Filed under: Guild Wars 2

ArenaNet LFM for Guild Wars 2

by Krystalle Voecks Jan 28th 2010 at 1:30PM

Filed under: MMO industry, New titles, News items, Guild Wars 2

Do you have mad programming, writing, or art skills? (We're going to assume you love MMOs since you're here.) If you do and are either in the Bellevue, WA area, or are willing to relocate, then you'll want to check this out. The ArenaNet team have over a dozen positions currently posted on their website, and looking for more people to help them bring Guild Wars 2 to life.

Current openings are for a host of positions: animators; QT specialists; web services and game programming; writing; and even a French community manager. So if you've ever wanted to join the ranks of the games industry and have the chops, get your resume and cover letter together and send them over to ArenaNet! Who knows -- perhaps we'll wind up interviewing you for Massively some day!

The Flameseeker Chronicles: Community guide to Guild Wars

by Rubi Bayer Jan 25th 2010 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Flameseeker Chronicles

Welcome to Tyria! The Flameseeker Chronicles will be a regular feature here at Massively, in which we cover all things Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2, beginning with this handy-dandy community guide.

Guild Wars has been around for a while now, and has the advantage of a strong, knowledgeable fan-based community. There are literally hundreds of fan sites and forums, Twitter pages and Facebook pages all devoted to Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2. It's very easy to get overwhelmed, so view this as a guide to where you can find the most comprehensive information for whatever you are looking for, be it gameplay information, news on game development, skill and build help, and much more.

The sounds of Guild Wars 2: a Q&A with ArenaNet's Audio Director

by Rubi Bayer Jan 22nd 2010 at 9:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, New titles, News items, Guild Wars 2

The members of the Guild Wars 2 Guru forums, just like all of us, are making the wait more bearable with loads of speculation and discussion about Guild Wars 2.

A recent discussion has been going on regarding sound effects and ambient sounds, with everyone generally agreeing that those details are a wonderful addition to a game environment -- the more the better. Guild Wars is a game that already does this well, with details such as a change in the sound of footsteps depending on the surface one is walking on. Fans have the expectation and hope that things will be even better in Guild Wars 2.

As it turns out, ArenaNet's Audio Director James Ackley was keeping an eye on the conversation, and jumped in via Community Manager Regina Buenaobra to give fans a behind-the-scenes look at what the foley team has been up to for GW2.

Ackley went through the thread, and addressed each individual wish and suggestion that had come up, and then provided a handful of photos as a bonus. Take a look a the photos in the gallery below, and you can read the full Q & A here.

We at Massively join the fans in thanking Ackley for taking the time to give a behind the scenes look at some of the production process!

ArenaNet gives us a sneak peek at the voices of Guild Wars 2

by Krystalle Voecks Dec 17th 2009 at 11:00AM

Filed under: Video, New titles, Previews, News items, Guild Wars 2

Just when you thought we'd already gotten our excellent holiday treat from ArenaNet in the form of that amazingly gorgeous Guild Wars 2 trailer, they decided to add in a behind-the-scenes video for us to enjoy! This new video titled "Giving Tyria a Voice" offers a look at the people making the characters of Guild Wars 2 come alive. Additionally, we're treated to their thoughts on what their characters are all about -- shedding a bit more light on what we can look forward to in terms of story and atmosphere. When coupled with the art from the recently released races trailer, this is a must-watch video for anyone curious about how the game is progressing.

The voice talent tagged for Guild Wars 2 is an amazing lineup of well-known, veteran voice actors. The people we meet in this trailer are Steve Blum, Troy Baker, Kari Wahlgren and geektastic favorite, Felicia Day, one of the stars of The Guild. With a rich pool of talent like this, coupled with award-winning artists and a studio dedicated to creating top-notch content for their fans, Guild Wars 2 is definitely shaping up to be an incredible game. But don't take our word for it -- check out the behind-the-scenes video from ArenaNet we've conveniently included after the break!

The Daily Grind: Which Guild Wars 2 race will you play?

by Rubi Bayer Dec 12th 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Free-to-play, The Daily Grind, Races

Hot on the heels of any new information about Guild Wars 2 these days comes the inevitable question: which race will you make first? Since we found out that humans aren't the only playable race, the discussion provides endless fodder for Guild Wars fans.

Will you stick with your tried-and-true and play a human? How about going brain-over-brawn and playing an Asura? Have you been running around in your Charr hat since Halloween this year, dreaming of the day you can go all steampunk and create a Charr character? Perhaps you'll create a Norn, just to see if you have a shot with Jora. Or are you the curious type, anxious to create a Sylvari and learn about this mysterious new race?

