Design Notes

April 18, 2012

Thyton Live Draw TODAY!

Master Ninja and Lead Combat Artist

We will continuing our 5 weeks of AE Artist Live Draw sessions with Thyton a little later today.

Thyton came to work for AE not long after I did. He was one of the core developers for DragonFable once it was launched and one of the few AE staff members who have been around long enough to remember what it's like working off of Artix's kitchen table, when the Underground lab was just a dream.

Thyton is currently the artistic director for the upcoming AQ3D project but still lends his talents to DF, MQ and any other game project which require his skills.

As I write this it is 9:22 AM.

Around 4:00 PM Server Time we will open the live draw map again and you will be able to watch as Thyton goes through his process. You can check the current server time at any time by looking in the OPTIONS menu inside AQW. (see above)

If you have a question for him I'll be taking a selection from the AQW FORUMS and my own Twitter account. He'll need his hands to show you his craft so I will be feeding him some of your best questions and broadcasting his answers and protips in the game.

See you there!

UPDATE:

Be sure to check out NightWraith (from Epic Duel)'s Design Notes post on his trip to the PAX East conference in Boston! It's an epic convention geared solely towards gamers.

April 16, 2012

Planet in Peril - Knave1's story

Assault of the Banished One!

Undead minion rebellion?! Scattered throughout Lore are the undead minions of necromancers; most of them cannot talk or think. They can only do the bidding of their Masters. But some... some DO remember their time as humans, remember what it was like to be free. And those that do have passed down through generations of undead the story of the Desterrat Moya - the Banished One.

An entity which inhabited this plane long before Lore's current pantheon, this creature has clashed with gods... and lost. An Elder One from the time when the stars we see were dark, the Moya is very powerful and grows stronger feeding on the pleas and petitions of the undead minions who can still think. However, though they look on the Moya as a deity, they do not comprehend its true nature and that may be their downfall!

Their cries have strengthened the Moya enough that it has broken free of the dimension where it has been sealed away, and now it travels to us! The undead* believe the Desterrat Moya comes to free them... but it has different, deadlier plans.

Work with Knave1, King Alteon's Royal UndeadSlayer, to save Lore from the threat of the Banished One and prevent an undead uprising! Look for Knave1's rewards shop, awesome monster drops, and a few rare boss drops from the Moya! Plus, the Interfector Deorum helm will be released, as well as new spear weapons!

* Although Dage the Evil created the art for the Desterrat Moya, Knave1's storyline is not connected to his Undead Legion. Good question though, Askewen!

Who is Knave1 and why does he get a story?

Knave1 is the winner of the final I Can Has Mod contest! His wish was for his own storyline, an armor, and his own NPC. He asked to be King Alteon's personal UndeadSlayer and wanted your help to slay an Undead god. We thought that was a REALLY cool wish and immediately started planning out how to realize his dream.

Originally the Final Cheezburger item was going to be called the GodSlayer Armor, but in response to many players feeling uncomfortable with the name, we decided to call it the Interfector Deorum Armor.** It keeps the spirit of the idea but is not as abrasive for a lot of you guys. So if you're wondering where you're Final Cheezburger went in your inventory, look for the Interfector Deorum Armor!

** With players from around the world, all of whom have different backgrounds and ideologies, creating content that pleases the majority can be a challenge. This time, we got enough negative feedback about the original name of Knave1's armor that we felt it would be more beneficial to the community as a whole to change it.

Earth Day 2012!

Hero, your planet is in peril, and NOT just from the Desterrat Moya! Pollution can kill a world dead just as easily as an attack from an inter-dimensional deity! This Friday AQWorlds celebrates Earth Day with the return of General Pollution, Captain Lore, and all the epic Earth Day seasonal rares!

 Thyton in-game Livedraw Wednesday, 4PM!

Quick as a ninja, Thyton's going to appear in-game this Wednesday at 4PM server time, draw an all-new weapon based on your suggestions, and disappear in a cloud of smoke! Make sure you log in and /join stream to watch the event! A shop will be available for you to purchase the item which will turn into whatever Thyton makes! This is the third in our series of in-game Livedraw events!

