, 2011
PLAY 9 NEW GAMES!
GAME-TASTIC! Happy Heroes Heart Day
Which game will you love the most? Today is day 5/5 of our one week game making challenge and the games are ready for you to play! As you may already know, this week the entire company split up into small teams of 2-3 with the goal of creating new games. You can say we took a break from building games... to build games! It was challenging, exciting and everyone had a good time unleashing their creativity. The entires include an organism music game, 3D mecha game, a live action game, a fat panda, an isometric scroller with Thyton making wierd noises for the music and more! Play them all and vote by clicking the face book like button and by voting on the forums. We cannot wait to see what you think!
Play ALL 9 of our new minigames
P.S. Also.. the AQWorlds BattleOn Battle Cards went to the printers!!! We are going to have a card game soon!!!!!
February 07, 2011
Gametastic! Day 1 of 5
Let Mortal Game Making Combat... BEGIN!
This week, the entire Artix Entertainment team (from all games) are making game! Read the original Game-tastic design notes post for full details. We just had our kick-off meeting and 9 teams have entered the competition. With only 5 days to for each game to create a game, the pressure is on! (We have a funny idea of what it mans to "take a break".) Ai No Miko is creating a special page where you can see the... bizzarly named teams... and the list of games they are making this week. In addition to the 9 new minigames we are making for you this week -- look forward to the Valentine's Day releases in all games this week! Man, this is so EXCITING!
Which will go live here (Work in progress!)
AQWorlds the CARD GAME
We are preparing to send the official AQWorlds Anything-Goes BattleOn Battle Card game off to be produced. It is 110 cards of crazy battle mayhem for 2 or 4 players. It is simple to play, but there are so many exploitable rules that you can use your Armors, Pets, Weapons, Traps, Blocks, Specials, and Counters to do unthinkable creative and sneaky moves. Unlike most card games, everything you need for 2 or 4 to play comes in a single box. It has been a hit with people who play AQWorlds and fans of card games who have not heard of us... yet. It comes with a code to unlock a special color customizable Card Caster Class (Name picked by players following me on Twitter!) For the past week, Mido and I have been working on the final card art and the wierd Mayan pyramid shaped box & art layout. In about two months it will appear on shelves in Toys-R-Us stores in the US. About 2 weeks after that it will be available at HeroMart so that everyone, anywhere can get it. Needless to say we have been in crunch mode which is why you have not heard from me.. in fact, before my team can start on the competition we have to finish the rule sheet and make sure everything for the card game is ready!
LAST CHANCE: CTRL+ALT+DEL RARES!
Today at 5pm EST, the rares shop from the special event will be closing. Forever! This is your very last chance to get items from the CTRL+AL+DEL Shop.
AQ3D
BattleGems
BioBeasts
Dragons
Undead Assault