Speculating on your first race in Guild Wars 2 seems to be a favorite way for fans to entertain themselves while waiting for launch, so how about you? What race can you just not wait to jump into when launch day arrives?

Analyzing the newest Guild Wars 2 trailer

by Rubi Bayer Dec 4th 2009 at 11:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, New titles, News items, Guild Wars 2, Races

ArenaNet has a very early, very wonderful holiday gift for Guild Wars fans this morning: a brand new Guild Wars 2 trailer. (Take a moment to cheer, then we'll move on.) The trailer is amazingly beautiful, something we've come to expect from ArenaNet and particularly Guild Wars 2. But if you don't let yourself get distracted by the eye candy -- something that is admittedly hard to do -- there is a lot of new information here, including more details on people and places we've already heard of, and some fascinating possibilities to explore.

Take a look at the video here, then follow along with us as we explore this new information from ArenaNet. If you're unfamiliar with Guild Wars 2, this will help you get acquainted, but we also have some deep lore speculation for current Guild Wars fans. (The video can also be found at the official Guild Wars 2 site.)

NCsoft hints at Guild Wars 2 beta in 2010, launch in 2011

by Rubi Bayer Nov 10th 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, News items, Guild Wars 2

Fans of Guild Wars have been waiting for well over two years for Guild Wars 2, ever since ArenaNet fired up the hype machine in a big way back in March of 2007. Anet announced Guild Wars 2 and Eye of the North at the same time, and anticipated that the beta for GW2 would arrive in the second half of 2008.

Since the announcement, the Guild Wars player base has become intimately familiar with various versions of the phrases "We haven't released that information" and "TBA", punctuated occasionally with new information.

While the bits of information given here and there add up to something relatively substantial, fans are still asking the big question: When? Obviously the planned 2008 beta didn't happen, and now fans will have to wait a bit longer.

CEO Jaeho Lee referred to GW2 and Blade and Soul in a recent conference call with investors: "I believe there will be certain public events in the year 2010... at least a closed beta test for those titles. Commercialisation will be expected, at this point, probably some time in the year 2011."

At least fans have plenty of time and motivation to finish filling their Hall of Monuments. Silence and delays aside, when Guild Wars 2 finally arrives, most fans trust ArenaNet to give them something well worth the wait.

ArenaNet grants wish to heart transplant patient

by Rubi Bayer Nov 1st 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Culture, Events, real-world, Guild Wars 2

Emily is a high school junior diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, who is having a pretty good 2009 in spite of that. She received a heart transplant earlier this year, as well as a little pick-me-up from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Emily became a Guild Wars fan last year while waiting for her heart transplant and during her recovery afterward. She spent a lot of time in Tyria while living in the hospital.

Just last week Make-A-Wish arranged for Emily to travel to Seattle and visit the ArenaNet offices, making her the envy of a few million fans. She spent her morning touring the offices, meeting the staff, learning about what they do, and even meeting with the section heads to discuss her likes and dislikes about Guild Wars. After lunch, time to spend a few hours playing Guild Wars 2 with the ArenaNet team. That's right, Emily got an up close and personal look at the game, giving feedback and making suggestions from a fan's point of view. The best part came at the end: "They pulled us aside and asked if she could stay a couple of extra hours. They convened a group of their eight senior designers and Emily, and they asked Emily to help them design an "Event" for the game."

So when we finally get our hands on GW2, there will be a little something from Emily in there. Congratulations from Massively, Emily, and we wish you continued health.

Win yourself a Guild Wars 2 art book from Massively

by Shawn Schuster Oct 13th 2009 at 12:30PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Contests, Lore, Guild Wars 2, Massively meta, Giveaways

During PAX this summer, ArenaNet announced a new art book, showcasing the amazing talent that they've somehow been able to harness all in one studio. This book was given away at the convention and is now sold at their Penny Arcade or NCsoft online store, but will not be available anywhere else. That's why we're extra happy to announce that we're giving one away to a lucky winner this week.

As part of our commitment to never accept gifts from publishers, we're giving away this art book (valued at $30) in a random drawing. To enter, simply reply to this post between now and Friday, October 16th at 8am EDT. At that time, a winner will be chosen and contacted. Limit one entry per person. Winners must 18+ and live in the US or Canada (excluding Quebec). Check out our complete contest rules page for more information on eligibility.

Before we pry our hands from this coveted hardcover book, we took some photos of a few pages to let you know what you're trying for. Follow along in the gallery below for only a sample of what to expect.