Grenwog, Lucky Day, Evolved Leprechaun Class Gone!

It was egg-citing while it lasted, but then our luck ran out! Grenwog and the Lucky Day Fair, as well as the Evolved Leprechaun Class, have all vanished. They will return next year with all new seasonal rares!

Artix and Sepulchure Action Figures!

Your luck is in! (Even if Lucky Day is out.) The Artix and Sepulchure Action Figures are currently on a boat in the middle of the ocean, making their way here! And the timing could not be better, because DoomWood: Part 2: Whispers of the Darkness Lord begins in TWO WEEKS! 

As Artix said on the AQ3D design notes:
To kick off the storyline, we will be releasing a stop motion battle video of the upcoming Sepulchure and Artix action figures which was created by our new friend from overseas. He took the figures apart, added a bunch of extra joints, and... well.. he sort of "robot chicken-ized" it.

If you want Artix and Sepulchure Action Figures of your own, you'll be able to find them at Heromart and US Toys R Us stores! Each action figure contains 5 rare cards to go along with out BattleOn Battle Card Game and includes a code to unlock the Caste or Doomknight item set!

February 25, 2011

Wandering into the Premiere

Cave of Wanders... Get it?

The Sandsea Saga continues as Sek-Duat, the Mummy master of the Sandsea, leads you to the Cave of Wanders. This maze may contain exactly what you need to fight Zahart and Tibicenas... another Djinn of your own.

Miltonius went all out this week in his design of the Kalestri Worshipers, a clan of noble creatures normally, but THESE have been corrupted by the forced of darkness and freeing them from the spell might be the only way to the prize!

In the Sandsea rep shop you will find a host of new items and 2 brand new armors... the Anubis Armor from Polistar and Dage's amazing Kalestri Worshiper armor and helm!

I think we should all give Dage a hand... since he gave you four of them. WAKKA WAKKA!

This armor is so impressive that we have decided to increase its rarity by making is a pretty high Sandsea Rep value AND sells for ACs (although at 400 ACs, you'll never find a more impressive armor this cheap anywhere else).

There are also a TON of drops from the new area, including the Sek-Duat armor itself!

Is Moderator?

Some people have noticed the Is Moderator option when they click on someone's nameplate. We've added this feature for increased security. If the gold name wasn't enough proof for you just check the Is Moderator option and see.

Remember, AE staff will NEVER ask you for your password or offer you free stuff in exchange for your password.

HeroSmash Trailer Premiere & Shop!

The HeroSmash trailer is finally complete and it looks AWESOME. If you want to view it all you have to do is click the HeroSmash button in Battleon or /join hsmovie.

You can also access the Premiere Shop, which contains a male and female color custom helm, one of the fan favorite HeroSmash weapons  with color custom accents and FINALLY the Panda Launcher back item (click on it to fire a panda) from Thyton's Live Draw Event.

"Yeah, that's right. I have pigtails! YOU WANT A PANDA IN YOUR FACE?!"

These items will all be going rare EXCEPT the Panda Launcher which we will be hiding somewhere in game after the shop is locked.

Enjoy the trailer and let us know what you think about it on the forums!

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!

January 14, 2011

Thyton's Live Draw Re-cap

We hope you had fun!

Yesterday we did a live draw with DragonFable, MechQuest & HeroSmash artist Thyton. A video of his art room at the secret underground lab was broadcasted inside AdventureQuest Worlds. It was really fun! Everyone on chat said Thyton looks like Vin Disel... Ichidori posted this on his Twitter.

As usual, we ran into a huge slew of unexpected problems... the first one being that we were unable to setup until just 30 minutes prior to the event! ...our HD camera broke so we used a tiny web cam instead. There were a lot of laughs... but unless you had super hearing abliities it may have been hard to hear through the distorted time-delayed sound. You guys are awesome though -- you stuck through it anyway. Over 5 thousand players watched as Thyton draw what they suggested.  An EbilCorp tree ninja was hiding in the background for 30 minutes of the event and finally attacked Thyton. Zhoom appeared and took care of the EbilCorp Ninja.... "I don't like dem Ninjas". Just do not tell Zhoom that Thyton is a Ninja too, ok? ( I REALLY wish we had recorded this event) Cysero, Beleen, Ai No Miko, and Thyton also made a quick appearance. We hope aspiring artists found inspiration and hopefully learned something useful. (Other than to not let Artix hold the camera *shake* *shake* *shake*) If you were unable to join us, do not worry -- I have a feeling we will be doing this again soon!

1st Drawing: Panda Cannon
Beleen was sitting in the couch across from Thyton with her laptop. She was logged onto the Sir Ver server where players send an endless waterfall of purple tells to her screen. She read as best she could -- asking questions and making suggestions to Thyton on behalf of the players. The 1st drawing... as suggested by players, was a Panda launching cannon! Please note the functional accuracy right down to the panda cartridge dispenser. This will be available in HeroSmash (which is currently in open stress test) as an arm item, and in AQWorlds as a back item!

2nd Drawing.... Ninja Bot with Waffle Shoulder Pads and Spiky Hands!
The second drawing combined the player suggestions of Ninja... Robot... Spiky Hands... and waffle. There is still a high demand for a Waffletana (Waffle + Katana). But how would he hold it?

For Thyence! (Thyton Science?)
I would like to thank Thyton for allowing us stream live video of him drawing, unscripted, with thousands of players watching his every potential mistake. No pressure or anything!  I liked his quick draw with only a few minutes left. Thyton said afterwords (when we shut off the video and did not know the sound was still going /facepalm) that he wished we could have done it for a few more hours. He really wanted to draw more player suggestions for the game. It was really fun! Many players told me that liked seeing that the AE team was made of real people and surprised that we were so goofy and fun in real life too. So if you guys agree... I would like to fix our video, audio, and technical issues and have semi-regular "Live Artist Drawings" with ALL of our various artists streamed in game. Maybe even a competition. Maybe even take you around the lab and show you what I do? O_O

Thanks again everyone. Look for these drawings to show up in HeroSmash soon, and for the Panda launcher to appear in AQWorlds in next week's release! If you have any cool ideas, please let me know on the Forums or on Twitter! Tonight in AQWorld's release... the adventure continues and Zhoom is in a wicked cutscene!

January 12, 2011

Live Drawing Event TOMORROW!

The pen Tablet is Mightier Than the Sword!

A long, long time ago (in July, to be specific) in a server just a few clicks away… J6 streamed a LIVE video feed of his screen as you and your fellow players watched as he drew weapons from scratch. Artix, Cysero, and thousands of our awesome players sat down to watch the mastermind J6 craft one-of-a-kind weapons right before our eyes!

You guys voted on everything while J6 was making these stellar weapons… from how they should look to even the colors of Red, Blue, and “Chuck Norris.” Here’s the DN recap of that event!

Remember how awesome that was?

Well… I don’t. Because I was getting a tan 1,500 miles away on vacation =(

Did you miss it too? Wish you could relive that glorious moment?

Well fear not my friends! Because tomorrow, January 13^th, at 5:00 pm EST, AQWorlds will be hosting yet another Live Drawing Event in game!  

But this time around, Thyton the ninja artist, whose work can be seen in all of our games like HeroSmash, DragonFable, MechQuest, EpicDuel, and BladeHaven, has heeded the call of the 2^nd Live Drawing Event!

Wait.. if he's a ninja... how can we see him...?

Thyton confirmed that he will draw... something… in-game tomorrow. So I asked him to be more specific. And he responded with: “something more specific.”

!!?#!?11!&?!12%2!? C’mon, Thyton!

Whether Thyton draws a sword, an armor, a pet, a monster… or something completely and outlandishly different… is all up to him. And you! I guess the team will be just as surprised as YOU will be come tomorrow when the live video streams directly from Thyton’s computer screen!

What: AQWorlds’ 2^nd Live Drawing Event

When: Thursday, January 13^th, starting at 5pm EST

Where: In-game at www.AQ.com (in case you forgot our url, heheehe)

Why: To watch Thyton create… something more specific… live right before our eyes! Help shape whatever Thyton creates by voting in-game… and flooding Artix’s chat with a typhoon of PMs!   

Everyone’s invited – and everyone is going to be there! Can’t wait to see you there =D