[Update: Comments are now closed, winner to be contacted shortly]

Gallery: Guild Wars 2 Art Book

The top five Guild Wars features we take for granted

by Rubi Bayer Oct 12th 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Business models, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Guild Wars 2, Free-to-play

Guild Wars was my introduction into MMO gaming. My husband heard of it on a podcast and decided to check it out. I got curious, asked him if I could try it, and never looked back. My outgoing, chatty personality combined with my love of computer games made MMO gaming an irresistible new world to explore. With all the recent (long-awaited) news of Guild Wars 2, this seemed like a great time to take a look back at some of the features of Guild Wars that are rarely found in other games of its type.

Guild Wars 2 blending RTS with PvP

by Kyle Horner Oct 7th 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: New titles, PvP, News items, Guild Wars 2

Kill Ten Rats recently picked up some interesting information regarding PvP in Guild Wars 2. Essentially, world PvP will be mimicking the RTS model. Resources such as stone mines can be conquered by players and will deliver stone to catapults by caravan. These deliveries can be intercepted by enemy players unless manned watchtowers are defending your roads and scouts are keeping track of enemy forces. Or, as ArenaNet put it, players can simply look for lost PvPers and smack them around a bit.

Complex is the operative word here, as making this system work with large numbers of players will be almost as difficult as making it work with very few. Plus, developers will be dealing with all the regular idiosyncrasies associated with grouping in an MMO such as PUGs, communication and unruly parents demanding for chores or homework to be completed. Even all that considered, we hope they can pull it off so we can reap the fun.

If you're looking for more information on Guild Wars 2, check out our recent interview with ArenaNet.

Guild Wars 2 art book to not be included in the collector's edition

by Seraphina Brennan Sep 24th 2009 at 1:00PM

Filed under: At a glance, Fantasy, Business models, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Guild Wars 2, Free-to-play

If you've been keeping your eye on that very gorgeous artbook that's currently residing in the Guild Wars 2 store/Penny Arcade store but have been holding off on your purchase, you might want to reconsider. ArenaNet has recently confirmed, via Twitter, that the art book in the Penny Arcade store will not be coming with the Guild Wars 2 collector's edition box.

So if you were really looking forward to this artbook, looks like you're going to have to put down the 30 dollars and pick it up separately. On the bright side, it's a hardbound 128 page book of what looks to be some really beautiful art.

As to what will be included in the collector's edition, well, your guess is as good as ours right now. ArenaNet is being tight lipped on those features, and it looks like we're just going to have to wait.

Massively's interview with ArenaNet: Let's talk Guild Wars 2

by Shawn Schuster Sep 17th 2009 at 11:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, Guild Wars 2, Massively Interviews

While the internet collectively recovers from the new Guild Wars 2 trailer, released during GamesCom earlier this month, we jumped at the chance to interview the creative geniuses behind the upcoming title. ArenaNet's Eric Flannum, Lead Designer, Ree Soesbee, World Designer/Writer and Will McDermott, Writer all answered our barrage of questions.

Follow along after the jump to learn more about the GW2 business model, evil Sylvari, plans to have multiple servers and much more!

PAX 2009: ArenaNet offers a variety of videos for fans at home

by Krystalle Voecks Sep 16th 2009 at 7:30PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Guild Wars, Events, real-world, New titles, News items, Guild Wars 2

While we've brought you all manner of tasty insights and asides into what happened at PAX 2009 this year, there's something to be said for being able to catch the panels yourself. Knowing full well that their fans were going to go completely berserk when they heard all the juicy details about Guild Wars 2, ArenaNet has gone to great lengths to make sure to record all of their panels at PAX 2009 for you to check out. How awesome is that?

The topics for this year were two completely different question and answer panels on the Art of Guild Wars 2, an insightful talk with the Guild Wars Live team who currently take care of the game, and a really interesting panel on the Fall of Ascalon novel that will give us the backstory between Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2. So if you weren't able to make it, be sure to check out the other half of the above lore video behind the jump, then head over to ArenaNet's official video channel to enjoy the rest!

GW2 interview with Jeff Grubb goes deep into lore

by Brooke Pilley Sep 9th 2009 at 11:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, Lore, Guild Wars 2

If you're a Guild Wars lore-junkie, we have found the perfect Guild Wars 2 interview for you. Ravious over at Kill Ten Rats claims he can talk GW lore for hours and after reading the deep questions he put forth to ArenaNet World Designer and Writer Jeff Grubb, we'll take his word for it.

If you're looking for information about instancing, world PvP, and progression rates, this isn't the interview for you. If, however, it makes you giddy that one of either the Bahltek, undeciphered Asuran banner, or giganticus lupicus will be further explained in GW2, then it might be right up your alley. Jeff also drops some hints about the origins of humans, the dragon prophet Glint, the complex relationship between the world of Tyria, the human gods, and dragons, and a number of other things. The anticipation for everything GW2 related is heating up, so stay tuned to Massively as our very own Shawn Schuster will be speaking with someone from ArenaNet soon.